Radio Shack, Edge Wireless, Mountain States Wireless - Blackfoot, ID and Jackson, WY

Vern Murray made a rather sudden leap from employee to business owner in the wireless industry. He worked as a sales representative in the telecommunications and cellular services industry for eight years before purchasing, with his wife Dalyn, a RadioShack franchise to serve the Blackfoot market.

The store bore the distinction of being the smallest RadioShack in the nation. It soon became a catalyst for Vern's entrance into the wireless world, and he is now an Edge Wireless direct agent for more than eight locations across Southern Idaho and Jackson, Wyoming.

Murray opened five new stores in 2001, including the Edge Wireless/Mountain State Wireless store in Jackson, Wyoming. His businesses jumped from three to 20-plus employees almost overnight. Adhering to the philosophy that it is always better to own than to rent, he has also systematically purchased the properties where his businesses are located, improved them, and then used those real assets to leverage the next purchase/improvement.

Vern's involvement with the Idaho Falls SBDC started in 1998 when he attended the NxLeveL entrepreneurial training program. Since that time the Idaho SBDC has helped him in many ways, including marketing his business and applying for and receiving two Small Business Administration 504 loans and one USDA Intermediate Relending Program loan. This broad-based assistance has helped the Murrays' businesses create 24 jobs.

Within the next 12 months, the Murrays' goal is to double their number of stores, moving into neighboring states. Their latest expansion is into Rexburg, Idaho.