By Erin Sund
Traffic. High taxes. Expensive land. Tough competition. These are among the many challenges of doing business in an urban market. For some distributors, it just isn’t a good fit. For others, finding the right niche equals success, regardless of the size of the market.
Such is the case with Able Auto & Truck Parts, owned by Steve Garcia. Based in Plano, Texas, a bustling northern suburb of Dallas, Able Auto & Truck Parts has taken advantage of its urban environment.
In fact, after 16 years in business, Garcia says he can’t imagine being in any other location.
“People thought I was crazy for picking an area like [Plano],” says Garcia. “It costs a lot to be in the area, but it is a nucleus – it’s where the work is. Sometimes you have to pay a lot to be where the action is, but you get what you pay for.”
Despite the warnings of others, Garcia listened to his intuition and opened Able Auto & Truck Parts on May 1, 1993. “When I was 32, I put everything on the line to start my own company and I accomplished it. I did $18 worth of business on the first day,” he says. “I was scared to death, but I stayed open and took things day by day.”
Prior to opening Able Auto & Truck Parts, which specializes in A/C hoses and brakes, Garcia spent a decade learning the truck parts business under the valuable tutelage of his former boss. He is thankful that he was put into a situation where he was forced to learn about truck parts.
