After graduating from Chinook High School in 2002, Crystal Murphy attended UM-Western in Dillon, earning a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Business Administration in 2006. Shortly after her college graduation, on May 20, she married Eric Stepper, who is originally from Helena. Later that year, the couple moved to Chinook.

"Eric likes small communities, so he was totally on board for moving to Chinook," Stepper said. "Besides, this is my home; my friends and family are here."

While her husband, who was planning a teaching career, did his student teaching at Harlem, the couple lived with Stepper's parents, Connie and Jess Murphy. During this early period of their married life, Stepper worked for the School of Education at MSU-Northern as a Program Assistant; helping pre-service teachers secure their background checks and organizing student teaching placements in the local schools. Stepper had performed similar work for the education department at UM-Western, so this was familiar employment.

When a position opened for an insurance agent at HUB International's Chinook office, which specializes in Farm/Ranch and Crop Insurance, Stepper applied and was hired. Because that business offers all lines of personal insurance, life and health, bonding and commercial property and casualty, Stepper spent ten years building her experience in insurance sales and service.

Early in 2017, when Thom MacLean-who then owned the State Farm office in Chinook-wanted to relocate and sell the office, he thought of Stepper. Although she was scared to take such a big risk, Stepper weighed the pros and the cons and decided to take the plunge of business ownership. Her employment with State Farm began in February that year, and during that time she had to complete an internship in Phoenix for five weeks.

"The expectation was that I would spend a week in Phoenix and alternating weeks at home. I remember not only being scared but wondering-how could I go to Phoenix and leave my children behind? I could not have done any of that without the support of my husband and parents who stepped in to help with childcare," Stepper said.

By that time, the Steppers had two children, Tyler, who is now eight years old and a third grader at Meadowlark Elementary School; and Ryan, who is currently five years old and enrolled in kindergarten.

According to Stepper, the State Farm Corporation requires its agents to complete an internship in one of four locations across the country. Stepper was assigned to Phoenix with twelve other potential agents, some from Georgia, Texas, and Florida.

"Because we were a small class, we formed a bond and still stay in contact. Today, they're part of my network of corporate connections," Stepper reported.

In July of 2017, Stepper's purchase of the State Farm Agency in Chinook went through. "But it wasn't really final," Stepper recalls. "That first year was really stressful because I was working as a temporary agent. I owned the office, but the corporation still had a lot of say on whether they would terminate or close my office."

That decision was dependent on Stepper's meeting certain sales-based expectations. Stepper described that probationary period as a difficult year because she had purchased an office that already had a local customer base. Consequently, she was marketing outside the area.

"It was actually the health insurance that saved us," Stepper remembers. "Because Thom hadn't been selling health insurance, I was able to offer that service, which brought up sales numbers and enabled me to keep the contract with State Farm."

The insurance industry wasn't Stepper's first career choice, however. Initially, Stepper dreamed of a career in real estate. While she was in college, though, she had to do a report, which involved an interview of Roxanne (Tilleman) Engellant, a 1987 graduate of Chinook High School who was working for Western States insurance in Dillon at the time. From that experience, Stepper recalls being intrigued.

"Once I got into insurance, I felt like I was helping people, so I kept doing the work," Stepper said.

Besides the gratitude which she extends to her husband and her parents, Stepper credits her employees during that first year. "Tami Stamper and Karla Neibauer were both here in the beginning, and they were key to helping me build a customer base. Now I have Emilee Unruh, who is licensed in auto and fire and is working on her license for life and health insurance. Having exceptional staff makes a huge difference," Stepper reported.

In fact, Stepper named supervision of employees as the aspect of a business that poses the greatest challenge. "Staff are the first face of a business that the customer sees, so these people are a valuable asset. And in a small town, holding on to staff and being able to provide benefits are hurdles. Another hurdle in the insurance industry is passing both the licensing test and a background check," she remarked.

Other challenges have come in the way of surprises. "The biggest change for me was becoming the primary decision-maker. As a business owner, I have to live with the consequences of every decision I make," Stepper laughed.

But she was quick to add that owning her own business also means having the freedom to make those decisions. Now, Stepper is a mother of three; eighteen months ago, Addilyn joined the family.

"Owning a new business and having a new baby-now that's stress," Stepper exclaimed. "But after my baby was born, I was able to keep Addy in the office with me, and taking your baby to work isn't an option in many jobs."

Business ownership has enabled Stepper to juggle her personal and professional life and to take time off when she needs to in meeting the demands of family. She describes life as a lot easier now that she is past the stressful parts of establishing a business. "It was stressful at first, but it turned out to be so rewarding. I'd call it the best decision I ever made. Now I can enjoy the freedom and flexibility of scheduling daily activities and setting my own income," Stepper added.

Moving forward, she hopes to grow her business to the point where it can support more staff. In the meantime, she is committed to helping young people learn about insurance. For the past two years, she has been a guest speaker at Chinook High School in the English 10 classroom.

To keep sophomores engaged during the final days of the school year and to close learning gaps as students grow towards career, college, and community readiness, Mrs. Julie Terry presents a unit called "Fifty Things I Didn't Learn in High School." The students choose topics from a list of fifty options, and Terry invites guest speakers in to present on those topics.

During her presentation this past spring, Stepper described the protections needed when life demands that a person makes adjustments to changing circumstances-whether those involve the birth of a child, receiving a speeding ticket, or getting sued. She was assisted by employee Emilee Unruh in educating and engaging students on the topic of adequate insurance.

The sophomores' response to the series was positive, and they reported favoring the State Farm presentation because it involved games, role-playing scenarios, and a little red car complete with bumper stickers designed and constructed by Unruh.

"We played a game like Monopoly, where things would happen to the students based on cards that they drew, and at the end, they had to calculate their money based on coverages and perils and tickets. It was a good way for them to understand that their decisions have consequences and for them to learn the value of having insurance," Stepper said.

To others thinking about business ownership, Stepper offers this advice: "Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. The change that comes from risk can be intimidating, but it is also rewarding."