Today we’d like to introduce you to Sue Martin.
Sue was born in Taiwan to a family of farmers where she learned her hard work ethics. Sue moved to the United States in 1984 with her husband and children. In 1990 she got started in the upholstery business with her husband’s 1968 Grand Torino. She and her friend reupholstered it in her garage.
From there, she had a business opportunity to purchase an existing upholstery company, going bankrupt, in a 1000 square feet garage in Dallas, Texas. She purchased it for $4,500 and ASM Auto Upholstery was born. For years she worked day in and day out, sometimes working 24 hours a day, for 3 to 4 days in a row.
Practically living at the shop, sleeping in shifts, 100 percent committed to making deadlines, in an attempt to gain the reputation of dependability and quality. After a few years of work, having gained many loyal customers, ASM grew by renting an additional 1000 square feet of the adjoining slip next door. Eventually, she expanded by moving across the street and leased 2000 square feet of a building, with a parking lot.
3 years later she purchased the entire complex, 8800 square feet, which is where ASM remains today.
Having gained the reputation for top quality work and unfailing customer service, at the most competitive pricing, ASM is the premier upholstery company in the D/FW Metroplex. With their restoration experience, having boosted them to the top tier of upholsterers, they are now getting restoration shipments from across the country. Sue is an example of the true American dream.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have been struggles. Different customers wanting something for nothing. One particular gentleman, I can recall sued us and loss of course but he will a struggle dealing with him in and out of court. We later found out that this is what he did for a living.
He found a small business owner that fit his criteria then threaten to sue them. After the last day in court, we also found out he was on the Do Not Sue list in the District and County Court system. How he slipped through the crack with us still remain unknown.
ASM Auto Upholstery – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We do just about any type of upholstery work from Ferrari seat covers, Lamborghini dash covers, boats, airplanes, restaurant furniture and home furniture.
We are most proud as a company that we give back to the community. We sponsor car show which donates proceeds to many different charities.
What sets us apart from other upholstery companies is our turn around time frame. In general, we have customers drop their vehicles off between 8-9 am and pick up between 4-6 pm the same day. We have honed our turn around to be as efficient as possible.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success as making my customers happy. At the end of the day, I want customers to be impressed with my workmanship, cost, and total experience. Though I have been in the industry for over 27 years, most of my business was through word of mouth.
Pricing:
- We mainly deal with cloth, vinyl or leather, Cloth is sold by the yard and it varies from $29.95 a yard to $179.99 a yard so depending on how much material is need and what need to be done determines the price.
Contact Info:
- Address: 11511 Reeder Rd.
Dallas, Texas 75229 - Website: www.asmautoupholstery.com
- Phone: 972-406-8130
- Email: sue@asmautoupholstery.com
- Facebook: ASM Auto Upholstery
- Twitter: Asm Auto Upholstery
- Yelp: ASM Auto Upholstery
Image Credit:
Dream Machines
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