TEENS START OWN COMPANY

DEXTER, Mo. -- It all started with a dream to build the perfect computer system. Although the dream has not become a reality, the idea has firmly taken hold. Not yet old enough to legally drink, teens Brandon Campbell and Adam South have started their own computer business in Dexter.

Campbell and South, both 19, officially opened the doors of Pro Computing Tuesday, but they began receiving calls before the paint had even dried on their office walls.

The two business owners say they have been working on computers since they were 13 and video games before that. They first started talking six months ago about the idea of building the perfect computer and decided that while they were trying they might as well make money at it. Campbell's father, Wayne, took out a loan for the two and the process began.

"I believe in them, they do good work," said Wayne Campbell.

They have one employee, Dustin Williams, 17, who is the technician.

South, Campbell and Williams all have network certification from various technical schools in the area. One is even Microsoft certified.

"For several years, we have worked on computers for our friends and family, so we decided to go into business," said South.

The owners graduated from area high schools, South from Dexter and Campbell from Bloomfield.

Williams will graduate from Bloomfield next year.

The three say they have been interested in computers from an early age.

"I first became interested when I was 4," said Williams. "It fascinates me that you can take a small chip and make it do the same thing a human brain can do." When asked if they thought people would take them seriously considering their age, Campbell replied, "We knew that that would be a barrier in the beginning, but we decided to do it anyway. We have the knowledge and experience to do the job."

The guys sometimes reminisce about their first video game experience.

"My first video game I ever played was PAC Man," said South.

"Mine was Pong," said Williamson.

"I had an Atari," said Campbell. "My first computer was a 40 x2 Gateway with only 4 mgs of RAM. That is pretty small."

All three guys live with their parents and help look out for their siblings. They say they would eventually like to see a Pro Computing Store in every town in Southeast Missouri.

"We grew up like normal guys. We played in the dirt, we went to school. Little did we know we would own our own business someday," said South.