Small business success story: Protecting a general contractor’s dream

There's a picture that they share on social media like where it says, "The road to success". and it's a torn-up road. There's no shortcuts. It's all about falling and getting back up and falling and getting back up 'til you fall again.

We like to take big projects. This project is target time of 90 days. We're skim coating the walls, new furnace and AC on each unit, new electrical. We're gonna sand and stain and polyurethane the floors. New doors, new windows, new bathrooms, new kitchen, gonna look real beautiful.

I'm Nathaniel Muhammad. I'm a Licensed General Contractor and my company is called Home Revolution, Inc. I'm born and raised on the South Side. I live on near 93rd and Jeffrey.

I started my business in 1995. I was 21 and I was hearing about the real estate and how you need to flip it. So I bought the ugliest house that I could, that was imaginable. And my father was so mad at me.

I learned what I needed to learn. I started working for several construction companies and I've been doing it ever since. I've had a policy with Insureon since 2018. And I've been rolling with you guys ever since.

Anything I needed, they were there fast. I still get offers from other insurance companies. And if I'm happy, who I'm with right now, then that's who I'm going to stay with.

You got to get insurance because you never know what happens. All of the customers you run into are not necessarily agreeable. And so some jobs you have to walk away from when you know you, you feel that they're being unfair with and try and get free work and not thinking they're not going to pay. So we had to walk away from a job on 82nd street and the customer filed a claim with Insureon.

But after Insureon examined everything, both sides, listened to both sides, they denied their claim. So I appreciated that.

I love what I do. When I first started it, I couldn't see that I would be here now at all. Knowing the trades and having learned everything.

I just said, I could work for myself and I didn't want to work a nine to five for the rest of my life. I wanted to be a business and for myself and the staff as well.

Never give up, work hard, believe that you're gonna make it. And you will.