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In the nearly 30 years since Marsha Serlin started United Scrap Metal, a Cicero-based business, her life has come full circle.
A single mother, once $250,000 in debt with nothing but $200 in cash and a Sears credit card to her name, Serlin started the business in 1978 from nothing, against all odds.
Since she started as the buyer, processor and seller of recycled scrap metal as a way to pay her mortgage and support her two children, it has grown into a business that brought in about $142 million last year.
Serlin, 56, said she has met hundreds of other single mothers with similar goals who come to her for financial and emotional support.
“Now I get crying ladies calling me asking for money, but I never imagined it would get this far,” Serlin said. “All I was focused on was taking care of my kids and being a good citizen. Just supporting myself was enough for me.”
Serlin had no formal training in the scrap metal industry, but rather a background in horticulture. Previously working in gardening, she has always had a knack for making things grow — and that’s just what she did with her business.
“It wasn’t about the occupation, it was about the motivation,” Serlin said. “It turned out to be a nontraditional business to get into, but I would have been successful no matter what I did.”
Serlin said there were challenges along the way, however, including being a woman in a predominantly male-oriented industry. She has vivid memories from early in her career of being mocked by men she worked with for doing work like unloading trucks.
“Being a woman in a man’s business was tough,” she said. “The men thought they had a sacred and separate place, and couldn’t imagine why a woman would want to do this. But for me, it was no big deal.”
Marsha’s son, Brad, works as the president of United Scrap Metal now, while Marsha maintains an active role in leading the company as CEO, working on site almost every day, she said.
“From the beginning, she saw an opportunity in an industry that wasn’t really glamorous or attractive, and in a field that did not have a lot of females,” Brad Serlin said. “That mind-set and philosophy has stayed with us ever since: seeing opportunity in situations that many others might not gravitate to. We have a pretty good ability to make something out of nothing.”
In the nearly 30 years since Marsha Serlin started United Scrap Metal, a Cicero-based business, her life has come full circle.
A single mother, once $250,000 in debt with nothing but $200 in cash and a Sears credit card to her name, Serlin started the business in 1978 from nothing, against all odds.
Since she started as the buyer, processor and seller of recycled scrap metal as a way to pay her mortgage and support her two children, it has grown into a business that brought in about $142 million last year.
Serlin, 56, said she has met hundreds of other single mothers with similar goals who come to her for financial and emotional support.
“Now I get crying ladies calling me asking for money, but I never imagined it would get this far,” Serlin said. “All I was focused on was taking care of my kids and being a good citizen. Just supporting myself was enough for me.”
Serlin had no formal training in the scrap metal industry, but rather a background in horticulture. Previously working in gardening, she has always had a knack for making things grow — and that’s just what she did with her business.
“It wasn’t about the occupation, it was about the motivation,” Serlin said. “It turned out to be a nontraditional business to get into, but I would have been successful no matter what I did.”
Serlin said there were challenges along the way, however, including being a woman in a predominantly male-oriented industry. She has vivid memories from early in her career of being mocked by men she worked with for doing work like unloading trucks.
“Being a woman in a man’s business was tough,” she said. “The men thought they had a sacred and separate place, and couldn’t imagine why a woman would want to do this. But for me, it was no big deal.”
Marsha’s son, Brad, works as the president of United Scrap Metal now, while Marsha maintains an active role in leading the company as CEO, working on site almost every day, she said.
“From the beginning, she saw an opportunity in an industry that wasn’t really glamorous or attractive, and in a field that did not have a lot of females,” Brad Serlin said. “That mind-set and philosophy has stayed with us ever since: seeing opportunity in situations that many others might not gravitate to. We have a pretty good ability to make something out of nothing.”
The company started within a 6,000-square-foot building at 16th Street and Cicero Avenue but has expanded to cover more than 32 acres in the same area. Starting with just a handful of clients, the business now serves more than 3,000 customers nationwide, Serlin said.
“I made lots of mistakes that I can’t even remember, but I don’t like to worry about them,” Serlin said. “You just move on and try not to do it again. That’s how you learn.”
United Scrap Metal will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, and after all this time, she has no plans to retire any time soon.
“It’s been a great ride, but I think I’m still going to be here for a while,” she said.
