PIERRE MIDDLETON-BAEZ: NEW FOUND GROWTH CORPORATION
Images above: NFGC renovated a vacant building to create a physical therapy office( L), and Installed a plumbing condensate drain line and HVAC ceiling cassettes to five vacant units for the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.
learned about the City and County of San Francisco’ s Contractor Development Program( CDP) from Anders & Anders Foundation CEO, Terry Anders, who told him to reach out to Program Manager, Jennifer Elmore. Jennifer invited Pierre to workshops and events, introduced him to primes and he notes,“ cut in line to give my sales pitch for me when I was still shy about putting myself out there and networking. She showed me how to do it, encouraged me to follow up with them and gave me an idea of what to expect. Now, Jenn and I are thick as thieves – even if I can’ t make it to each class, I reach out to her on a regular basis for assistance and guidance. Knowing that she has my back has really helped build my confidence.”
In Pierre’ s experience, developing name
recognition is one of the biggest challenges and an important part of getting a foot in the door to be able to get jobs.“ As an employee, your work is assigned to you, but once you have your own business, you have to get out there and find work yourself. For me, a lot of it was trial and error, such as not using the email address I had when I was fourteen and not spelling out my entire business name as my email address. It’ s getting a little more polished and learning how to stand out.”
Instead of holding back, Pierre now takes every opportunity to meet people, tell him what he does and get his name out there.“ No one knows what you do until you talk to them, and I also make a point of asking lots of questions. If I am working a job, I will track down the source of each contract. It’ s
SUMMER 2025 CONTRACTOR TOOLS- 25