Hurricane Katrina ushers in a bonanza for this man. 
The phone rings and it’s a man representing the Veterans Administration inquiring about the empty Kmart in this boomtown community about 30 miles west of New Orleans. The caller’s got 200 workers who need office space.
Too late. That building, outfitted with 46 miles of telephone wire and bursting with desks, now houses 500 State Farm claims adjusters, with room for 400 more. It was leased for a year at $25,000 a month even before the power came back on. “Randy, yeah baby, the Kmart’s gone,” Mr. Roberts, clad in a T-shirt and tight shorts, yells into the phone. “I got an old Burger King building if you could use that.”
…for those businesses integral to the cleanup, such as power, insurance and engineering companies, towns closer to the devastation are the hottest properties around.
Luling, with a permanent population of about 6,000, is close to the ideal. It boasts one of the few working ATMs in the immediate area, has electricity, plenty of gasoline stations and a functioning Super Wal-Mart.
But what sets this small town entrepreneur apart was his unique combination of foresight (before the storm), ingenuity during the storm, and “get things done” service after the storm.
His office? Two cell phones he carries with him wherever he goes.
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