DETROIT, October 3, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Jan Berkowitz is a young entrepreneur who recently opened a concrete company in his hometown, Detroit. He graduated Lawrence Technological University in 2009, and he hopes that his experience will serve him well.
"When I was a child I always asked my parents to buy me new LEGOs. The mere fact that I could build something big from smaller parts was astonishing to my young self. My father was always employed in the building area of work, and my mother is an architect, so you could say that it runs in my family," said Mr. Berkowitz as he explains his love for construction.
To achieve his dream, Jan had to go through a lot of difficulties which he tells, "If it weren't for those hard times, I wouldn't be the man I am today. I come from a place where hard work was something you learned since the age of seven. My father used to take me to his work and help him with what I could: move some bricks or dig some pits for the trees. I never complained about it; I knew that it was the right thing and this is how I learned to be responsible. This is how I was able to keep my mind sane when I was in college. My parents couldn't help me that much as they had their own problems, so I had to work part-time to survive."
After he graduated, he had to save money in order to open his dream business. "There were times when I was ready to give up, but something told me that I have to keep chasing my dream. This is why I thank my parents for everything they taught me. I owe them everything I am today because I wouldn't be able to get through it all without their education and support. Detroit is a tough place, especially when you don't have many people around you."
Berkowitz's Colonial Concrete — as the name suggests — is Mr. Berkowitz's new concrete business. When we asked what advice he can give to people that want to start a business like his, Jan Berkowitz replied:
"Always start with insurance. You don't know how much that means; I had to understand it from people that made the mistake of not getting a good insurance. This is why you have to learn from others mistakes sometimes in order to succeed. Also, a portfolio of past work helps a lot. I had a mentor who lost a lot of jobs because he didn't have a website with reviews. You will not win any bid for anything if you don't have a proof of past work, I know that it is not fair, but this is how things work. If you know you are awful at concrete, don't even start it. You will get bad reviews online that will be visible, and people will see that you are not reliable. To fix that, before you are thinking about starting a business with concrete, earn experience with it as much as you can. I had to be a simple worker for a long time after I graduated, and it served me well. Some people get sued because they do an awful job and they don't even have an insurance."
But Mr. Berkowitz told us something that is more important than all of the previous advice: "Passion. Know that you really want it; There will be times when you will be one step closer to the edge when everything will fall on your back and you will have to look up. Never give up if you want to succeed, that's the only recipe I know."
Jan Berkowitz's company has three months of activity and it is already one of the most reliable concrete companies in the city.
Source: Web Presence, LLC
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