ON THE FOUNDATION OF FAMILY

NOUN

1. an entertainer who continuously tosses into the air and catches a number of objects so as to keep at least one in the air while handling the others:

“a circus juggler” a person who adroitly balances several activities:

“you will need to be a deft juggler of competing priorities and tight deadlines”

Rich and Jodi Erkens’ photos should be next to the definition of “juggler” in the dictionary. This husband-wife team owns and operates a thriving, growing business with 20 employees while raising four children.

“Not only are we partners in business, we’re partners in life,” Rich said.

Others sometimes marvel at how they keep all the balls in the air. For instance, they laugh when recounting the questions they each got from moms at a preschool group a few years back. Jodi was pregnant with the couple’s fourth son, meeting weekly with other mothers while the children did their thing. One week, she recalled, “Someone found out we worked together, and they could not believe it. It was a whole conversation on how we do it.”

The next week, Jodi had gone into labor so Rich took her place in the preschool parents’ group. He said he was bombarded with women asking, “How the hell do you work with your wife?” They wanted to know “how we don’t kill each other.” of the time, couples don’t have those circles intertwining. There are times where you have to find those moments where you just kind of go to your separate corners, breathe, and come back at it and say, ‘I see why you said that. This is why I feel this.’ You just work through it.”

How do they work together?

Jodi and Rich each have their own office at AVX in Waite Park. Jodi has a home office; Rich didn’t want one. “But I’m like ‘you need to have a workspace.’ ” Jodi said. “So it’s our game room. Our boys know that he’ll be like, ‘I have to help a customer. I’m going to the game room.’ ” The boys make themselves scarce while Rich talks on the phone and paces. “They know to stay away,” Jodi said. “It’s not that Dad’s mad. He needs the space. Our children have known nothing else.”

Rich and Jodi’s roles are clearly defined. “I can’t be Rich’s assistant,” Jodi said. “Don’t ask me how to wire, how to sell.” Instead, she handles the books, works with their social marketing team, and takes the lead in managing the kids and the home – often from her home office.

BY JEANINE NISTLER

PHOTOS BY JOEL BUTKOWSKI, BUTKOWSKI DIGITAL IMAGING

“We’ve learned a lot of different things about each other,” Rich said. “We’ve learned to communicate so we can survive. Our circles of both our personal life and our business life and our kid life are all intertwined. Most

“She always says – and she’s right – that if you’ve failed with the kids, you’ve failed everything,” Rich said. If the school calls to say one of their boys is sick, Jodi peels out to pick up the kid – unless she’s in the middle of an important meeting, in which case Rich heads to school.

Personal Profiles

JODI ERKENS, 47

Hometown: St. Joseph

Education: Apollo High School, two-year Associate of Applied Science degree from St. Cloud Technical College

Work history: Bingo Emporium, DeZURIK, Victor Communications, Unique Screen Media

Family:

Husband, Rich; four sons, Riley, Jack, Reid, and Jacob

Hobbies: RV travel, attending concerts and children’s sporting events, playing with our four dogs

RICH ERKENS JR., 48

Hometown: Cold Spring

Education: Rocori High School

Work history: Radio Shack, Circuit City, Audio King, and Ultimate Electronics

Family: Wife, Jodi; four sons, Riley, Jack, Reid, and Jacob

Hobbies:

Snowmobiling, racquetball, concerts, and RV travel

The Erkens’ children have been involved with the business as well. “I count my blessings,” Jodi said. “We were very fortunate that we were able to raise children and have a business and show them what that part looks like.”

The youngsters helped remodel the Waite Park facility and have done demo at the new site in Baxter. “They aren’t handed anything,” Jodi said. “They have to work for it.”

Their children started by emptying garbage, scrubbing toilets and cleaning floors. “They don’t just get a computer and do the cushy programming,” Rich said. “No, you’ve got to learn everything before you can run.”

The upside for the Erkens’ offspring: Great electronics in their home, and travel in the family’s motor coach that contains a miniature office setup. Jodi remembers times the family would pull into a rest stop so the boys could play while Rich spoke by phone with customers. She recalls a trip to Montana and Wyoming during which Jodi would work for a couple hours while Rich and the boys went hiking. They parked their RV at a friend’s ranch, where the boys jumped into an icy pond fed by a mountain spring. “What we’ve done for our livelihood,” Rich said, “has given our kids some pretty amazing adventures.”

The employees get some perks as well, including competitive pay, 401k with employer match, medical insurance and events for the team and their families such as an annual ROX game and prime rib at the Erkens’ home near Rice.

And they get training when they start and each year thereafter. “We don’t just say, ‘Go out there and figure this out.’ ” Instead, Rich said, they say to employees, “Go out and do it, but how can I help you.” The AVX standard is, if a technician can’t figure out a residential or commercial problem in the field in 20 minutes, they should call a team member who has more experience. That team member often is Rich.

Rich estimated that Jodi spends 70 percent of her time on family matters and 30 percent on AVX. “Me on the other hand, I have to be 70 percent business and 30 on the kids’ side.”

When Jodi notes that the school lunch money account is running low, she tells Rich, and he refills it by punching a few keys on his phone. Jodi apprises Rich of the when and where of the kids’ activities so he can figure out his schedule to make sure he participates.

Rich knows the technical side of AVX inside out and upside down. He rattles off terms like “4k acoustically transparent” and “4k resolution but with compression” as easily as the rest of us can say our own names. (See related story.)

No matter the division of work and family duties, both Jodi and Rich go full tilt on AVX customer service. Just ask Tom St. Hilaire of Midwest Financial Planners, whose home is outfitted with electronics purchased from and supported by AVX. “It’s not just customer service,” he said. “It’s relationship.” He said he can email Rich on a Saturday evening and Rich will immediately call. “They really want our family to enjoy everything AVX put in.”

AVX has completed several projects at the St. Hilaire home in St. Cloud over the past 10 to 12 years, including a significant upgrade about 18 months ago. “A lot of times they know what we want when we don’t,” St. Hilaire said, adding that the Erkens’ ideas often “save money or get more bang for your buck.”

Pete Poepping, operating partner for Letnes Restaurant Group, says AVX has installed and maintained electronics in his home and has done about a dozen projects for the group’s facilities, including digital, TV-based platforms at Olde Brick House, 7 West, Pioneer Place, Boulder Tap House, and Grizzly’s, and at properties in Mankato, Rochester and Mason City, Iowa.

AVX’s service “is one of the best we’ve ever received from any company,” Poepping said. The whole AVX staff provides outstanding service and Rich “answers his phone whenever I call.”

“You can buy these toys anywhere, you really can,” Rich said. “You can go to Walmart, off the Internet, Best Buy, these big box places and so on, but you can’t buy the people that have passion about it. We’re taking care of it. There’s service after you buy. If you have questions, we’re a phone call away, and we answer.” That’s what Rich means by service.

Jodi’s approach is a little different. “How can we enhance their homes?,” she said. “How can we enhance their lives? We create family time.”

Timeline

2005

Rich and Jodi Erkens launch Audio Video Extremes (AVX) with two partners, one who leaves the business three months after starting

2009

The Erkens move AVX from their home office to a small showroom and separate warehouse in the Total Recreation location

–––––

AVX opens its car audio division

2012

The Erkens buy out their second partner and become sole owners of AVX

2014

AVX moves to its current location at 1131 Second St. S. Waite Park, combining showroom and warehouse in one facility

2016

AVX adds automated shading solutions to product line

2018

AVX opens a second location in Fargo, North Dakota, after having done work there for about five years

2019

AVX adds alarm sales, installation and monitoring options

ST. CLOUD AREA SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Ahead Of The Curve

Because of annual revenues that have grown over 1,000%, an employee base that has gone from 1 to 20, and persistent dedication to the St. Cloud community over the last 18 years, Rich and Jodi Erkens have been awarded the 2023 St. Cloud Area Small Business of the Year award.

Rich and Jodi Erkens have dedicated their careers to home entertainment. Rich started working at RadioShack when he was just 16, and spent a good portion of his career at Audio King, which was eventually purchased by Ultimate Electronics. “If people wanted to program multiple things together, like TVs in this room and speakers in that room, Rich was always that guy,” Jodi said.

In 2005, Rich could sense that change was on the horizon at Ultimate Electronics. He approached Jodi with the idea of starting his own operation along with two other business partners. Jodi told him he had six months to figure it out. The business worked out of a home office initially, eventually opening its first location in 2009. During that time, one of the business partners left, and Jodi did part-time bookkeeping for the company.

“After about five years of relatively stagnant growth since starting the business, I said to my remaining business partner ‘Here’s the deal, I have a plan to move us to the next level, do you want to be part of it?’” Rich said.

In 2012, the Erkens bought out that partner and implemented a much more aggressive business plan. Things started moving quickly. Audio Video Extremes moved into its new location in 2014, doubled its annual revenue in the first year, and by 2022 had tripled that annual revenue. It employs 20 people and will be opening a second location in Baxter, in 2023 with three employees. “We knew it was going to be good; we didn’t know it would be this good.” The response and excitement has been more than they could anticipate.

Over the last 18 years, the Erkens have seen trends and challenges come and go. AVX operated a car audio department for several years but retired that service in 2021 –without losing any employees, and with minimal impact on the bottom line. They face a constant struggle with hiring, so they pride themselves in offering competitive pay and benefits and treating the staff of 20 like family. They had the foresight to see the potential supply chain impact of the pandemic, so some bulk purchasing early in 2020 left them in good standing, inventory-wise, during the last few years. They love giving back to the community, and have been involved with the Holly Ball, raising money for CentraCare Hospice, Coborn Cancer Center, the Central Minnesota Child Advocacy Center, and more.

The exponential growth they’ve seen, the exemplary service they provide, and their commitment to the St. Cloud community has earned the Erkens and Audio Video Extremes the 2023 St. Cloud Area Small Business of the Year award.

Jodi says it’s important to ensure that technology isn’t obnoxious. Televisions, for instance, can be mirrors or pieces of art when not streaming programs. In their own home, she explained, the TV over the family room fireplace features a photograph from a family vacation in Florida, evoking fond memories.

Jodi and Rich are passionate not only about family, technology, and customer service, but also community service. They long have been involved with the Holly Ball, raising money for CentraCare Hospice, Coborn Cancer Center, and the Central Minnesota Child Advocacy Center. They have donated an array of electronic equipment to area schools and cut some great deals to save money for others, such as the Foley public schools attended by their children.

I CAN DO THAT!

The more complicated the set up, the happier it makes AVX owners Rich and Jodi Erkens.

Want concert-quality sound without giant speakers? How about a big-screen TV that will fit snugly against the wall in your family room?

Need an electronically decked-out conference room at your place of business?

Dream of controlling your television picture and sound, room temp, position of window blinds and your home security system by button or voice?

AVX can fix you up.

This Waite Park-based company sells, installs, and provides tech support for its residential and commercial customers. Owners Rich and Jodi Erkens work to serve customers within a two-hour-drive radius, but have been known to travel much farther on occasion. In fact, they operated a Fargo location for a time, but have closed that site and are now opening one in the Brainerd/Baxter area.

“That just wasn’t the right fit for us,” Jodi said of Fargo. “It was a little bit far away, that three to four hours away. We felt we were being spread just a little bit too thin. Two to three hours is the sweet spot.”

Neither Rich nor Jodi had youthful dreams of running a business. Jodi’s career was on a much different track, working in administration, customer service and repair, and marketing for area companies. “As funny as it is, I graduated from the technical college with a degree in computers. Rich uses my degree almost every single day and I do the accounting and marketing. That’s not what I went to school for.”

BEST ADVICE

JODI’S RECEIVED: “Everyone puts their pants on the same way: one leg at a time.”

— Bill Parsons

BEST ADVICE RICH HAS RECEIVED: “Work smarter, not harder. Put the right people in the right places when you can.”

—

Dan Coborn

Rich jumped into the electronics field right out of high school with a job at Radio Shack. He later worked locally for other national companies. In the early 2000s, after about eight years of working for Audio King, he saw some writing on the wall.

Rich and Jodi were at a company dinner for the top 10 sales people. When asked about the company’s future, the vice president, who was also the owner’s son, “looked at everybody, and he looks at Jodi and me, he’s like, ‘You guys are all the best of the best in here. But the reality is for what I pay just one of you, I can probably put 10 or 15 people on the floor and pay them $10, $12, $15 an hour and inevitably they’ll be able to sell more because they can get to more people.’ ”

Rich said he asked the VP, “Aren’t you concerned about the quality of the sale and the relationship of where that client is?” He said the VP responded, “They won’t care. They want to get in and get out.” That answer led Rich to say to Jodi: “We need an exit strategy. We need to be looking out for our future.”

Later, when Audio King closed its installation division in St. Cloud and Rich suggested they offer that service through a former Audio King employee, he was suspended. He got two years of free health care coverage for himself and his young family, and the couple had enough money in savings to pay their bills for six months.

“I said ‘Go start a business and make it happen,’ ” Jodi recalled. “You’ve always been the guy that puts the big systems together. People could sell a TV or they could sell a speaker, but to sell a TV and a speaker and then do that in multiple rooms and tie it together, that was Rich.”

AVX started with Rich and Jodi growing the business slowly and strategically. They wanted the business to be unique, Rich said. “We want our customers to be on the cutting edge of technology. But we as a company will be on the bleeding edge. We will experience all the blows of the technology before we ever roll it out to a customer.”

AVX is known in the industry, Rich said. When the couple walks into the convention of the global trade association for smart home technology, “there’s a certain amount of respect that we have earned.” In fact, Rich does beta testing for some manufacturers. “Our house is the test bed,” Rich said. “If it can survive the kids and Jodi, it will work well. I get to see all the stuff that’s coming six months, a year, two, three years from now.”

And just what is Rich seeing?

“In the near future, we probably won’t have TVs. Everything’s going to be holograms or electro simulations,” he said, noting Elon Musk’s vision of connecting computer and human brain. “What if we could do away with all that and just simply give electrical stimulation to your frontal cortex to create the image?”

Something Rich does not envision happening anytime soon: Working on anything other than what he and Jodi are doing now. “Once you’re in this industry, consumer electronics, it’s in your blood. You can’t escape it. It’s just something that is part of you.”

Rich said he loves it when a customer asks for a complicated setup, such as: “When I hit this button can you make the speakers in my bathroom turn on Fox news and the TV go to KARE 11 news and put on the closed captioning while I’m taking my shower and can you set the shower temperature to 103 and change the LEDs when it gets there to red?”

And he loves to respond, “Yeah, I can do that.”

Jeanine Nistler is a St. Cloud-based freelance writer whose career has included daily newspaper reporting and editing, as well as communications work in health care, higher education, and state government settings.

Timeline

––––––––

October 2021

AVX closes its car audio division due to supply chain issues as well as new cars being equipped with comprehensive audio features

February 2023

AVX chooses not to renew their lease in Fargo, closing that location

May 2023

AVX is selected as the 2023 St. Cloud Area Small Business of the Year 2023

AVX is opening a showroom in Baxter, Minnesota

Business Profile

AVX INC. DBA AUDIO VIDEO EXTREMES Chamber member since 2014

1131 Second St. S. Waite Park, MN 56387 320-217-5877

Baxter/Brainerd (opening Spring/Summer 2023) 15528 Edgewood Drive Baxter, MN 218-454-0338 audiovideoextremes.com

Email: Jodi@ audiovideoextremes.com

Business Description:

Residential and commercial audio/video sales and installation

Number of employees: 20

Annual sales: $4.3 million