Today we’d like to introduce you to James Ferguson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us James. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In 1964, myself, my father, grandmother, and my two brothers made a trip to the Texas Pythian Home (an orphanage) in Weatherford, Texas. My father and grandmother left us there but told us they would be back for us soon. They came to visit us here and there, but the eventually the visits stopped altogether and at the ripe age of 15, I realized this was to be my home for good. Over the next 3 years, the Pythian home taught me the value of hard work and not to take anything for granted. When I turned 18 I had to leave the home and having no family to return to, I lived with friends and worked 2-3 jobs at a time, until I made enough money to get my own apartment. Fast forward a couple of years, I landed a job as a trim carpenter and realized that this was something I really enjoyed and I was good at it. I learned as much as I could, and I always made sure I was one of the first people on the job site and the last to leave, because I believed it was important that type of person that others could count on, as I knew how it felt to not have anyone to count on. From there I obtained my GC license and worked in residential housing. There were a lot of growing pains in the beginning and I ended up losing money during my first venture, but I was not a quitter and I was firm believer that it would turn around. Sure enough a couple of weeks later after experiencing a financial setback, I received a call from a project manager at a large commercial construction firm asking me to bid a large project. I knew very little at the time about commercial construction but this opportunity was my saving grace and I went for it. I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and scraped together all the money I had and drove all night to Arizona to bid the project. Long story short, I won the bid and it was the start of where I am today. Today, Ferguson Construction is a thriving commercial construction company with over 50 projects under its belt and a staff of over 20 people.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to getting where we are today has not been exactly “smooth”, but I don’t regret anything and it has made me a big believer in never giving up. Some of the struggles have included learning the businesses side of the business and dealing with unexpected situations that arise. I have never walked from a single job, my motto is that if we start it, we finish it. Additionally, having a company that does work all over the country means you spend a lot of time in airports and not at home. It was tough not being around my kids as they were growing up but my wife Lisa was a huge supporter and has always backed me in this venture; she is definitely one the reasons we have had such great success.
Ferguson Construction – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We primarily specialize in hotel renovations, from the interior to exterior. We have done work for the major brands, like Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, Starwood, and work for the smaller boutique independent hotels.
I think what sets up apart is that we are a family owned and operated company but we operate and work like a large corporation, we give very competitive pricing, we are very hands on, and our employees all share my motto “stay hungry and keep working hard”.
At the end of the day I am very proud of where I came from to where we ended up, I love what I do, we have made great connections and forged great friendships, and I am honored to be able to provide so many people with good jobs.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Being able to give back to others. Whether it is a donation to a charity or giving a worker on a job a pay advance because he had just started and was down to his last dollar, the ability to give back is the ultimate blessing.l; Contact Info:
- Website: http://fergusonconstructioninc.com
- Phone: 817-594-4198
Image Credit:
Ferguson Construction Inc.
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