Today we’d like to introduce you to Marissa Irakoze.
Hi Marissa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We started our company in 2020- originally, the intention was to do a few side projects and return back to working for other companies after the COVID-19 crisis subsided. However, very quickly we realized the need for honest tuckpointing contractors. Time after time we were hearing of customers facing contractors who either took payment without doing the work, or not doing the work up to industry standard.
Over time, we started adding systems to help organize clients, and put together our logo and our website, and before we knew it, it became a full company.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Like any small business, we had our fair share of struggles along the way, and still do! It is very much a learning process, and we are constantly finding flaws in our system and re-organizing things to make sure communication and employee satisfaction are priority.
In the beginning, trying to figure out how to staff our projects was a great challenge. Several times, it was just me (Marissa) and Cardin on the scaffolding laying bricks together, then running around to bids throughout the day with two very young kids in tow. We will forever look back to this time and appreciate the efforts we put into it because it helped lay the framework for the amazing team that works with us now.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are Irakoze Tuckpointing. We do brick-work and stone-work, and the occasional concrete job. We are known for our fair pricing, and high quality work. We also hear clients appreciate how hard our crews work and how respectful they are to home-owners.
We hope our company takes a burden off of everyone’s shoulders; for the clients to not have to worry about the job being done well, and for the employees to be able to feel appreciated, seen, and celebrated, and for our own children to be able to see a very unique side of business that involves caring for our community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
There are a lot of factors in life outside of our control, both good and bad; Cardin did not get to choose the country he was placed in as a refugee, we both worked low-paying jobs during our early years of marriage, neither one of us was college educated, and generally speaking it didn’t feel like a lot of our cards were stacked in our “favor”. However, Cardin’s family comes from a long line of survivors and hard-working people, and taking from their example, we decided to put our greatest efforts into whatever we did, even if it was not glamorous. The opportunity we have now feels like something we would have never dreamed in the past, but we are so grateful for what we have, and strive to cultivate it and make it beautiful!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.irakozetuckpointing.com
- Instagram: @irakoze.tuckpointing
