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The Rewards of Stepping Off the Fast Track Originally published in U Magazine Winter/Spring 2000 Daryl Martin cherished the idyllic summers of his childhood in southwestern North Dakota, but life led him elsewhere. Now he's found the path back home. Martin has returned to North Dakota, leaving behind a 66-mile commute and endless workdays in southern California. Now he can snuggle with his 1-year-old son every afternoon. A telephone call from his University of North Dakota roommate, David Fisher, lured him back to his home state. Fisher asked Martin to become his business partner in the formation of a new company. "We weighed and balanced all the factors," Martin says. In 1996, the Martin family moved to Dickinson, where Fisher-Martin Inc. custom designs and manufactures material handling equipment. Martin serves as chairman, chief executive officer and general counsel for the company. Nearby, the company's new facility rises from the prairie. Fisher-Martin Inc. will soon expand from 12,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet. It has grown from six employees in 1996 to 20 employees today. "If you're ever going to take the risk of starting a new business, it's probably best to do it when you're still relatively young," says the 38-year-old Martin. The move has meant a new life for Martin, his wife and their two sons. "My family life is much better than it ever was," Martin says. "The quality of life they have out here is as good if not better than in southern California." Martin now cherishes his slower-paced life style, the clean air, the low crime rate and his five-minute commute to work. "Is it more important to have five museums in a 10-mile radius or is it more important to have a safe environment in which to raise your kids?" he asks. As a corporate securities lawyer in Los Angeles, Martin found himself scrambling up the corporate ladder. "Everything is a lot more expensive in southern California and I was living at such a fast pace that I was really not enjoying my wife and my family," he says. "We both had very high-pressure, high-stress jobs.... At some point, you sit down and you say, "Why am I doing this? What am I accomplishing?" So, he stepped off the fast track. The couple found a home in Dickinson comparable to their house in California-at a third of the price. "All in all, it's been a good move," Martin says. Today, Martin often recruits employees, particularly salespeople and engineers, through the Careerlinknorth web site. "This is an invaluable site," Martin says. "This is where I would start." It could be the path home. U
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