'The right crowd:' Hurricane survivors land in Springfield

Sure, they lost all of their possessions when their newly built home in Pass Christian, Miss., was washed from its foundation by the Category 3 Gulf Coast storm last summer.

However, if not for Katrina, the couple may never have settled in Springfield to start their commercial collection agency, Hammer Collections LLC. It opened April 3 at 3322 S. Campbell Ave., Ste. BB, in Sheids Plaza.

Instead, they may have followed through with plans to begin business in Slidell, La., and they may have missed out on what Najem calls “an ideal town.”

“We wouldn’t have wanted to go through this, but now that we’re here it’s a lot better business opportunity,” Dawley said, citing Springfield’s low cost of living and stable economy compared to that of the Gulf Coast. “We feel that we have a lot better chance at succeeding and growing.”

Chain of referrals

The partners shower gratitude on Springfield’s business community for helping them get back on their feet in Katrina’s wake.

They came to Springfield because Dawley’s brother, electrician Rob Dawley, lives here. They also wanted to get Najem’s 5-year-old daughter, Hanna, into school and into a normal routine as soon as possible.

Given the circumstances, their early contact with Springfield’s business community was with State Farm Insurance agent Joe Robles. He referred them to a fall festival at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church on Republic Road about a week after the hurricane. He just thought they could use a little fun for a change.

That excursion paid much bigger dividends, though.

There, they met officials from Springfield Catholic Schools, who agreed to enroll Hanna in school without charging tuition the first year.

The private school connected the family to Springfield’s O’Reilly family, which was looking to help hurricane victims. The O’Reillys supplied the couple with a two-bedroom apartment to live in with utilities paid for six months.

“We wanted to make sure we were helping someone who was truly in need and that was willing to do their part as far as starting a new life,” Charlie O’Reilly said.

Najem broke into tears when recounting the aid given by Springfield’s business community: free food, haircuts, clothes and toys from businesses such as Residence Inn, Qdoba Mexican Grill, The Signature Bank and Silver Dollar City.

“We really felt like we fell into the right crowd,” Najem said.

They are so grateful that they have 50 extra people on their invitation list for their Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting May 25, having issued invites to those who have helped them on their journey.

Ready for business

Hammer Collections already has 10 clients, all from other states, and the owners expect to generate $400,000 the first year in business and $1 million the second year. Najem and Dawley employ two: Sales Account Manager Tony Hadden and his wife, Collection Manager Judith Hadden. Within five years, they hope to employ 40 people and have at least 10,000 clients nationally.

Najem has 13 years of experience in commercial collections with NCO Group Inc., Newton & Associates and Milliken and Michaels. She and Dawley use research, perseverance and the legal system to make businesses pay money owed to their clients, which are also businesses. Their largest client is currently owed $100,000, but Najem said they’d take jobs involving as little as $200 in debt.

Najem and Dawley keep about 33 percent of the recovered funds for their effort. They couldn’t say how often they are successful at recovering debt for their clients.

Brewing success

Hammer Collections is not the first startup company in the area due to Katrina.

Ed and Debbie Kuhlman have found business success in Nixa after fleeing Jefferson Parish, La. (see “Out of the Storm” in SBJ Feb. 6 or online).

Kuhlman’s Koffee, a coffee roasting and wholesale operation that opened in January at 1095 Falcon Crest Court in Nixa, has been such a winner that the Kuhlmans are opening a 450-square-foot sit-down café in June near the corner of Massey Boulevard and Kathryn Street in Nixa.

“Things are continuing to move upward,” Ed Kuhlman said.

Kuhlman said he plans to maintain roasting operations at his current location.

The Journey

Key business referrals played a huge part in getting Charlotte Najem’s and Mike Dawley’s Hammer Collections LLC open for business.

Aug. 18 – Charlotte Najem and Mike Dawley purchase an acre in Slidell, La., near their home in Pass Christian, Miss., to build a 3,000-square-foot home for Hammer Collections LLC, a new commercial collections agency they had been planning for a year.

Aug. 27 – Najem and Dawley leave home with Hurricane Katrina about to hit.

Aug. 29 – Hurricane Katrina makes U.S. landfall at Category 3 strength, devastating their home.

Sept. 3 – Najem and Dawley arrive in Springfield and stay at Residence Inn until Oct. 1. Hotel staff donated clothes, toys and gift cards to them.

Sept. 8 – State Farm Insurance agent Joe Robles refer Najem and Dawley to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church on Republic Road. Najem’s 5-year-old daughter, Hanna, receives free tuition from Springfield Catholic Schools.

Oct. 1 – Najem and Dawley move into a rent-free, utility-free apartment donated by the O’Reilly family.

October – Najem and Dawley open an account at The Signature Bank, having determined to make Springfield their home. Bank officials donate a gift basket full of toys and gift cards, including Silver Dollar City tickets.

Jan. 6 – Najem and Dawley buy a home in Springfield.

March 1 – Najem and Dawley sign a lease for 3322 S. Campbell Ave., Ste. BB, in Sheids Plaza to start their business, Hammer Collections.

April 3 – Hammer Collections opens for business.