Economic Impact Awards Entrepreneur Finalist: Hammer Collections LLC

Owners Charlotte Najem and Mike Dawley, who planned to marry July 7, launched the collections agency in April 2006 after being displaced in 2005 from their Gulf Coast home by Hurricane Katrina. They decided to relocate to Springfield because Dawley has family in town.

When the pair arrived in Springfield, they were armed with Najem’s 13 years of experience working for collections firms, but little else. They had lost all of their possessions when their newly built home in Pass Christian, Miss., was washed from its foundation by the hurricane.

“It’s really exciting – how far we’ve come along, and it really gives us the energy to look forward to the years to come,” Najem said.

Now, the duo has another million-dollar benchmark in mind; hitting $1 million in revenues this year. In 2006, Hammer Collections’ revenues were $152,000. To hit its goal, the company will have to average about $100,000 a month, an amount that Dawley said is within reach.

When it started, Hammer Collections had two employees and 10 clients. Now, it has 15 employees and about 650 clients, including those in Canada, Europe and Israel.

The company’s three-year goal is to have 50 employees and $3.8 million in annual revenues.

Empowered by past success and excited about the future, Najem and Dawley plan to build a $1 million, 8,700-square-foot building for Hammer Collections this year.

Najem and Dawley currently lease 3,000 square feet at 3322 S. Campbell Ave., Ste. BB, in Sheids Plaza.

Najem and Dawley bought seven acres in December near the southeast corner of Battlefield Road and West Bypass. Brad McKenzie of McKenzie Architectural Services PC was hired as the project’s architect, and Lee Engineering and Associates LLC was hired to do civil engineering. Dawley, who has a construction background, will serve as general contractor.

Dawley said the new building would be one important tool in attracting high-caliber workers to fuel the agency’s growth. Plus, Dawley said, “It does solidify that we’re going to be here for the long term.”

Najem and Dawley are grateful to Springfield’s business community for personally embracing them after the losses they suffered in Hurricane Katrina.

Shortly after arriving in Springfield in the wake of the storm, State Farm Insurance agent Joe Robles referred them to a fall festival at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church on Republic Road.

There, they met officials from Springfield Catholic Schools, who enrolled Najem’s daughter, Hanna, in school without charging tuition for a year.

Catholic Schools also put them in touch with Springfield’s O’Reilly family, which was looking to help hurricane victims. The O’Reillys gave the couple a two-bedroom apartment to live in with utilities paid for six months.

Other businesses chipped in, too, with free food, haircuts, clothes and toys.

In a show of gratitude, Najem and Dawley plan to build parking spaces on their new property for use by people walking Ozark Greenways’ South Creek trail, which runs through their property because of an easement.

“We feel fortunate to be in the business community that we’re in,” Najem said. “We really feel like that’s been the key to what has unlocked the door … for us.”

Hammer Collections LLC

Address: 3322 S. Campbell Ave., Ste. BB, Springfield, MO 65807

Phone: (417) 877-1962

Web site: www.hammerdebt.com

Employees: 15

2006 Revenues: $152,000[[In-content Ad]]