It's hard to believe that, just six months ago, Burks was working out of his basement.
His rise has been both literal and figurative; his new office-with-a-view is symbolic of a soaring business that recently won him a place on Entrepreneur magazine's Hot 500 list of the nation's fastest-growing small businesses.
By 2002, he saw $4.2 million in sales. Last year, his company posted $14.8 million in sales.
He uses that revenue stream to invest in other ventures, most of which have very little hope of ever turning a profit. The freight business allows him to run the Garden of Read'n Christian bookstore and the new Missoula Maulers hockey team, and to work as a Christian concert promoter.
“This is what makes everything run,” said the 38-year-old Burks, reclining at his desk in a Missoula Maulers jersey. “This is what allows me to do what I love to do.”
Burks grew up in Los Angeles, but is hesitant to admit it. He doesn't want to come across as the stereotype of a rich Californian.
“I came up here as broke as everybody else,” he said.
He decided it was time to get out of L.A. after the Sav-On drugstore he was managing got bashed up during the Rodney King riots. He moved to Spokane, Wash., but neglected to have his California license plates changed to Washington plates right away.
“That's how I learned the Northwest doesn't like people from California,” he said, grinning.
Burks delivered pizzas until he landed a job at a trucking company, then worked for the company for about two years. Then, out of the blue, he got a call from another trucking company in Missoula looking to recruit him.
So he moved to Missoula, where his new employer had 150 trucks and still couldn't keep up with all the freight in need of transport. Burks saw an opportunity, and began saving to start his own freight brokerage.
He has seen Big Sky Specialized Carriers grow tremendously over the the last eight years, but he was still surprised to learn that he - “a guy who has worked in his pajamas the last five years” - had been named to Entrepreneur magazine's Hot 500 list. He pointed out that the company technically has only two employees, not counting himself and his wife, Misty.
Burks believes his success, and the opportunities that led to it, are gifts from God. He feels it is therefore his responsibility to use those opportunities to invest in the kind of things that help build communities.
That's how he came to buy the local Christian bookstore, Garden of Read'n. Its previous owners ran it for nearly 30 years before they decided it was time to turn it over to someone else. Two years ago, the Burkses bought the place and sank $150,000 into a remodel. The also expanded the store's inventory and put in a coffee shop.
The bookstore attracts a lot of compliments, but it's not likely to ever see a huge profit margin.
“It's more of a ministry,” Burks said. “It's not a money maker at all.”
Neither is his newest project, a Junior A hockey team called the Missoula Maulers. He launched that venture following a suggestion by Cory Miller, who is now the team's general manager.
“I'm all about filling a need, and it's obvious this town needed a hockey team,” said Burks, who has played in the local night-hockey league for about five years. “It's really fun. Obviously, it gives people something to do on Friday nights in the winter.”
The Maulers' first home game, against Butte, will be Oct. 12. The rink is being surrounded by new bleachers in anticipation of those winter crowds.
And apparently, Burks knows how to draw a crowd. He's the one responsible for booking Christian group Mercy Me for the Western Montana Fair last month, an event that drew about 4,000 people.
“It was the biggest-grossing event in the fair's history,” he said.
He expects Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman will also prove popular when he arrives in Missoula on Nov. 4. In the meantime, Burks is helping local Christian rock duo Goofyfooted release its third CD.
“If I didn't do stuff, I would be a raging maniac,” Burks explained, adding, “I don't sleep much.”
He has a lot of irons in the fire, and all of them are meant to fill a need that's more important than numbers in a bank account, said his wife, Misty.
“That's a big thing for him,” she said. “It has to be for the benefit of the community.”
And he's always looking for another way to use the opportunities presented to him, she added.
For instance, he and a business partner are looking into opening 12,000-square-foot fitness centers in two small communities in western Montana. He would also dearly love to open a family fun center.
Burks has three children, one of them grown, and he is frustrated by the lack of family-friendly activities in Missoula in the winter. His dream is to open a year-round, multi-story operation that would offer an arcade, laser tag, mini golf and the like. He hasn't found the right deal yet, but he's still looking.
“When I'm pursuing the right opportunity, things just fall into place,” he said. “For some reason, I've been blessed - and I'm not gonna keep it to myself.”
Reporter Tyler Christensen can be reached at 523-5215 or tyler.christensen@lee.net
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)