Before starting the Construction Skilled Training program at Triad Goodwill, MJ had pivoted from many years in cybersecurity and was doing home health work and caregiving in the evenings. She was trying to determine her next steps for her career and future when a contractor friend encouraged her to pursue further education. His clients had loved her design ideas and recommendations when she helped him out, and he encouraged her to look into design.
“I’m detail-oriented and have a good eye for design,” explains MJ. “I love making people laugh and feel happy in their own homes.”
MJ was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in the Bronx. As an adult, she moved throughout the country because she didn’t want to stay in the Bronx and feel limited. And when the market got tough for cybersecurity, she ended up relocating to the Triad.
Throughout the 8-week construction trade NCCER certification program, MJ felt supported towards her goals, especially by Mr. Epps, an instructor with our program partner Tiny House Community Development. She shared that she had a hard time with the math component and that Mr. Epps’ encouragement was really critical to help her succeed – she even hit up some neighbor kids to help tutor her. Mr. Epps helped her define the worth and value of her services for clients. He encouraged her to learn more soft skills and precise language towards the goal of building trust with clients and gaining confidence.
After she finished the class, she created her LLC…and it was crickets for months. She did more research and connected through the Thumbtack platform to market herself, build experience, and start getting reviews for her business. Now, she has a set of clients, hired two employees, and is continuing to build as an entrepreneur.
For MJ, she feels her success has been 25% effort, and the rest has been support from the class, Triad Goodwill, and Mr. Epps.
“Have patience with yourself. Be patient with yourself because everyone learns at a different pace. Just because someone might be better than you in some area, it just means that you learn differently!”
And through a generous FLEX tools donation from the Lowe’s Foundation, she also now has a brand-new power tool combo kit for her design company. She’s excited that she won’t have to borrow a drill from her friends anymore.
“I’m most excited about entrepreneurship. I’m exhausted, but I’m exhausted for ME.”
When asked what advice she would share to others considering entering the trades, MJ shared, “Ride in your car without music. Create space to listen to yourself to see what you really want to do. From there, you can figure out what path to take… to see what you really want deep down inside.”
