Success Story: Xtreme Stereo LLC
Kennett, Mo.

Garry Beckett, owner of Xtreme Stereo LLC, started his Bootheel-area business in 2006 with counseling from Richard Proffer, MO SBTDC small business development specialist based at the MU Extension center in Jackson, Mo.

"You don't get anything unless you take a little risk."

So says entrepreneur Garry Beckett of Campbell, Mo. He ought to know. He owns Xtreme Stereo LLC, the parent company of ... not one ... not two ... but three money-making enterprises in the Bootheel.

Through Dent Pro, Garry offers auto-body repair services. With XtremeStereo he provides equipment and installation of customized automobile stereo systems. And as a RadioShack franchisee, Garry has established retail electronics gear locations in Kennett and Dexter.

Garry's entrepreneurial adventure took shape in 2006. He and his wife Kim, an elementary school teacher and reading specialist, had been thinking about starting a business for several years.

A veteran of three decades in the auto body field, Garry was tired of the heat, paint and fumes of his trade. He worked with fellow auto-body technicians who were old before their time from years of breathing paint fumes in enclosed garages.

Above: Tony Brooks (left), manager of Beckett's Dexter store, advises a customer on a purchase of electronic equipment.
Below: Garry Beckett and Chris Davis (right), manager of the Kennett store, examine some newly arrived merchandise for their automotive stereo installation business, XtremeStereo.

In addition Garry had always been working for someone else. The lure of a simple paycheck had lost its luster, especially when he knew how much his employers had been making from the services rendered by Garry. He figured the real money was in the owning of the business.

So, Garry decided he would start a franchise business. He just didn't know which one. He first considered opening a Subway restaurant. Kim frowned on that idea, having worked in the food service industry as a teenager and knowing many of the field's pitfalls.

The would-be businessman finally hit on the idea of starting a RadioShack outlet. He decided he would combine it with a car stereo installation service, and also establish an auto-dent removal service. No paint, no fumes, just smoothing out dings.

Garry took his idea to a banker in Poplar Bluff. The banker liked the concept, but he wanted to see a real business plan with data and financial projections.

The request caught Garry flat-footed. He wasn't sure what to do, so he called his sister who worked as an assistant vice president and branch manager at a Montgomery City bank in east central Missouri. She recommended Garry contact a Southeast Missouri business development specialist.

"Richard Proffer at the MU Extension center in Jackson was the man for the job," says Garry.

The crew at the Beckett's RadioShack store in Kennett includes (front row, left to right): Kerri Birrenbach, associate; Shawn Beckett, son of the owners; Kim Beckett, owner and wife of Garry; (back row, left to right) Garry Beckett, owner; Chris Davis, manager of the Kennett store; and Cory Smith, associate.

Garry soon met with Proffer, who helped the would-be entrepreneur put together financial projections, market analyses and other information necessary for a successful business plan. The time they took was put to good use. Soon after the plan's completion Garry's banker came through with the loan.

Then Garry and Kim faced the moment of truth.

"So we finally had the money we needed to start our business. Now we felt like maybe we were in a 'be-careful-what-you-wish-for' situation," he reluctantly admits.

That doubtful feeling lasted all of five minutes. Garry and Kim quickly grabbed the opportunity wholeheartedly. They opened their first store in Kennett on March 7, 2006. Their second store 45 miles north in Dexter opened on Dec. 14, 2009.

Being a franchisee for a major brand offers advantages and challenges. Linking with a nationally recognized name, such as RadioShack, helps lend credibility to their stores. However, playing by the company rules can be a challenge also.

Two corporate-owned stores flank Garry's on the east (in Sikeston) and west (in Poplar Bluff). When RadioShack has a limited supply of new or special merchandise to offer, the corporate-owned stores usually get first crack at the items, leaving franchisees like Garry on the short end of the supply line. But Garry and his staff roll with the punches and make the best of it.

Garry, who spent three decades in the auto body field, applies his experience through the Dent Pro branch of Xtreme Stereo LLC. Here he puts the finishing touches on the removal of a door dimple from a customer's vehicle.

"There are advantages and disadvantages, just like in anything else," he says. "But we keep going. Our staff is dedicated and we do our best to serve our clientele."

The combination of the retail electronics store, the custom-stereo installation operation and the dent removal service works well. Multiple revenue streams keep Xtreme Stereo LLC hopping.

"Garry provides a good example of how to run a business," says his MO SBTDC advisor Richard Proffer. "He is fiscally conservative, but will spend (capital) when it makes sense for growth."

And Garry appreciates the value of the advice and support he's received during the past several years. When accepting an award last January at a statewide business development ceremony in Jefferson City, Garry said he couldn't have gotten this far in business "without the support of my wife, Kim," and the advice he received from Proffer: "Richard showed me what I needed to do, how I needed to do it, and when I needed to do it."

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This story was featured in the Apr. 2010 newsletter.

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