Success Story: Hammer Collections
Enterprising family finds fertile entrepreneurial ground in Springfield area
If it hadn't been for Katrina—the hurricane that devastated New Orleans and southern Mississippi three years ago—Mike and Charlotte Dawley would be operating a successful collection agency in Slidell, La., today.
Instead Louisiana's loss is Missouri's gain…Springfield, Mo., to be exact.
Mike and Charlotte Dawley started Springfield-based Hammer Collections in April 2006.
It was to that thriving southwest Missouri town the Dawleys traveled in the wake of the August 2005 super storm that literally redesigned the Crescent City and the adjacent area.
The Dawleys had purchased an acre of land on Aug 18, 2005, to build a 3,000-square-foot facility in Slidell for the business they'd been planning for more than a year. Katrina drastically altered their dreams after it made landfall 11 days later.
Mike and Charlotte lost all their possessions. Their newly built home in Pass Christian, Miss., not far from Slidell, was swept away. So too was the vision of starting their own company in the area.
What they retained was years of management experience—Mike as an employment director and operator of a construction business; Charlotte as a manager with more than a decade of experience in the collections industry, specializing in start-up operations and salvaging struggling sales offices.
After the storm the Dawleys decided to pull up their few remaining stakes and find a new market for their dreams. Mikes' brother, electrician Rob Dawley, lived in Springfield and they had visited him several times. They always liked the area, so Springfield became their new goal.
Visit www.missouribusiness.net/success/hammer.asp for the complete story with additional photos.
Upcoming training targets high-technology businesses
The University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which hosts the central Missouri office of the Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Centers, will be holding two networking and educational opportunities in the coming weeks especially designed for individuals interested in starting or growing high-technology firms.
On Sept. 23, UCIE hosts "Don't Go It Alone: Taking Innovation to Market," from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Grand Cru Restaurant, 2600 S. Providence Road, in Columbia. The dinner session is designed for anyone interested in taking an idea to market, having difficulty navigating the funding gap between research and development and the marketplace, interested in pursuing Small Business Innovation Research or Technology Transfer awards or need more information about the resources available to assist with commercialization.
The session will be presented by Jim Gann and Paul Rehrig, Small Business and Technology Development counselors. There is no charge for the session, but you must make reservations by calling the UCIE at 573/882-7096.
Beginning Thursday, Oct. 2, the UCIE will present a four-session series entitled Building an Investor-Ready Technology Company. On four consecutive Thursday evenings, counselors from the Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Center in Columbia will present a variety of topics related to business creation and development of a high-technology company. Topics include: The Basics of Business, Determining Your Market, Managing the Intellectual Property; and The Equity Investment Process.
Cost for the four-week series is $149. Class size is limited to 24. For more information or to register, call the UCIE at 573/882-7096.
Ask a specialist: Achieving sales goal
Question: I am a sales consultant in rural Missouri. My goal is to sell 15 autos by the end of the month. With traffic so low, what would be some advice to help achieve this goal?
Answer: Here a few of the many pointers a sales representative can use to meet or beat monthly, quarterly or annual sales quotas for automobiles (or any other big-ticket items):
- Former customers are the best prospects. Contact former customers and see if they are in the market for a car or if they know someone who is.
- Borrowing an approach from the real estate business, the trick is to get the listing. In a multiple-listing situation, every realtor in your market is an extension of you. When another realtor sells a house you listed, you get the listing commission. So, can you get other people to sell for you by offering a referral incentive? If someone refers a client who later buys a car from you, the referrer should get some reward to ensure those referrals keep coming to you.
- Are there other service businesses in your community with which you can combine efforts to offer a bundle of value-added services along with the car—such as car washes, gasoline, repair service, movie tickets, meals, etc.
- During a holiday season try a holiday-theme promotion.
For other ideas explore marketing-ideas from the U.S. Small Business Administration. It may contain just the idea you need to trigger a winning effort to meet those sales goals. Or contact the SBDC nearest you to talk to a business specialists about your plans to start a business or about the challenges you face in operating an existing business.
Missouri's manufacturing environment described as one of the best in the nation
Missouri is one of the best states in the nation for manufacturing and logistics, according to the 2008 National Manufacturing and Logistics Scorecard published by the Ball State University Business School. In addition, Missouri is one of six states to earn a grade of "A" in the report's scorecard, based on research and development efforts as well as relatively love long-term health care costs and health insurance premiums.
According to the study, 2007 was a good year for American manufacturers with inflation-adjusted values higher than in any previous year. Although the U.S. economy slowed in late 2007, industrial production rose at an annual rate of 2.8 percent.
For more information, you may access the full study at www.cincorp.com/pdfs/reportcard_web.pdf.
SBA offers a variety of financing options for your business
Many entrepreneurs need financial resources to start or expand a small business and must combine what they have with other sources of financing. These sources can include family and friends, venture-capital financing, and business loans.
The primary business loan and equity financing SBA programs include the 7(a) Loan program, the Certified Development Company or 504 Loan program, the MicroLoan Program and the Small Business Investment Program. The distinguishing features for these programs are the total dollar amount that can be borrowed, the type of lenders who can provide these loans, the uses for the loan proceeds and the terms placed on the borrower. 
The three principal players in each of these programs are the small business, the lender and the SBA. The business should have its business plan prepared before it applies for a loan. This plan should explain what resources will be needed to accomplish the desired business purpose including the costs, the applicants' contribution, use of loan proceeds, collateral and an explanation of how the business will be able to repay the loan in a timely manner.
The lender will analyze the application to see if it meets both the lender's and the SBA's criteria. The SBA provides a guaranty to the lender's loan or provides the micro-lenders with funds to re-lend to the business. The SBA's business loan programs provide a key source of financing for viable small businesses that have real potential but cannot qualify for loans from traditional sources.
In this month's newsletter, we focus on the 7(a) program.
Visit www.missouribusiness.net/docs/sba_financing.asp for the complete story.
Business Going Green: Cost saving strategies
These are difficult times for small businesses. You and your customers are struggling with inflation, increasing energy costs and tight credit. Each additional expense should be considered carefully to ensure it will offer the return you need. Here are a few ideas to contemplate in an effort to protect your profit margins.
Have you been absorbing energy cost increases? You may have refrained from raising prices, but your bottom line may be suffering if you haven't been passing those increases along. Efficiency and conservation can help control or even reduce those spiraling utility bills.
For example, our local Wal-Mart has installed energy efficient upright freezer units. Instead of being lighted at all times (with the bulbs giving off some heat), a motion sensor turns on the lighting as customers approach down the aisle. In addition to the savings, the sudden illumination attracts customer attention to the freezer contents.
Consider contacting your utility companies to ask whether they offer energy audits. It might be time to look at the payback time for new heating and cooling units. Something as simple as cleaning filters and regular servicing can yield savings. Ask whether you qualify for an off-peak rate plan.
Continue reading about cost saving strategies at: www.missouribusiness.net/docs/cost_saving.asp
Consumer-driven innovation is perfect for a changing market
How many times have you complained about a product or service and then dismissed your unhappiness with a shrug and a comment: "If they had asked me about this, I could have told them...but, well, they didn't ask me."
Well, they're starting to.
Consumer-driven innovation—or simply asking what customers want—has gained traction in recent years. Seems rather obvious, doesn't it? But for many decades, consumer goods and services were designed around what company executives and business owners thought we wanted.
Now, not only are they asking us more about what we want, in many cases they are asking us to design products ourselves, often taking the old-fashioned focus group into the new technological age using online communities and social networking.
It was consumers who told Unilever to reduce the size of detergent bottles, fill them with a more concentrated formula and ultimately reduce the bulk in recycling or landfills. This came about as a result of blogs in which consumers complained about the weight and inconvenience of the larger bottles.
Reading this complete article at: www.missouribusiness.net/docs/consumer_driven_innovation.asp
Missouri Technology Corporation unveils new program to assist entrepreneurs
Last week, the Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC) unveiled a new program to assist entrepreneurs in Missouri. MOSourceLink will connect and help small businesses and entrepreneurs navigate the resources they need to ensure success. MOSourceLink develops a virtual partnership of hundreds of organizations across the state that currently provides business-building services and creates a quick resource for small businesses and entrepreneurs. MOSourceLink was introduced at the Governor's Conference on Economic Development, which was this week at the Hyatt Regency and Westin Crown Center.
There are many support organizations in Missouri that provide services to both emerging and existing small businesses throughout the state. An entrepreneur can spend a significant amount of valuable time trying to find the appropriate service provider. MOSourceLink will be accessible to entrepreneurs in Missouri free of charge and will match their needs to the appropriate resource.
"Accessing the wealth of resources available to entrepreneurs can be difficult," said Rob Monsees, MTC executive director. "Having a virtual clearinghouse accessible to entrepreneurs, community leaders, service providers, teachers and others will be extremely valuable to Missourians. A virtual clearinghouse will assist entrepreneurs in navigating among different service providers and resources to meet their needs in one location."
MOSourceLink will assist entrepreneurs by doing the following:
- Gathering information about the business and its needs
- Researching the available resources that match those needs
- Directing the business to the appropriate support organizations
- Provide follow up to ensure quality service and satisfaction
MOSourceLink is supported by MTC, the Kauffman Foundation, state organizations and private donors. Founding board members include University of Missouri Extension, Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Centers and the Missouri Technology Corporation. The program is based on the successful KCSourceLink model, of which the Kauffman Foundation, the SBA and the UMKC Innovation Center at the Bloch School were founding partners.
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