The stories of successful entrepreneurs are, in many cases, stories of sacrifice. People give up jobs, security, possessions — all in the name of making their entrepreneurial dreams come true.
Brent G. Williams is one of this breed. As a teenager in Canada, Williams ran his own cattle business. He went on to become an accountant and had a successful career in that field.
But he wasn't working for himself, a real problem for a person who vowed in his high school yearbook to own a successful business.
So Williams left his career and his native country to move to Utah and, with friend Rocky Bowlby, found Dental Select, an administrator of dental insurance benefits.
The company started in a small apartment. Williams covered his receptionist's first paycheck with a credit card. But he and his partner believed in their founding idea of making dental plans affordable, accessible and easy for everyone.
The idea had legs. Today, Dental Select is Utah's largest dental benefits provider — the state's third-largest health care provider — and has moved into new markets in Texas and Florida.
Williams continues, however, to be the typical entrepreneur, judiciously expanding the company. Dental Select holds licenses in more than 30 states and has added vision benefits plans to its offerings, with plans to further expand into insurance niche markets.
The company also relies on its flexible plan designs. Dental Select employees like to say there is no "one plan," but rather a practically endless series of plans designed to fit an individual firm's needs and budget. This keeps the company ahead of the curve on sales and customer retention.