@Wireless sales center now open in Springfield

The first @Wireless sales center west of the Mississippi is open for business in Springfield, due to the efforts of Jody and Angela Chaffin.

The franchise store, located at 3048 S. Fremont in the Fremont Village Shopping Center, had its grand opening June 7.

The parent @Wireless company nationally sells wireless services with nearly all wireless phone carriers and products ranging from wireless phones to paging units, accessories and satellite dishes.

Locally, the Chaffins sell AT&T and Sprint wireless phones and they are in contact with other carriers to increase product lines. "In a local market the dealer sells according to the market area," Jody Chaffin said.

Chaffin added that sales rules vary by company, with some carriers limiting multi-line stores who would otherwise compete with their company stores. Cingular wireless, for example, limits dealerships to their product exclusively in some regions, he said.

@Wireless franchise

Chaffin has found the franchise beneficial in starting his business. The parent company provides interior display shelves and signage in keeping with their national image, he said. "They supply support in a lot of other ways as well," he added.

@Wireless Enterprises Inc. was founded in 1994 as a wireless agent in the northeastern United States.

Each sales center is independently owned and operated, and the company is now expanding west.

A native of Rogersville, Jody Chaffin earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Southwest Missouri State University. His wife Angela Chaffin earned a degree in communication and marketing at Drury University.

After the couple married, they moved to Kansas City, where Jody worked several years for the Federal Reserve Bank and Angela sold Yellow Pages ads for Southwestern Bell and GTE.

Away from big city life'

The couple said they moved back to Springfield in 1996 to get away from the big city atmosphere and start a family.

The Chaffins bought a house on a 10-acre tract near Marshfield. They now have two daughters, Kylie, age 3 and Heather, age 1.

The store represents the realization of a dream for the couple. "We always wanted our own business," Jody Chaffin said.

He and Angela began research through the Internet on a variety of different franchises. They made the first contact with @Wireless in January.

As Chaffin continued to work full-time for Dairy Farmers of America, Angela did a lot of research and legwork to make sure @Wireless was the right company for their business goals.

Jody Chaffin has written a detailed five-year business plan, but is also looking beyond that timeframe to the future.

"Technology changes so much it is hard to predict too far ahead," he said.

Products, services

For now, the Chaffins provide random "crash-courses" to customers to familiarize them with the products they buy.

In the future the couple plans to build clientele to the point of being able to offer regular classes in all of the products they will be selling.

Chaffin said that a lot of the high tech phones on the market today have added features, such as e-mail access, calendars and calculators.

"People do not get optimum use of the unit unless they know how to use all the programs it provides," he said.

@Wireless offers a Globalstar unit that provides service virtually anywhere in the world through satellite connections.

Chaffin said that all of the phones he sells are two-band systems that can switch automatically from digital to analog if the user is making a call outside his or her area. "The whole key to being wireless is to be able to go anywhere and communicate," he said.

Priced according to need

Wireless phone plans are priced according to the needs and budgets of the prospective buyers, Chaffin said.

Satellite dishes are also available for high speed Internet service, or customers can choose the StarBand unit, which provides more than 150 television networks along with Internet access.

Angela and Jody Chaffin share the duties of running the business and each takes turns on the floor during business hours.

Expanding sales force

In late May they added Pam Johnson to the sales force, with the expectation of eventually turning over to her some of responsibilities of the present location.

The couple expects to open a second store in Springfield by the end of next year.

Beyond the two-year goal, the Chaffins plan to add several more @Wireless stores in other locations.

Since Jody Chaffin still has contacts in Kansas City and knows the area well, he is looking seriously at that area for future expansion.