IN PROFILE: Jeff Wilson
BUSINESS: Owner of Arid Pest Control
AGE: 50
BACKGROUND: “I’ve worked as a maintenance welder and for Marriot In-Flight Catering. When I moved to Pahrump in 1994, I worked for Brigs Pest Control and bought it in 2002.”
FIRST JOB: “I ran the wood shop at the Boys Club in Sugarhouse, what used to be a small town outside Salt Lake City.”
YEARS IN BUSINESS: “We’ve owned our own business here since 2002. I like it here. The desert is more alive than you think. It’s a good place for a pest control business. We support Nathan Adelson Hospice repeatedly. Some of my elderly customers have been helped a great deal by them.”
PERSONAL: “I am an amateur historian and I’ve built a small observation tower for viewing the stars through my telescope. I also like to garden.”
BUSINESS CLIMATE: “Pahrump is a good place for business and it’s full of opportunities for people to carve a niche for themselves. I’m talking about small businesses. The problem is the fees. It’s overwhelming them before they can ever get the business off of the ground. I understand the need for infrastrcture, but what does it matter if it’s built and there’s no one here? There has to be a happy medium somewhere.”
“As for big companies … We need to remember that we need them a lot more than they need us and make it easier for them to come and offer jobs for the community versus taking their business elsewhere.”
