Meet Pam Foreman, CCE: Mission Janitorial Supplies, San Diego, CA.(Selected Topic)

Like many people who end up working in the credit field Pam Foreman did not make it a career goal. She started out taking Liberal Arts classes in college, with the goal of eventually teaching. However, after getting married, she obtained a position ha an office as a secretary, and was tasked with calling accounts for payment in her "spare time". Her following position was as a secretary in the credit department for a large company. Thus began Pam Foreman's career in credit. She has remained in the field for over 20 years.

She says her first "real" credit work was working for a very large computer equipment company, which sold primarily to other very large companies. From there, she went to work for an electrical distributor--her first contact with the construction industry. Following that, she went to work for an actual construction company.

Her job there was multi-faceted--there was a materials division as well as a contracting division. On reflection, she says that this job was the most fulfilling and challenging as far as a learning experience, for her. "The construction industry can be quite fascinating. As the credit manager, I had to be totally up-to-date on the mechanic's lien laws, The Miller Act, etc."

"I think the really interesting thing is that there are really good remedies available in the construction industry--as long as you do things the right way from the very beginning. But the misconception is that because of these remedies, you can sell to anyone. Nothing can take the place of the creditworthiness of the customer. That "has to be the number one consideration!"

Pam now works for a 'jansan' distributor--janitorial and sanitary supplies. Once she got out of the construction industry, she thought she would no longer be dealing with contractors. But, she says, she just deals with a different type of contractor! "In construction, we have people who buy a few tools and throw them into the back of their trucks and BINGO--they are in business. In the jansan industry they buy a mop and a bucket and BINGO--they start their own business. The real connection between the two is they don't have a clue on how to run a business! They can operate a hammer or mop, but can't keep their books." Pam says that she supposes this is true of all businesses; and that it can be one of the biggest challenges to a credit manager.

Are they creditworthy, we asked her? "Unfortunately", says Pam, "I often work on a wish and a prayer. To maintain growth in this business, we have to take many risks without the luxury of being able to fall back on a mechanic's lien." Pam is also challenged by the fact that her current employer is a small business, and she wears many hats. Her title is manager of administration; which includes human resources, A/R, credit, safety, insurance, etc. Multi-tasking has taken on a whole new meaning for Pam!

We asked her how she thinks the credit field/credit management job has changed during her career. She says that credit managers are getting more respect for the work that they do in today's environment. "I'll never forget," she relates, "about 15 years ago, the vice president of the company I was ...