Member feature: Vess Hurley


Vess Hurley
Vess Hurley

A good entrepreneur knows saying “yes” is what keeps customers coming back. Vess Hurley says he was able to diversify and grow because he was willing to adapt.

“In the early years, I would recognize every oil company truck on the road. As oil grew, I had to compete. If you stick to your niche, someone else will have that niche plus three or four other services to add to it,” Hurley says.

Lower Yellowstone Rural Electric Cooperative, a Basin Electric Class C member headquartered in Sidney, Montana, keeps his business competitive as well.

“We need reliable electricity to compete. If we have 15 mechanics in the shop and no power, they’re not getting anything done,” he says. “The oil industry relies on reliable electricity too, and they have really grown. Our area is extremely busy because of oil activity, and that brings in people, new stores. It’s good for the local, small businesses like me and others.”