Family Affair
STANDARD DISCOUNT CORP. HAS BEEN SERVING ITS FAMILY OF CUSTOMERS
THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN GEORGIA FOR NEARLY SIXTY YEARS.

For Dan and Jimmy Jeter, the term “family-owned” means much more than just inheriting a business from their father. The Moultrie, Georgia, brothers take that label very seriously, fostering close relationships with their customers and business partners.
Their father, Charles, moved back to his wife’s hometown of Moultrie in 1946 to work with his father-in-law in the furniture business. He started a finance company in 1949, today called Standard Discount Corp. At present, the firm has 18 offices throughout southern Georgia and 65 full-time employees.
There are two distinct parts of the business. One makes small, unsecured short-term loans, and the second prepares individual tax returns. The consumer finance business operates year-round, while tax preparation is concentrated between January and April. Most of their loan customers like the speed, convenience, and safety of an electronic return and refund. The bank facilitates their customer’s direct deposit and refund anticipation loan if desired. The customers who have a need for consumer loans also seem to enjoy the benefits offered through electronic filing and bank products so the two loan services are a good offering and a good match.
Dan and Jimmy grew into the business. They worked for the same bank in Atlanta, and Jimmy came back to Moultrie in 1972 because of his father’s failing health. Dan returned in 1979 after their father died. The brothers are hands-on business owners.
The firm has done well by doing good — that is, serving customers with small loans at a time when industry consolidation has driven many lenders out of the small loan market. “The loan business is person-to-person,” Dan says. “We say that if the customer has a need, we’re going to meet their need.”
The Jeters believe in staying close to their customers, who they think of as family. “We have a different relationship with each customer, says Dan. “We can’t appreciate that relationship if we’re too far away from the action.”
Jeter describes the consumer finance customer demographics of more than 15,000 people. He feels that they are performing a unique service by serving an under-served market with small, short-term loans. There’s a market niche for people who need short-term cash, often in anticipation of tax refunds,” he says. “We’re allowed to make loans of up to $3,000. However, most loans are to wage-earning individuals with a maximum loan of $1,000 and an average payback of 7 to 10 months.”
“Our biggest source of new customers is word-of-mouth, with many referrals coming from family members and coworkers. We have a base of customers that we see 12 months a year, and another base of tax customers. They actually market our company. We pay a referral fee for new tax customers or someone who refers new loan customers.”
Their tax business originally began as an added service for loan customers. “The tax business has some commonality with our consumer finance operation,” Jeter says, “but the tax aspect generally draws from outside the base of loan customers. We started tax preparation as a value-added service to loan customers, and it grew beyond that.”
Standard Discount prepares thousands of individual tax returns every year. Customers are wage earners with one to four W2s. They are often the head of the household with two to four dependents. A large percentage is women.

Partnering with Drake Software
in the tax side of their business
One of the challenges of tax preparation is making sure all associates understand the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) program for electronic filing and do what is necessary for IRS compliance. Standard Discount developed its own forms, including interview sheets and an earned income tax credit questionnaire so all 18 offices have a standard procedure.
The company began preparing taxes in 1989 and did the work manually. However, within a few years preparers were doing more than 2,000 returns and the task became very time-consuming. In 1992, the firm started using Drake software, with the agreement contingent on Drake providing training to Standard Discount.
 “We really started with Drake because of their extra commitment, and it’s been a wonderful relationship,” says Jeter. “We’ve gotten to know the owners and staff of the company. There are people with Drake today who were there in 1992, and we know them on a first name basis. They call us to make sure we’re doing well, and we knew when our sales representative, Mike Wooten, had a grandchild. For us, being a family-owned business, it’s important that Drake has developed a family atmosphere in North Carolina. That has helped to shape our relationship.”
Amy Richter is in charge of the tax program. “Drake Software is extremely user-friendly and updates are automatic. They are very willing to listen to our suggestions about ways to improve their software. We’ve looked at other software, but nothing compares.”
Standard Discount is committed to staying current about tax law changes, particularly issues that affect their customer profile. Associates attend IRS national forums and Drake tax schools, and the company is a member of the National Association of Tax Professionals.
“Drake continues to make their software better for the preparer out there on the firing line,” Jeter says. “We feel their product is superior, and the support they offer is superior. We have people who learned Drake’s programs in 1992 and are still preparing tax returns for us. That’s been a key element for our success.”
“Drake’s level of support has actually kept pace with the rapid advancement of their software technology — and that’s a compliment,” says Jeter. “In fact, that’s what I’ve enjoyed watching about them more than anything else. If they weren’t giving good customer support, they’d be losing business.
“Instead, they’re growing and gaining customers. They’ve got a good product, but they offer support  better than anyone else in the industry. 
“It may sound trite to say we are partners with Drake,” he continues, “but that’s indeed the case. That is the sense Drake has fostered with us; it goes beyond a business relationship. It’s a real partnership.”

From October 2007

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