2008 40 Under 40 Honoree: Terrie Reno

The first generation on her father’s side to graduate high school, Reno earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southwest Baptist University before earning her master’s degree in the same field at University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Today, the 27-year-old Reno owns two businesses: Complete Music and Paper World.

“It’s a huge achievement,” she says of being of a first-generation college graduate. “We kind of grew up in that poverty cycle. My mother is one of 11. … Growing up, I didn’t realize how poor we were. … I just assumed it was normal.”

Reno moved to Kansas City to support her identical twin, Tina, who relocated there to attend law school. To earn extra money to supplement her day job, Reno answered an ad for event planning. It was a job working for the owner of a Complete Music franchise, a master of ceremonies company.

Reno worked for that franchise for a couple of years before moving back to the Ozarks. By that time, she was planning a wedding and didn’t want a “real” job until after she was married.

Reno contacted the owner of the local Complete Music franchise looking for part-time work and discovered it was for sale. She called the Complete Music franchisee she had worked for in Kansas City to suggest he buy it for her to run. His idea: Reno should buy it herself.

And that’s what she did. Her company works with 15 disc jockeys, and Reno said it can cover 10 parties, weddings or proms at a time.

When Reno found out Paper World on Glenstone Avenue was closing, she saw another opportunity.

“I called the owner and asked her about buying the business,” she says, noting that the opportunity pretty much fell into her lap, much the same way that Complete Music had.

Reno calls herself a Type A personality suited to working for herself, despite the round-the-clock nature of self-employment. “It takes a lot of time, and you have to remember Rome wasn’t built in a day,” she says.

Reno is the head cheerleading coach at Nixa High School, as well as a member of Junior League of Springfield and Special Events Marketing, a volunteer board that hosts the All About Weddings show.

Double Play

Birth date: Aug. 11, 1980

Family: I am the second of three children. My parents are Roy and Cynthia Parsley. I have an identical twin sister, Tina Parsley Hughes, who lives in Kansas City with her husband, and a younger brother named Nathan, who is a student at Ozarks Technical Community College. I have been married for two years to my wonderful and supporting husband, Brian Reno. We have two dogs, Jack, a golden retriever, and Scout, an Airedale mix. We do not currently have any children, but hope to in the near future.

Philosophy to live/work by: I firmly believe that if you take care of your employees and treat them well, then they will take care of your customers. This does not just mean pay them the best, but also allow for flexible scheduling, recognition of birthdays and other significant events and lots of thank you notes to let them know they are appreciated.

In a fantasy world, which professional sport would you play? I would love to be a NASCAR driver because I love to drive fast.

Information accurate at the time of the honor.[[In-content Ad]]