GEMA Construction | Builders Story

My Story

Starting GEMA Construction was both a leap of faith and a necessity. With experience in construction from my home country and a drive to provide for my family, we faced the challenges of building a business in a new environment. The early days were tough—balancing fieldwork, paperwork, and the financial pressures of a growing company. But with the support of my family, especially my son Mauricio, we pushed through, learning and adapting as we went. Our journey has been about resilience, hard work, and the desire to create something lasting for our family and community.

Partnership with Builders Avenue

When we connected with Builders Avenue, everything changed. They didn’t just offer us support—they offered guidance, education, and a true partnership. Builders Avenue helped us get set up with QuickBooks Online and provided Mauricio with training on bookkeeping and job cost tracking. The Builders Avenue team introduced us to Elevate, a nonprofit that offers a line of credit for contractors, and helped us finalize the cash flow projections and other paperwork we needed to secure a loan approval. Their team was patient, supportive, and always willing to answer our questions. This partnership gave us the confidence and tools we needed to grow, and we are deeply grateful for their role in our success.

Our Shared Impact

Together, we’ve been able to do more than just improve our operations—we’ve built a strong foundation for the future. The support from Builders Avenue has allowed us to expand our success serving low-income households as a general contractor in programs such as Healthy Homes for Healthy Families and Green Homes through municipal partners including Elevate, Illinois Housing Development Authority, the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Housing Services. We’re proud of the positive impact we’ve had in our community and look forward to continuing this journey, knowing that with the right partners, anything is possible.