Albert Crawford of BHG Financial On 5 Things You Need To Succeed In The Modern World Of Finance & Fintech
An Interview with Jason Hartman
I walk outside for an hour and a half every morning to clear my mind. Stay healthy physically and mentally to have the endurance to endure good and bad times. If you are run down physically or mentally, it’s tough to handle the daily grind that any business presents to an owner!
As part of my series about the “How to Navigate and Succeed in the Modern World of Finance”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Albert Crawford.
Albert Crawford is Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of BHG Financial, a leading national provider of financial services to professionals, individuals, and small-to medium-sized financial institutions.
Mr. Crawford, recognized as a prominent figure in the industry, has over 35 years of sales, management, and leadership expertise, beginning at the New York Futures Exchange in 1984. From there, he joined an investment banking firm selling securitizations and eventually started his first business helping banks diversify their loan portfolios.
Committed to making his mark on the industry, he pushed to create a more personalized approach to lending by streamlining a new way to build custom financial opportunities. In 2001, BHG Financial was founded with only $25,000 in capital, hard work, and endless dedication.
Under Mr. Crawford’s leadership, BHG Financial has grown its assets to $4.3 billion with a cash position of nearly $650 million. Since its inception, it has originated more than $17 billion in loan solutions to top-quality borrowers, creating one of the country’s largest institutional networks. With over 1,600 members, BHG Financial’s institutional network supports financial institutions nationwide by offering premium services that help with asset growth and regulatory needs.
Since 2020, he’s led BHG Financial to expand into the ABS market, completing seven monumental transactions. Backed by a mix of commercial and consumer loans, all seven ABS offerings received a “AAA (sf)” rating from major rating agencies, demonstrating the quality of the company’s loan products, performance history, and transaction structure.
Albert Crawford’s impact is evident, with personal highlights including being chosen as one of the elite ten selected for the Inc. magazine CEO Project and being named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Financial Services.
Overseeing all strategic direction and growth, Mr. Crawford leads the company as it reaches even greater heights. From new products and markets to the company’s winning culture, under his watch, BHG Financial continues to be recognized regionally and nationally with over 25 accolades and awards since its inception.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know’ you a bit. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
It’s only funny now that I look back, but for the first two years of starting my business, I didn’t take a single day off! Owning a business is a grind! You work long hours, endure much stress, and you realize so many people count on your decisions. But after 22 years, it’s incredibly fulfilling to see how we’ve been able to help business owners achieve their dreams when they get the right financing.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We’re constantly trying to bring better products to our clients or make their experience even more seamless. That’s why I’m excited about our latest project. We’re at the end stages of being able to bring new technology to the market that will make it incredibly fast to obtain a term consumer loan under $50k, with approval as quick as one minute. That means even less hassle for the busy professionals we work with. Consumers are going to love that process.
Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your company started what was its WHY, its purpose?
The market didn’t have term loans for small businesses and had practically no offerings for solopreneur business owners. So, we wanted to make our mark on the industry by streamlining a new way to build custom financial opportunities for those small businesses.
We did this by bringing a different type of small business commercial loan to the market. We offer high loan amounts and long terms to create a more affordable monthly payment — streamlined with minimal paperwork and requiring no collateral on the borrower’s part. We like to call ourselves the lender built by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs. We love to help others achieve their own great ideas using ours!
Do you have a “number one principle” that guides you through the ups and downs of running a business?
My answer is two parts. First, to over-communicate direction in every market. Second, to always overemphasize the value of teamwork! We have a saying at BHG: all oars in, rowing together.
If a fellow business leader would ask you for advice about whether to bootstrap or to look for VC capital, how would you help them weigh the pros and cons of that decision?
We bootstrapped from day one and found success. If you are lucky enough to build something worth selling, your piece of the sale will be worth so much more. To me, it was a no-brainer, but it’s a choice of using debt versus equity.
What measure do you use to determine the value of a company? What advice would you give to other leaders about how to get an optimal evaluation of their business?
We have always used a multiple of future earnings as a bellwether of our value. The macro market plays a significant role in getting the ultimate valuation. You almost always get more during a period of economic expansion nationwide. Selling in down markets is extremely difficult, but if you can catch a bull market, values tend to be overly inflated.
What would you advise to a founder who initially went through years of successive growth, but has now reached a standstill. From your experience do you have any general advice about how to boost growth and “restart their engines”?
When growth peaks, you must look hard at your operating expenses and be content with the business at that current level if it is a solid cash-producing business. New product lines similar to your existing business are always interesting, but I don’t love growth for growth’s sake if profitable margins don’t come with that growth.
What are the most common finance mistakes you have seen other businesses make? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
Every good business owner has an elevated sense of ambition, but with that comes the possibility of growing too fast. It’s a common mistake and one that we’ve made from time to time. I prefer to be as debt-free as possible. Taking on too much debt can strangle your company in tough times.
Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to succeed in the modern finance industry? Please share a story or an example for each.
- Keep your credit strong and priced accurately for the risk
- Maintain strong reserves for past and future credit decisions
- Have a strong preventive fraud department for digital lending
- Use historical data to develop credit models but have an experienced staff that can see risks at market turns that historical data can miss.
- Have deep and diverse funding sources
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
I walk outside for an hour and a half every morning to clear my mind. Stay healthy physically and mentally to have the endurance to endure good and bad times. If you are run down physically or mentally, it’s tough to handle the daily grind that any business presents to an owner!
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Growing up, I was taught to provide for those less fortunate. My movement would be to provide food, shelter, and purpose to anyone homeless or hungry! Something I’m incredibly proud of at BHG is our level of involvement with community service. I’m equally proud of our employees and their involvement as well. It’s truly inspiring.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Readers can follow me on LinkedIn. I am also a regular contributor to Forbes Council. I often speak at industry conferences such and appear on financial podcasts.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
About The Interviewer: Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Investor. Jason has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. Empowered Investor helps people achieve The American Dream of financial freedom by purchasing income property in prudent markets nationwide. Jason’s Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive system providing real estate investors with education, research, resources and technology to deal with all areas of their income property investment needs. Through Jason’s podcasts, educational events, referrals, mentoring and software to track your investments, investors can easily locate, finance and purchase properties in these exceptional markets with confidence and peace of mind.
Starting with very little, Jason, while still in college at the age of 19, embarked on a career in real estate. While brokering properties for clients, he was investing in his own portfolio along the way. Through creativity, persistence and hard work, he earned a number of prestigious industry awards and became a young multi-millionaire. Jason purchased a California real estate brokerage firm that was later acquired by Coldwell Banker. He combined his dedication and business talents to become a successful entrepreneur, public speaker, author, and media personality. Over the years he developed his Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ where his innovative firm educates and assists investors in acquiring prudent investments nationwide for their portfolio. Jason’s sought after educational events, speaking engagements, and his popular “Creating Wealth Podcast” inspire and empower hundreds of thousands of people in 189 countries worldwide.
While running his successful real estate and media businesses, Jason also believes that giving back to the community plays an important role in building strong personal relationships. He established The Jason Hartman Foundation in 2005 to provide financial literacy education to young adults providing the all-important real world skills not taught in school which are the key to the financial stability and success of future generations. We’re in a global monetary crisis caused by decades of misguided policies and the cycle of financial dependence has to be broken, literacy and self-reliance are a good start. Visit JasonHartman.com for free materials and resources.
