| Troy Huntsman speaks to the economic summit audience. |
Huntsman Motors
Troy Huntsman of Huntsman Motors in Huntington talked about his business at the Castle Country Economic Summit held in Price. He told of working in Orem at Washburn Motors selling cars where decided he wanted to open his own car dealership.
After taking out a second mortgage on his home, he opened his own car lot. He began to realize that many of his customers were from the Emery/Carbon county area. This prompted him to consider coming home and trying a car dealership in Emery County.
“The national average says people buy a car every two-five years so I figured I could make it work. We moved home in 2000 and got started. Wow what a road this has been. We had a dream two years ago to make a change and build a new building. We got out paper, pencil and ruler and began to draw our dreams,” said Huntsman.
“We drew up a little plan knowing our dream was just a dream. We began to look at avenues for financing. The road has been a long traveled road. I would do it again. I promise your dreams can come true. Keep on keeping on to make it anywhere,” concluded Huntsman.
| Tyler Jeffs speaks about financial planning. |
Farm Bureau Financial
Tyler Jeffs, a Farm Bureau agent with an office in Castle Dale, spoke during the local business sessions at the Castle Country Economic Summit. He told everyone that insurance is a necessary evil. “I find it a privilege to work with the people in this area. I am a financial planner,” said Jeffs.
“Most people spend more time planning their summer vacations than their financial future. I like to talk to people about their financial planning. It brings me great comfort to help people plan for uncertainty. We at Farm Bureau can help you try to plan for that,” stated Jeffs.
He said there are three questions to ask yourself. 1-If I had died yesterday, how much life insurance would my family be left with? and how much would you like them to have? 2-If I were disabled today, is my family and my business solely dependant on me? and 3-Is social security going to be enough for you to continue living with your lifestyle during retirement?
Each family and business has different assets to protect. “Do your homework and become familiar with your agent,” Jeffs continued. “If you don’t have a relationship with your agent, find one you can trust and make them a part of your future plans.”
| Richard Hackwell talks about the beginnings of the Coldstone Creamery in Price. |
Coldstone creamery
Richard Hackwell, owner of the Coldstone Creamery ice cream store in Price addressed the Castle Country Economic Summit. He said when a person is considering opening a business, there are several things to consider.
A person should ask “How many people shop strictly for generic items? How many people drive exclusively certain cars? How many people live in a tent?
As for the answers to these questions, a person will realize that people do not buy the cheapest items on the market. Why is that? People are willing to pay for the quality of the items they want. Better quality is a great reason to pay more.
“In 2001, we visited a Coldstone in Utah County. We decided that we needed one in this area and we thought people would be willing to pay the extra for the quality and great taste of the product,” said Hackwell.
“We met with an area developer of Coldstone and soon decided that we wanted to open a Coldstone in Price. We purchased a franchise and then the company said that Carbon and Emery counties were not big enough or well enough populated to support the business.
“This made me mad. We had to create an executive business plan and prove to the company that we could make it work. There are 1,400 Coldstones in the world and the largest grand opening ever was the store in Beaumont, Texas. We are the smallest Coldstone in the world and our grand opening beat the grand opening of that Beaumont store,” stated Hackwell.
He continued that every business owner should give back to the community in every way they can. “Our philosophy is to make people happy as long as we don’t lose our integrity,” Hackwell added. “If you take care of your customers they will take care of you.”
Coldstone makes the ice cream fresh in the store every day. They do wedding receptions and parties.