Talking Shop with Chris Buehrle, NARS founder, president and chief executive officer

Southeast Missouri State University last week celebrated several events in honor of National Entrepreneurship Week, which was Feb. 21 through 28. Among the events scheduled were classroom visits by National Asset Recovery Services founder, president and chief executive officer Chris Buehrle. A Cape Girardeau native, Buehrle created the corporation in 1993 with five employees. Today the company employs nearly 3,000 workers at call centers in Cape Girardeau, Chesterfield, Mo., Montego Bay, Jamaica and Panama City, Panama. NARS offers financial services and business process outsourcing to national financial institutions. Its clients include those in customer service, banking, mortgage lenders, communication and health. Last week Southeast Missourian business reporter Brian Blackwell sat down with Buehrle to discuss the company's growth and future.

Q: You were born at Southeast Missouri Hospital here in Cape Girardeau and attended St. Mary School. Your grandparents raised 12 children on Cousin Street, with your dad, Bob, being the oldest of the 12. In 2007 you placed a NARS facility in Cape Girardeau, which has grown to 500 employees. Why do you enjoy Southeast Missouri?

A: It's always been home to me. This is a special place for the Buehrle family. But it's an added pressure to do things right. When your family is known in the community and they are keeping up with the news about NARS, you have to watch your steps.

Q: How has your company grown to where it is today in a 16-year span?

A: We're now in our 16th year as an organization. I'm 41, so I was just a kid when I started the company. I never thought I'd have this many employees working at all of our locations. But we've always been an organization that has taken the high road and in today's environment that's a formula for success. That's proved positive results in the long run and the jobs we've created have provided for 3,000 families. I have to give three people credit for our success. First, my partners, Gerald Shapiro and David Kreisman, who financed NARS' beginning in 1993. They realized they were dealing with someone with not a lot of money but full of potential. Don Meinhold taught me the ropes in terms of marketing the company.

Q: Talk more about the growth. You started with just a handful of employees and now that number has skyrocketed.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Chris Buehrle is president and chief executive officer of National Asset Recovery Services.

A: 2003 was when we really saw a major expansion in growth, when we were close to expanding into Panama. Going from 250 to 1,500 in one year was possibly the greatest time in our company, but it presented its own challenges. But despite the ups and downs we've had through the years, we've been blessed and fortunate.

Q: What has been the greatest part of your company?

A: Our people. We refer to NARS as a family and we do have our ups and downs. When that happens we talk things through. Each of our employees has a family, too, and it's our responsibility to take care of them. Thankfully we've never had to lay off anyone. Taking care of our employees is something we back up in our actions.

Q: What does the future hold for NARS?

A: I'm not sure. It's hard to say. We want to expand, but we're looking to go into the right market. But we'll wait until the time is right to expand. If you look at our growth, it's been 25 to 30 percent over the last six years. Even in this economy we're in, it's not the time to reduce staff but capitalize on our services. When the economy goes bad, that's when our business picks up. There's more and more need for collections and that's what we do. There's so much more debt and need for customers to interact with your company, which increases the need for our services. The economy has affected us in a positive way. The worse the economy, is the better business is for us.

Q: What advice would you give a future entrepreneur?

A: Be disciplined. Be patient. Trust your decisions. Be true to yourself and stick to your own ideas. At the end of the day it's you who you'll have to answer to.