Jeffrey Mosher talks with Rod McCormick, Owner of one of SBDC Best Small Business  for 2018,Mid Michigan Upholstery & Awning of Alma, MI

Hello, my name is Rod McCormick 
In 1982 I started my own business working out of my garage in the back yard. As I continued to grow I started expanding on my trade with the addition of signs, banners, custom graphics, and our new cutting edge lightweight seam-less awnings. It has been almost a half a decade since starting my business and I have grown little by little, mostly by word of mouth. Which by the way I find is still the best form of advertisement! I launched my new awning business and incorporated it with my upholstery business; with this new endeavor and increasing demand I found it impossible to stay in my garage. With not enough manpower, or enough room, I took the next big step and moved my business into beautiful downtown Alma in August 2005. I hired a few more people, and have even joined the Gratiot Area Chamber of Commerce. Even though we haven’t been in that building very long, my name and reputation has reached out even farther to surrounding area.founder and owner Mid Michigan Upholstery & Awning. I’d like to take the time to tell you a little bit about myself and where I came from. First of all I just want to say that Upholstery is not just something I do for a living, it is a part of me. It has been a part of my life since I was born. Some say it was a genetic inheritance. What ever it is, I am certainly glad it happened to me.
It all started with my father who was highly skilled in the upholstery business, which passed the trade down to me. So at a young age I began learning this craft from him. I worked hard, and learned by trial and error. It was engrained into me that the customer satisfaction and quality is of top priority no matter what. My father inspected all my work, and if it wasn’t perfect, he made me rip it apart and start all over again. Some times I had to redo the project a few times before getting it right. Was it frustrating? Absolutely! BUT it is one of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned. I have passed that same knowledge, lessons, and love for upholstery on to not only my two boys, but my brother-in-law as well.
I look forward to each day coming to work, seeing my boys, chatting with long time customers, and creating new bonds. I don’t think there is many people in this world today that can say they truly love and live for their job, but I know I can and DO! I wouldn’t trade one day of it in! (Ok… maybe a couple of Mondays!) I would like to say it has been my pleasure servicing the Mid Michigan Area, and look forward to doing repeated business with many of you. I also welcome those of you who are coming to me for the first time, and thank you all for giving me the opportunity to service your needs.

Sincerely,

Rod McCormick

To Listen to their full interview please click on the embedded SoundCloud PodCast shared below!