Summer 2019 Alameda County Contractor Report Summer 2019 | Page 11

While going after his business, architectural and real estate licenses, James has paid off small debts and is building reserves to be able to secure financing for larger projects. “The bigger you grow, the more funds you need in order to obtain the required bonding and insurance, as well as being able to float your expenses until you get paid.” he says, “I have been exploring all avenues of financial backing, including the possibility of teaming up with another contractor on a joint venture.”

James has also found it tremendously helpful to have mentors who are contractors with already well-established businesses. “They are self-confident enough to come from a place of abundance, knowing that there is plenty of work to go around,” he reflects, “They’ve shared their wisdom, guidance and have even sent some projects my way, giving me a chance to prove what I can do.”

Through Alameda County’s Contractor Bonding Assistance Program, James learned about the County’s Healthy Homes Program, which pairs local contractors with senior and disabled

homeowners who’ve been approved for financial assistance in getting health and safety-related home repairs. After connecting with Healthy Homes staff members Timothee Lavender and April Williamson, SUPERConstructors has completed about 20 home repair and renovation projects to-date, ranging from $800 to $4,700 in cost. James expresses how fulfilling these Healthy Home projects are to work on, describing one example, “An elderly woman living in a mobile home needed new stairs. My architectural knowledge allowed me to design to code, then build two sets of stairs that were easier for her to navigate.” Along with gaining safer access, the homeowner’s attractive new stairs garnered appreciative responses from her neighbors and James was awarded two additional contracts to build similar staircases.

SUPERConstructors recently completed an $18,000 project found through a construction “app,” which involved getting building permits to complete a variety of home repairs, including rebuilding an entire deck.

Residential stairs for elderly homeowner, designed and built by SUPERConstructors, Inc.

(Continued next page)