Boss's personal finance class for workers pays off

ST. LOUIS -- Back in March, the 22 employees of Wisper Technology owed $480,699 in car loans, student loans, credit cards and other consumer debt. That's not counting their home mortgages.

Now, they owe $130,999 less, says their boss. They paid it down diligently, and part of the credit goes to Nathan Stooke's good hearing.

Stooke owns the small business in Shiloh, Ill. He'd pick up snippets of conversation as he walked around the building.

"A couple of times I heard employees on the phone haggling with credit card companies," Stooke recalls.

Employees would come to his office to ask for an advance on their paycheck.

Many of them, he concluded, were having trouble making ends meet.

Wisper provides high-speed wireless Internet service, mainly to rural areas. Stooke started the business in 2003, going $36,000 into debt to buy equipment. "I spread it across three credit cards," he said.

Between then and now, $10 million in revenue has passed through his hands. So he found himself wondering, "Why do I still have personal debt?"

He decided that everybody at Wisper - himself included - needed to learn how to better handle personal finances.

So he shelled out nearly $8,000 from company coffers, hired a facilitator and bought tapes and materials for a personal finance course. For 2-1/2 hours every Thursday night for 14 weeks, he told employees, they'd be in school in the un-air-conditioned company warehouse.

Some workers were not enthusiastic. "I had to strong-arm some of my employees," he said. "Four or five didn't want to be in the class."

He added a carrot. If they completed the course - and if he could raise company revenue by $6,000 per month - they'd get a 10 percent raise. All but two signed up.

It's tough stuff. It requires husbands and wives to talk to each other about money and how to spend less. Stooke required spouses to take the course with employees.

"I had four different employees in my office saying, 'I'm going to divorce the wife,' " said Stooke. "I didn't expect it to be that bad."

That didn't surprise Allen Dorsey, the business coach and former finance executive hired to run the course. "The major cause of challenges in relationships is how people view money," said Dorsey.

Often, one spouse doesn't know how the other is spending money - and they're not happy when they find out.

"We sacrificed a little sanity," joked Ian Ellison, Wisper's chief technology officer. "Most couples don't want to talk about it, but once we got through that hurdle, it made it easier," he said.

Dave Gress, 34, and his girlfriend stopped their trips to McDonald's.

"You add that up and it's like $200 or $300 a month on food," he said. "Now I'm paying more toward my truck, and I should have it paid off a year early."

Before the course began, Stooke passed out anonymous file cards asking employees to list the amount of their debt. He asked again after the course ended. That's where he says he found the $131,000 debt reduction.

Stooke figured it was worth his $8,000 investment. Money stress carries over into the workday. "If I can help them be better people," he said, "I'll get a better return for Wisper."