HOUSTON \u2013 After years of helping other people get their start in their trades, the owner of a local contracting company is getting support to take her business to the next level. <\/p>\n
Sandra Lopez, owner of City-Wide General Contractors, has spent more than 20 years renovating apartment complexes across Houston. Along the way, she has focused on hiring single mothers and workers looking for experience in the skilled trades.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw you could make decent money getting dirty,\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told, \u2018Sandra, don\u2019t do it. This is a man\u2019s job.\u2019 \u2026 And I said, don\u2019t tell me I can\u2019t do that. I will do it,\u201d added Lopez. <\/p>\n
In a male-dominated construction industry, Lopez built her company from the ground up. Today, her work continues to improve apartment communities throughout the Houston area. And her efforts recently got a boost. <\/p>\n
LiftFund, a nonprofit that provides loans to small businesses often overlooked by traditional banks, awarded Lopez a $160,000 low-interest loan to help expand her operations.<\/p>\n
LiftFund, a non-profit organization, helps small businesses with grants and low-interest loans (KPRC2)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was like a run-down property and I bought it and I said I will make it better,\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n
LiftFund leaders say supporting small business owners like Lopez is key to their mission of expanding economic opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy us helping Sandra, it helps us accomplish our goals on what we want to do for other folks,\u201d said Dahlia Garcia, Senior Vice President of Lending at LiftFund.<\/p>\n
Garcia said Lopez\u2019s success can also encourage more investment in underserved entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want those folks to come in and say, \u2018How did you help Sandra?\u2019 And we want to do the same thing,\u201d said Garcia. <\/p>\n
With new funding and a larger space, Lopez is focused on growing her business\u2014and continuing to open doors for others in Houston\u2019s workforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t stop,\u201d she said. \u201cJust because someone says it\u2019s impossible\u2014it\u2019s possible. You can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Lopez, the goal is simple: build more than properties\u2014build opportunity. <\/p>\n