When Fate Came Knocking
Houston-based Botello Family Answered Door, Ran with Opportunity
Sometimes fate knocks at your door. That, indeed, was the case for Eleazar Botello. In 2006, Eleazar was at home in Houston with his parents when a framing contractor pulled his truck into their driveway and knocked on their door, looking for a concrete contractor. The framer was working on a new home construction and was seeking out other trades to join him on the job.
The man he was seeking had moved away, but Eleazar and his parents invited the framer into their home. Eleazar was still in college at the time, but his two older brothers, Eden and Jose, were working in concrete construction. Eleazar knew his brothers dreamed of opening their own business, and he recognized this rare opportunity. Eleazar looked at the framer’s drawings for the house and found himself offering to help. And the idea that became Botello Builders Corporation, a Houston-based concrete services business, was born.
“I had no idea what I was getting into,” says Eleazar, who still remembers the chance meeting with a sense of wonder. His brothers had no project management experience. Eleazar had no construction experience at all. They didn’t have an established business, much less any savings or credit to buy equipment or materials.
Nevertheless, the brothers met with the general contractor two days later, and Eleazar landed them the job. The brothers were hired to pour the driveway, the building slab and all other concrete components of the house.
Fate Strikes Again
Eleazar’s brothers took time off work to start the job. When he wasn’t in class at the University of Houston, Eleazar worked part time, laboring on site, transporting materials and coordinating with the general contractor. The family bought concrete using personal credit cards, and when it came time to pour the concrete slab, all three brothers worked on site.
Then, fate struck again. As the brothers were working a job, a neighbor stopped by for a visit. The man happened to be from Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas, the tiny Mexican border town that the Botello family is from. The brothers shared their story. The neighbor from Miguel Alemán was impressed with their tenacity and wanted to help the brothers. He offered to introduce them to his son, a lawyer who soon helped them to establish their formal business. By February 2007, Botello Builders Corporation was up and running.
From the Ground Up
Today, Botello Builders provides turnkey concrete services for the metropolitan Houston area. The company’s services include self-performing foundation pours, piers, tilt-up walls, slabs on metal deck, pavements, sidewalks, retaining walls, curbs, light pole bases, concrete for detention ponds and decorative concrete, as well as concrete demolition.
In their first year, the Botello brothers worked solely on residential projects. But when the Great Recession hit at the end of 2007, they decided to take on commercial projects, including jobs for government, educational, religious, retail and hospitality clients. The company is now hired by multiple general contractors to complete concrete services for a wide range of projects. Recent and current projects include the Texas State Veterans Homes for Kitchell; Bellaire Police Department and City Hall for Christensen Building Group, LLC and Horizon Group International; and the Holocaust Museum Houston expansion for McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
As Botello Builders’ client base and project list have grown, so has the team. The Botello brothers currently oversee a group of 150 employees in the office and in the field.
Secrets of Success
Reflecting over the past decade, Eleazar names three secrets to the company’s success. He says that while fate played a significant role in the inception of the company, the three brothers thrived because of discipline, cooperation and dedication.
“We’ve invested a lot into the business,” Eleazar says. “It’s hard work, but the real word is discipline. In the first few years, we really put hours and hours into trying to grow the business; that effort paid off and the company grew.”
These days, each of the three brothers has a distinct area of the business that they manage. That clarity allows the three to cooperate efficiently. Eleazar is in charge of the administrative, financial and communication aspects of the business, working closely with the company’s project managers and superintendents. Jose is in charge of all concrete pours, and Eden leads all of the prep work and planning of each project.
The brothers are dedicated to each of their roles, and they take a hands-on approach to everything they do.
“That’s really helped with the success that we’ve had,” Eleazar says. “Other people might delegate most stuff to managers. It’s been 11 years, and we continue to be really involved in the company. Our clients know we’re going to take care of them.”