here are a number of ways to measure success. Certainly, it can be measured in terms of financial assets. However, success can also be gauged by the quality of one's relationships with peers, employees and customers.

Some people appraise achievement by the extent of admiration they receive from friends. Others measure success in terms of their ability to build a stable home life and raise well-balanced children. Still others assess accomplishment through their contributions to community life or improvements to a business sector. Since there are a variety of ways to measure achievement, just about anyone can be deemed a success. However, one person in our industry who has realized success by multiple standards is Bob Carr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Heartland Payment Systems Inc.

Carr has had an impact on the financial services industry on many levels. Over the past 20 years he's been an independent sales agent, written payment software, founded a company and led it through a successful initial public offering. He has also served in leadership roles at industry associations.

Success is serendipity (and hard work)

Carr was one of the nation's first college graduates to earn a degree in computer science. After graduation, he wrote software for small business owners. "Some of my customers were oil jobbers with unattendedfuel pumps," he said. "One of them asked me to write software for these fuel pumps for fleet cards, and then another asked me to do the same for bankcards. That's when I learned the true meaning of recurring income."

In 1987, Carr founded Credit Card Software Systems Inc., an ISO that focused on the travel and entertainment industry. CCSS processed over $400 million annually. Since he entered the industry, Carr's recurring monthly revenue stream has grown from $1.58 to more than $20 million.

Even though Carr worked diligently and educated himself, he still attributes some, if not all, of his success to luck. "Serendipity brought me into this business," he said.

"I was in the software business before the term 'software' was even coined. The software business allowed me to find a niche in the payments world. I was incredibly lucky to be in the right place at the right time."

Success is a thriving company

In 1997, Carr founded Heartland Payment Systems with an initial investment of $1 million. Four years later his company received a $40 million private equity investment. In August 2005, Carr took his company public.

Heartland reports it is now the nation's sixth-largest payment processor, with over $45 billion in annual processing volume. The company's more than 1,900 employees provide card processing services to over 130,000 merchants.

Success is respect for all

Carr believes he and Heartland must serve employees' needs before serving the needs of merchant customers. This employee focus is a direct result of his belief that if employees are taken care of, they will take care of customers.

Carr's business philosophy was formed early inhis life. "Every important thing I needed to know about business was taught to me by my mother who worked as a waitress for 35 years to raise six kids," he said.

"She taught me that I am no better and no worse than every other human being on this planet, and I have always believed and done my very best to act upon every word of that."

In May, Heartland broke ground on a 91,000-square-foot facility. It will include features to continue taking care of employees, such as a health-care center and a child-care center.

Carr said he's excited about the $40 million expansion because he and the Heartland team expect the company will be "a survivor in the business with all of the consolidation."

Carr treats employees well, but he is also fair to customers. "I am very pleased to have worked with the other Heartland leaders, like Don Lassiter, over the years to create a viable business model ... that is fundamentally fair to employees, customers and owners alike," he said.

"I have been very fortunate to have lived the American dream and to have many others live that dream along my side. It doesn't get much better than that for me."

Success is a balanced life

Carr's actions have not gone unnoticed. He has received numerous awards, including the Greater Philadelphia Venture Group's 2006 Walter M. Aikman Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Ernst & Young honored him as the 2004 New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year in the financial services category. He also received the 2003 Midwest Acquirers' Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

Carr appreciates the accolades but is especially pleased to have created a balanced life. "I am most proud of my amazing wife and my six independent and outstanding children, and of creating jobs for almost 2,000 Heartland team members and their families - good jobs that are getting better," he said.

Success is bettering the industry

Carr's focus on employees and customers extends beyond the Heartland umbrella. Through his involvement in industry associations, he has worked to champion the independent sales agent.

He was a Founder and a three-year Vice President of the Bankcard Services Association, the precursor to the Electronic Transactions Association. He also served on the ETA's ethics committee.

Carr believes our industry's biggest challenge is its acceptance of the notion that unethical practices are the norm, and this is "causing the industry to be attacked on many fronts."

He said the industry is also at risk due to thieves "who work to steal confidential data for their own dishonest profits. I think both of these are pretty big problems that need a lot of work to get fixed."

Unethical business practices coupled with the need for merchant education are two of the reasons Carr created the recently debuted Merchant Bill of Rights. "The expense of taking credit and debit is enough that merchants need to understand what they are paying for," Carr said. "Many don't take it seriously, and they are getting taken advantage of."

The Merchant Bill of Rights is an actual document as well as an interactive Web site. The goal is to inform and educate merchants of all sizes, but especially small and mid-sized merchants, about the costs of accepting payment cards.

"My goals are to use my position to make the payments world more user-friendly for my fellow entrepreneurs, the small and mid-size business owners of America," he said.

Success is solid opportunities

Carr predicts that the industry will undergo further consolidation, and only businesses that treat merchants fairly will survive. "Merchants will demand to be treated right," he said. "The games people play will be less and less accepted by the merchant community."

Even though Carr is well aware of our industry's risks and shortcomings, he feels the positive aspects far outweigh any negative ones.

"The industry's future is bright," he said. "The marketplace will force the industry to clean itself up (with appropriate pushes in the right places) and to tighten security enough to protect consumers as well as the industry players. Electronic payments will continue to thrive and businesses of all sizes will benefit from their growing acceptance."

Carr expects the next few years will be rich with opportunities. "It will be a great place to have a career for many decades to come, in my view," he said.

Success is community stewardship

Carr's contributions of time, money and energy extend well beyond the financial services industry. Over the past several years, he and his wife, Jill, started and improved several kinds of scholarship programs.

Earlier this year they formed the Give Something Back Foundation. The foundation awards scholarships to disadvantaged youth. Both Carr and his wife had financial challenges while attending college. "We wanted to leave a reasonable inheritance to our kids and then, after that, use the money in a way that is making a contribution," he said.

The foundation's goal is to give $100 million to help disadvantaged students attend and graduate from college. "When I retire from this industry down the road, I will spend a lot of my time expanding these scholarship programs and possibly writing about topics that I think might be of interest to others," he said.

Carr has succeeded on many levels. He founded and fostered a financially successful business while creating programs that enhance the lives of employees and customers alike.

He raised a stable family and created educational opportunities for students who might not otherwise have them. He's been honored by his colleagues. And he intends to contribute to the betterment of our society far into the future.

When asked what he would like his legacy to be, Carr responded, "I would like people to think we ran a great business and created value for our employees and our customers."