2009 Dynamic Dozen, No. 3: Russell Cellular Inc.

Russell Cellular Inc. was a busy company in 2008.

It completed its largest acquisition to date, marked its busiest month on record in December, doubled its corporate staff and increased the number of managers in the field.

The largest national Alltel agent in terms of locations also will soon carry the Verizon name as part of the merger announced last year and finalized in January between the two telecommunication companies.

That New Jersey-based Verizon Wireless will now be the largest U.S. carrier puts Russell Cellular in a prime position to take advantage of size, name recognition and marketing, President Jeff Russell said. "I think customers have got a good feeling about it, and I know from the meetings we've had with Verizon that we're excited."

Russell Cellular had 2008 revenues of nearly $26.5 million, up from $20.1 million in 2007.

With stores soon to open in Fayetteville, Ark., and Maumelle, Ark., Russell Cellular will have 93 locations, up from 64 at the beginning of 2008.

Part of that growth is due to the acquisition of SRC Communications in Ohio, which added 19 stores as of last October; Russell Cellular then opened an additional Ohio store in December.

"It was our eighth acquisition in the last 24 months," Jeff Russell said.

Despite its growth, Russell Cellular's first priority remains same-store sales, said Vice President Kym Russell, Jeff's wife.

"You can grow and have bigger numbers, but if you don't make more money, it doesn't always count," she said.

Though the Russells did not cite specifics, Jeff Russell said same-store sales are up, and much of the revenue growth in 2008 comes from existing stores, as the Ohio stores were added late in the year.

"We're setting records in the (same-store sales) as well as adding new stores," Kym Russell said.

Russell Cellular began 16 years ago when the Russells relocated from their native Harrison, Ark., to Springfield, with no plans to build a multimillion-dollar business. Jeff Russell started selling cell phones out of the trunk of his car and learned he was pretty good at it.

The couple was offered the opportunity to open an Alltel store in Bolivar, which they did with $1,500 borrowed from Jeff's mother. The business took off quickly from its opening weekend, and the Russells had found their niche, paying back that $1,500 loan in 30 days.

Russell Cellular, which also is a Dish Network agent, operates in eight states: Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Illinois and Ohio. The company's growth finally forced a relocation from 3023 S. Kimbrough Ave. in Springfield to its new headquarters at 5624 S. State Highway FF in Battlefield. Ground was broken last May and staff moved in at the beginning of February.

With an estimated cost of $900,000, including land, the new location more than doubled Russell Cellular's space to 8,700 square feet.

Jeff Russell continues to personally scout new locations, but growth has forced him to turn over some duties to managers in newly created positions.

The company's number of sales managers, for example, has increased to 20 from 11, and regional managers have been added.

"That's very different, because we've had a tremendous 24 months ... so as a business owner, it's hard to surrender some of that control, but you can only spin so many plates," he said.

The Russells approach their business as if each location was a franchise, using the same advertising and training staff and methods for a consistent message.

"It really allows us to take best practices to all 93 stores," Kym Russell said.

One of those best practices is a program Jeff Russell put in place to provide a book each month for any employee who is a sales manager or higher in company management, on motivational or best-practices topics that are then discussed at the next month's meeting.

In January, Kym Russell took the program up a notch. At the company's New Year's gathering in Branson, all employees and their spouses were given Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People."

The book is broken into monthly nuggets of information, with people encouraged to read one chapter during the first week of each month and apply that habit during the remaining three.

"We realize if we can help (each of) our employees become a better person - and ourselves - it will help us move forward," Kym Russell said.