Coffee Break: Brett Boehm, CEO of TBF Financial

Name: Brett Boehm

Title: CEO

Company: TBF Financial, LLC

Address: 870 Sheridan Road, Highwood

Phone: (847) 267-0600

Website: www.tbfgroup.com

Industry: Financial Services

Annual revenue: N/A

Number of employees: 12

Age: 52

Family information: Married for 21 years to my wife, Laura. Our son is a sophomore in college, and our two daughters are in high school — a senior and a sophomore.

Hometown: Highland Park

Q: Describe your company.

TBF Financial is a commercial debt acquisition company established in 1998. TBF supports commercial finance companies and banks across the United States by helping them liquidate their non-paying loans, leases and other commercial accounts. Our clients include online lenders, equipment leasing and finance businesses, merchant cash advance firms and commercial credit card companies in addition to banks.

Q: Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?

Since substantial new acquisitions look promising in 2024, we anticipate that TBF will hire additional staff over the course of the year.

Q: What will your company's main challenges be in the next year?

The unknown, of course! Twenty-five years ago, TBF created an industry where none existed before. We have found ways to achieve success despite market fluctuations, the Great Recession, new commercial finance industry product growth, and challenges like COVID. None of these situations were anticipated, but TBF found ways to conservatively come out on top over the years.

Q: What's the hottest trend in your industry?

Online lending. Right after the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009, banks were apprehensive about lending to businesses. Commercial online loans and merchant cash advances, known as MCAs, became the way for companies to get cash fast. This industry has exploded over the years and continues to evolve.

Q: If you had one tip to give to a rookie executive, what would it be?

Be the person who gets stuff done. If you are a reliable executive who sees things through, the rest of your staff will follow suit and your fellow executives will be comfortable knowing you are fulfilling that role.

Q: Do you have a business mantra?

The harder one works, the luckier they get!

Q: From a business outlook, whom do you look up to?

Definitely my father, Robert Boehm. He has mentored me, and my successes can be directly attributed to him. TBF was his concept. The three principals built this business together, but he led us until 2010 when I took over as CEO and director of business development. After years of watching him, I was primed to take TBF to the next level.

Q: What is one interesting fact about you or your company that most people may not know?

TBF is a family business. My dad was the elder as my brother, Adam, and I learned from him and divvied up roles. Now, my father is semi-retired and spending half the year in Florida. My brother and I run the day to day, just like he taught us.

Q: Was there a moment in your career that didn’t go as you had planned? What lesson did you learn from it?

One of my first jobs after college was as a mortgage broker. Rates were low and mortgage brokers were making lots of money. As soon as I started what I thought would be a lucrative career, rates rapidly increased and the next year was a struggle. I learned that sometimes things don’t go as planned and one needs to be flexible and have the ability to pivot. That’s when I committed myself to attending law school.

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

Being a business owner, there really isn’t any “free time” since I am always on the clock, but I do enjoy playing golf, spending time with family and smoking meat on my outdoor smoker. I also take guitar lessons with one of my best friends from college. Neither of us is any good, but it is fun, and we enjoy catching up each week at our lessons.

Q: What book is on your nightstand?

My Kindle is loaded with biographies of musicians. Two biographies that I enjoyed were about Bruce Springsteen and Slash from Guns N’ Roses.

Q: What keeps you up at night?

Waiting for my children to return home on a late Friday or Saturday night.

Q: If you were not doing this job, what do you think you would be doing?

I would definitely be doing something entrepreneurial. It is likely I would be running my own law firm or company where I am able to control my own destiny.

Q: What was your first paying job?

My first paying job was as a camp counselor at Camp Ojibwa in Eagle River, Wisconsin. I spent 13 summers at Ojibwa and climbed the ranks from camper to counselor and, ultimately, program director.

Q: If you could put your company name on a sports venue, which one would you choose?

Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. But it is already named Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, after philanthropist Cindy Simon Skjodt, so I missed the boat on that one.

Q: Two people to follow on X (Twitter) and why.

I’m not personally active on X though the company posts there. LinkedIn really is my preferred social channel for connecting with other professionals and their businesses.