Oklahoma: A Great State for Entrepreneurs
By Laura Araujo A
s the sun set in rural Oklahoma, kerosene lamps fl ickered across the countryside. The year was 1935. Without the convenience of electricity, farm life was a challenging existence. Investor-owned utilities that provided electricity to urban centers didn’t fi nd it
profi table to bring their lines to rural areas of the state. But some Oklahoma farmers weren’t content with the way things were.
They had a spirit of entrepreneurship and a drive to help their neighbors. After President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Rural Electrifi cation Act, which was passed by Congress in 1936, these pioneers of electrifi cation joined together to bring electricity to rural Oklahoma. This same spirit of entrepreneurship is strong in many of today’s rural electric cooperative members who are bringing new products and services to their own communities.
A Pickup and an Opportunity
One such entrepreneur is Jimmy Tilley. Jimmy and wife Kimberly, Cotton Electric Cooperative members, are the owners of Tilley Pressure Test based in Duncan, Okla. The business began in 2001 as Tilley recognized an oppor- tunity and provided a service to those who needed it. Fourteen years later, the company has 300 employees in fi ve states. “I was a third-generation dairyman,” Tilley says. “I had always wanted a new diesel dodge pickup. The only way I could fi gure out how to buy one was to get into the hot shot trucking business.” Tilley began his trucking business in 1996 in Stephens County, Okla.
Through his work, he made several contacts within the oil and gas industry and discovered a business opportunity.
“I determined there was a new market in the inspection of high pressure iron used in the oil fi eld. Companies were looking for third-party validation and by golly we started doing that,” he says. “I was the fi rst one in this area, within 500 or 600 miles of here.”
Jimmy and Kimberly Tilley, Cotton Electric Cooperative members, are the owners of Tilley Pressure Test based in Duncan, Okla. The couple’s high pressure iron inspection business now maintains 300 employees in fi ve states. Courtesy photo
Stillwater, Okla.
Duncan, Okla.
But the company wasn’t an overnight success. It began with two employ-
ees and its growth has been slow and holistic, without much debt. Tilley recalls that for several years he would pay his employees and end up with little for himself.
“It was frustrating, realizing I could get a job and make more money,”
Tilley says. “But I come from a long line of pig-headed people. I believed in what I was doing and I knew if I did it right it would work—and it has.” Two keys to Tilley’s success are his natural business savvy and his focus on people. Though Tilley doesn’t have a business degree—or a college degree for that matter—he says managing a business comes naturally to him. Perhaps it was the 35 years he spent on the farm; they always had more bills than they had income, but he still managed to keep it going. “A lot of people who start a business have a great idea but they don’t have
the fi nancial management skills needed to run the business,” he says. “From the beginning we’ve always tried to lead by example.” Tilley says his business is all about the people—both his employees and his customers. He has regional managers today who started out as shop hands. Seeing them succeed is one of the most rewarding aspects of his business. He also places a high value on customer service. Outside his offi ce door a sign reads, “Be sure and take care of our customers. If you don’t, someone else will.” One of the hallmarks of Tilley Pressure Test is the level of service they provide their customers. It’s one area where his larger com- petitors can’t compete with him. Tilley offers some solid advice to would-be entrepreneurs. “Remember your family. It’s really easy to neglect your family. I am blessed with a wife who has been my business partner since day one,” Tilley says. “It doesn’t matter how much money you make, if you lose your family, you’ve lost everything.”
A Delicious Success On the other end of the entrepreneurial spectrum is Billy Goat Ice Cream
Co., a new venture started by two Oklahoma State University (OSU) grad- uate students, CEO RaShaun Robinson and COO Caleb Neil. The idea for Billy Goat Ice Cream Co. came about while Robinson was an undergraduate student at Langston University in Langston, Okla. The Small Business Association charged students to come up with a business plan that would utilize local agriculture and submit it for a competition. Robinson focused his research on the agriculture department’s goat herd. “I went to the ag department and learned that goat’s milk has several health
benefi ts. It’s high in calcium and potassium and people who are lactose in- tolerant can consume it,” he says.
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