Welcome to Create, build, manage the Entrepreneur’s Toolbox.
Welcome to Create, build, manage on Biz TV.
I’m Kelly Phillips. Today I am joined by Hal Wallace to discuss challenges faced by businesses when it comes to collecting debt.
Hal is passionate about helping businesses recover the money that they are owed.
Stick around, we’ll be right back with more, create, build, manage.
Our guest has a wealth of experience in the collections industry specializing in legal processes and commercial collections.
Please welcome Hal Wallace.
And Hal, tell us a little bit about your background, how you grew up and got you to what you’re doing today.
Uh, it’s a funny story. So my dad was an ex-criminal defense attorney, right. And I used to see him going and bailing out people at all hours of the night.
And I thought, you know, that sounds kind of not fun. I don’t wanna follow in his footsteps, but I wanna run down the legal track somehow, some way.
Uh, graduated high school, got into a collection job, thought, you know what, I’m gonna go to college.
Ended up getting my degree, still working in collection companies.
And what happened was I went from consumer collections to commercial collections and my salary jumped exponentially.
And I thought, well, this sounds kind of fun. I can make lawyer money without having to go to law school and without having to get disbarred.
There’s just too many regulations attorneys are built for. They’re not built for speed.
They’re good, real good at sending letters and scare tactics, but, you know, we need to get money quick.
Yeah. Um, what happened was, I got into commercial collections head first, and 23 years later I’m still in commercial collections.
You have a business partner. Tell us a little bit about her.
Absolutely. Her name is Liz Rios, and she’s the yin to my yang.
She is an expert-level, serial entrepreneur, marketer, social media guru, and she has a very strong understanding of how to get people’s attention online.
So when we came together, we decided that we were going to merge the marketing side with the collections side.
Because if you can’t find the people that owe you money, you can’t collect it.
That’s a great point. So what are some of the challenges businesses face when trying to collect on outstanding debt?
Well, number one, most businesses don’t have the time or the systems in place to follow up consistently.
They send one or two reminders and then just hope the customer pays.
By the time they realize the invoice is three or four months overdue, it’s much harder to recover.
We also find that businesses are afraid of damaging relationships.
They think that if they pursue collections, they’ll lose the client.
But the truth is, when done correctly and professionally, it actually strengthens your credibility.
You’re running a real business — not a charity.
That’s an important mindset shift.
So when a company hires you, what does that process look like?
It’s really simple. We start with an intake call to understand what’s owed, how long it’s been, and what communication has already taken place.
Then we go through a verification process — making sure the documentation is correct.
After that, we contact the debtor professionally and directly.
The goal is always resolution — we want to help both sides get back to business.
You mentioned professionalism. How do you balance that with being effective?
That’s the art of collections. You can be firm without being aggressive.
We never threaten or harass — that doesn’t work long-term.
We communicate clearly, we know the laws, and we make it easy for the other side to do the right thing.
And because we have a legal team in-house, if it ever needs to go that route, we can handle that too.
Let’s talk about that — what role does the legal side play in collections?
Legal is the last resort, but it’s an important one.
If someone refuses to pay and the balance is significant, we’ll review it for litigation.
Because we’re already set up for that, we can move faster than most agencies.
That speed makes a big difference in recovery rates.
I love that. And what kind of clients do you typically work with?
Primarily B2B companies — manufacturing, construction, staffing, logistics, and professional services.
Basically anyone that extends credit and invoices for work.
We don’t handle consumer or medical debt. We focus on commercial because that’s where we have decades of experience.
That’s great. You mentioned you’ve been doing this for 23 years. What keeps you motivated?
Helping people. I genuinely love helping business owners get their money back.
Sometimes they’ve been waiting six months or a year.
When we recover those funds, it’s not just about the money — it’s the relief and validation that their work mattered.
And you can see it on their faces.
Exactly. I’ve found that by helping more people, the business gets more enjoyable.
After 23 years, you either go crazy or you’ve found your purpose.
For me, it’s definitely purpose — 1000%.
That’s awesome. So for those watching who might need help collecting on overdue invoices, how can they reach you?
The best place to go is ryanandjacobs.com.
Our phone number is (972) 472-7857, or you can email me directly at [email protected].
Happy to come out, shake a hand, put a face to a name — whatever someone needs.
If you’ve got someone that owes you money, I want to hear about it.
Hal Wallace, thank you for joining us today.
Thank you so much for having me.
