Today we’d like to introduce you to Ronald Sturgeon.
Hi Ronald, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When Ron Sturgeon was a senior at Richland High, his father died. Ron inherited $2000 and a half-interest in a VW bug. His father’s death also left Ron and his twin brother homeless. Out of necessity, Ron taught himself how to fix the VW.
He quickly discovered that he could make more money buying, fixing, and reselling cars than stocking produce at a local grocery store. While still a student, with only the money he inherited, Ron started his first business, an auto-repair shop.
As his business grew, Ron stayed alert to opportunities. When he figured out that he was making more money from selling parts from his boneyard than from turning a wrench, Ron shifted from auto repair to auto salvage.
By specializing in parts for imported luxury vehicles, and by astutely harnessing technology to measure his marketing (Ron’s pioneering work in database-driven marketing was profiled in Inc.), Ron grew his auto salvage business from one employee to one of the largest in the U.S. before selling it to Ford Motor Company.
As a salvage yard owner, Ron was among the first to appreciate the opportunity presented by selling warranties on used parts and among the earliest to capture the productivity gains from implementing pay-for-performance compensation for dismantlers and drivers.
After selling his yard to Ford, Ron founded North Texas Insurance Auction funded by an oversubscribed private stock offering and then sold it to Copart (CPRT). Ron and three partners eventually repurchased Greenleaf, Ford’s auto-salvage division, executed a turnaround, and sold to Schnitzer Industries (SCHN).
An intrepid serial entrepreneur, in the years since, Ron has founded a car storage firm and a chain of salons and spas, as well as becoming a highly successful commercial real estate investor in Tarrant County, Texas. He currently has over 1,000 commercial tenants.
A popular keynote speaker and small business consultant, Ron is the author of 12 books for entrepreneurs, including Salvaging Millions from Your Small Business and Green Weenies and Due Diligence.
Ron and his fiancée, Linda Allen, live in a unique, three-story home they built from shipping containers in downtown Fort Worth. An avid car enthusiast and dog lover, Ron founded the DFW Elite Toy Museum, which gained national attention on American Pickers. The collection has since moved and expanded into the DFW Car and Toy Museum, where he showcases his 200+ cars and 3,000 vintage toys. The facility also houses Fort Worth Car Storage, a premium storage service for classic and specialty vehicles. Trip Advisor has ranked the museum the #1 of 328 things to do in Fort Worth, and Fort Worth Magazine chose it as the best family outing in Fort Worth. Admission is free, and the museum in just a few months has become the go-to place for car shows and events, welcoming over 1,000 guests on Saturdays, with about 10,000 visitors monthly. The toy museum was also featured on American Pickers.
The museum fancies itself as the newest most entertaining event venue in Fort Worth, and with over 100,000 square feet can accommodate 500+ guests, or smaller groups in its exclusive lounge area.
Ron recently established the Sturgeon Family Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, primarily to create awareness for alternate treatments of cancer.
In 2016, Ron received a lifetime achievement award from the Automotive Recyclers Association and recently appeared on CNBC’s popular Blue-Collar Millionaires. Ron has been a Fort Worth real estate investor for more than 30 years.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
setbacks finding employees and learning the busiensses
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
we specialize in renting space to small mom and pop businesses and automotive busiensses
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
no
Contact Info:
- Website: • www.SturgeonFamilyFoundation • www.DFWCarAndToymuseum.com • www.SalonAndSpaGalleria.com • www.MrMissionPossible.com • www.rdsRealEstate.com • www.BoxOfficeWarehouseSuites.com • www.BlueMound287SelfStorage.com • www.fortworthcarstorage.com • www.AutoSalvageConsultant.com • www.GettingtoYeswithYourBanker.com • www.SalvagingMillions.com • www.GreenWeenies.com • www.DFWEliteToyMuseum.com • www.SpoiledCavaliers.com • www.NationalAllianceforDogBreedingReform.com • www.MakeHaltomCityGreatAgain.com • www.FortWorthDesignDistrict.com • www.outwithcustomerservice.com • www.paddockplacecoworkingspace.com • www.peerbenchmarking.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rdsrealestate/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ron.sturgeon
Image Credits
none
