Forty Under 40: Tim Stidham

Tim Stidham’s grandmother was the first woman in Missouri to sell $1 million worth of life insurance, about 60 years ago. That’s not why Stidham went into the insurance business.

He needed an internship to complete his degree and happened to meet people from IQ Financial at a job fair. They offered to let him ride along on calls, and he found he enjoyed talking with people and selling insurance products. Early on, he knew he could sell and could make it a career.

After graduating with biology and communications degrees from the University of Arkansas, he worked at State Farm, then Farm Bureau. In 2013 he started Stidham Insurance Group. Sims and Renner Insurance bought the business in 2015. Stidham said his most significant achievement was “building up the business and getting a name for myself so that people who know what’s going on in this business saw that it was an asset they would want in their company.”

In his role as senior vice president of sales, Stidham serves clients’ home, auto, commercial and life insurance needs in multiple states. His sales have increased between 25% and 33% each year over the past three years.

In 2018, State Auto Insurance Co. recognized him as being No. 2 nationally in sales in its PaceSetter Program.

With a desire to leave a legacy in Fayetteville for his children, Stidham serves on the Fayetteville Public Education Foundation, is active in Rotary and serves on multiple committees at his church. On the Chilirhea board, he’s helped raise more than $500,000 for Alzheimer’s disease research.

Stidham is known affectionately by friends as “the mayor” because “I’m always shaking hands and kissing babies.” He likes reading, golf and watching the Hogs play.