A lifelong entrepreneur, Nathan Gautreau Sr. was always looking for the next best investment. From real estate ventures to franchises, he ultimately combined a portfolio of resources to establish and grow Ascension Parish’s only family-owned document retention and storage company, Professional Archive Solutions, Business Report details in the new Entrepreneur feature in the current issue.
Having instilled the same passion for business ownership in his sons, Shannon Sing and Nathan Gautreau Jr., the stepbrothers purchased the company from their father in January 2016.
Now a year into the venture that is both their father’s legacy and their future, Sing and Gautreau are focused on growing the company and adapting their business model to meet the needs of an increasingly paperless world.
“The demand is out there,” Gautreau tells Business Report. “It’s just a matter of how people want to store their records—and do they want to spend the money to do it.”
Competing against national giants like Iron Mountain as well as local firms offering similar services in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette, Sing and Gautreau try to set themselves apart by applying a personal touch and offering unparalleled customer service. Whether it’s shredding sensitive documents, storing employee information or scanning medical records into a digital archive format, Sing insists his company can deliver—especially because he’s the one responsible for daily, in-person customer service.
“I have a route set up with our shredding to where most customers don’t even have to call us because I will be there when they need me,” Sing says.
The biggest challenge to being their own boss has been finding the time to promote their company in Ascension Parish and surrounding communities, Sing says.
“We are very organized,” he says. “We know our goals and objectives, both long-term and day-to-day. What we really need is more time.”
But thanks to steady growth, mainly from word-of-mouth in 2016, the brothers are poised to expand their team in 2017 as part of their plan to refocus business development efforts by becoming more active and visible in the local business community.
Read the full Entrepreneur feature. Send your comments to editor@businessreport.com.
