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Would you walk out of a chief financial officer job rather than engage yourself in underhanded dealings?

While working as CFO for a medical company, Harold Parker’s superior demanded the company be sold at any cost. Rather than submit to what he describes as an “Enron-like” situation, Parker instead chose to leave the job. He spent the next year at home formulating a business plan for something he’s always been passionate about: automotives.

Parker self-financed his startup by cashing in Microsoft stock. With this money, he started to build Pick Ups Plus in 2001 “from ground zero.” After just seven years, the shop now does $1.5 million in gross annual sales and has become a leading restyling shop in the Houston area.

“Once people realized our customer service, we built up business through referrals. Most businesses fail within the first year. Two others that started up after me failed,” Parker says. “If you’re going to get into this business, you need to be prepared to finance it out-of-pocket and carry a big wad of cash.”

Though Parker would have liked for his 19,000-square-foot business to have a location directly on the freeway, such land was not available when he first got started. Ultimately, he purchased a lot three blocks off the freeway, and despite being off the main drag, Parker says new customers have no trouble finding the restyling shop.

In order to draw in customers, Pick Ups Plus’ facility has a 2,600-square-foot showroom backed by an additional 6,200 square feet for installs and spraying. The company’s four service bays can accommodate up to five vehicles each and Parker says he has had up to 12 trucks in the bays at one time. The outside features an additional 10,000 square feet for inventory storage.

“The other places around here are all in 10- x 10-foot boxes that they call a showroom,” Parker says.