CLIENT NAME: Norma Irene Garza
BUSINESS NAME: G&F Post Tension, Inc.
BUSINESS LOCATION: 913 Baker St., McKinney, TX 75069
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION: Post-tensioning materials for new residential or commercial foundations.
After working for 8 years in the construction industry, the recession hit and the company Norma Garza used to work for sold their business, leaving all the employees without jobs. Luckily, Norma did have the opportunity to work for the company that bought her previous company, but when she attended the initial meeting, something told her she did not belong there.
Coincidentally, a former customer called and wanted to place an order. When he found out she no longer worked for the company he told her; “Norma, I’ll follow you wherever you go but why don’t you start your own business”? The idea was always there but she was skeptical (especially during a recession) and tried to realistically weigh her options. After much prayer, she decided to start her own company, G&F Post Tension. Her company sells post-tensioning materials to concrete contractors, builders, and subcontractors for use in residential or commercial foundations.
Now, Norma handles all the day-to-day operations, making sure all the customers are taken care of and ensures her subcontractors have their work scheduled. She also oversees all the financial aspects of the business. Her company started small and has grown exponentially. They are also community-centered and have helped concrete contractors working on Habitat for Humanity homes, by selling their product at a fraction of the cost.
She is very proud to be a minority in her industry, not only as a female-owned construction business but more importantly a female-Hispanic-owned construction business. Norma feels pride and respect, being a woman in an industry that is currently dominated by men.
Due to the pandemic, she was searching for additional resources such as loans/grants in order to avoid
the possibility of losing her business. The business suffered, but thankfully not as much as she feared it would, due to help from the WBC. The loan she received from the SBA gave her a huge sense of relief.
Norma was very thankful and encouraged by LiftFund’s guidance from Nataly Mojica. Realizing that she is not alone, she recognized that so many other small business owners are praying and working hard to make the American Dream a reality.
In the future, she dreams about having her own shop locally to fabricate materials instead of buying them from a vendor to resell them. Her own shop would open up opportunities to employ more people.
Norma’s advice to anyone attempting to start a business would be, “pray about it first and have a vision of what you see the business being in the future. If you are passionate about it, always try your hardest and don’t give up your dream.”
