Success Story
Brandon Theophilus
Entrepreneur
Brandon Theophilus trusts his gut instinct. Back in January 2000, that inner sage told him to give up the stock brokerage business and move back to Norfolk. So he did. Now, Theophilus is a franchisee of Sonic, owns and operates a commercial real estate holding company, and is a partner and director of Frontier Bank Corp. Most importantly, he’s happy to be back in the city where he grew up.
“We wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Theophilus said. He’s the third generation of his family here. His grandfather was the first, moving from Sioux City in the late 1950s to go into private veterinary practice. There have been family members in the area ever since.
Theophilus, who was born in Norfolk, remembers feeling ambivalent about the area while he was growing up. “I don’t ever recall saying I hated it here,” Theophilus said. “In the same vein, I don’t remember saying this is where I want to live for the rest of my life.”
When he started looking at colleges during his junior year at Norfolk High School, Theophilus said he realized that he wanted to get away. He wondered about what was beyond the borders of Nebraska.
“Curiosity is the best way to sum up why I wanted to go to school outside of Nebraska,” Theophilus said. “It was also a desire to forge or find my own identity.”
When he visited Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan., his instinct told him that it was the right place. It had everything he was looking for: good academics, a small campus, a thriving town and a golf scholarship. After graduating from Baker in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in communications and business, Theophilus found himself in an unusual but good position. Despite being fresh out of college, Edward Jones Investments offered him and his soon-to-be-wife, Heather, the opportunity to choose where they wanted to settle down.
“We were lucky,” Theophilus said. Although some options were in Nebraska, Theophilus wasn’t ready to return home yet. He wanted more time away so he and Heather could find an identity for themselves as a couple. They chose Nisswa, Minn., where Theophilus worked as an investment adviser for about four years. Although the couple loved the lakes, outdoor recreation activities and good friends, something was missing.
“It was lacking the sense of community that we always felt when we would come and visit here,” Theophilus said. “There’s a hard-to-describe feeling that we just didn’t find there.”
In addition, Theophilus was starting to feel trapped in his job. He described himself as having an “entrepreneurial bent” that he wasn’t getting to use. He and Heather were also thinking about starting a family, and Nisswa didn’t seem like the right place.
“It wasn’t where we wanted to put down our roots,” Theophilus said. They could have moved anywhere in the country, but Theophilus’ intuition and gut instinct, if you will, told him that it was time to move back to Nebraska. With a small community and entrepreneurial opportunity, Theophilus knew it would benefit him both personally and professionally.
After the move in 2000, the Theophiluses saw a newspaper article about a successful opening of a Sonic restaurant in Omaha. Theophilus was skeptical about opening one in Norfolk, but Heather convinced him that it was a good idea. In July 2001, the restaurant was opened and Theophilus says it has been a success. Theophilus contributes to the community in other ways. He is a TeamMates mentor and is on the board of directors of the Norfolk Arts Center, among other civic involvement.
“If you’re passionate about a certain cause or an organization, it’s very easy to get involved and your help is very welcome,” Theophilus said, commenting on the benefits of living in a small community.
He also loves being able to have lunch with his family and take his kids, 2-year-old Andrew and 5-year-old Alex,to school. Theophilus said he is thrilled with the economic and cultural progress that Norfolk has made since he left in 1992, and he believes that the town will continue to grow.
“It’s not a stagnant community,” Theophilus said. “It’s a growing area. We knew there were lots of potential opportunities here.”
- Story Courtesy of the Norfolk Daily News
