- November 1, 2024
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As a teenager, Giselle Rattis would find unwanted furniture on the side of the road or at thrift stores, paint it and give it a new purpose. “My mom would come home one day, and her whole living room would be torn apart because I had redone everything,” she says.
She always dreamed of owning her own company to help others make things more beautiful. And that dream is what’s kept her going on a path with so many ups and downs that someone less determined would have given up a long time ago. But Rattis and her husband, Ricardo, have persevered, and their company, G&R Construction Group, now has an impressive new showroom space in Fort Myers from which to embark on the next chapter of their mid-six figure construction, remodeling and interior design business.
“I think that this is truly the beginning of a new phase, not just business-wise or financially, but for us as a family and for us as a couple,” says Rattis, 44. “It’s a new chance that we’ve got to prove to ourselves that we are stronger than we thought we were, that we can accomplish more, and that we are capable.”
The two met when Rattis took a trip back to her native Brazil. They returned together to Fort Myers, where Rattis worked in the construction industry as an office manager, estimator and project manager. Ricardo, also 44, started working in the field as well, and in 2015 they decided they wanted to work for themselves instead of for others.
Giselle started calling around to find small jobs for Ricardo, and soon they had three backsplash projects. Ricardo couldn’t speak English, and they devised a system where he’d put one headphone in his ear, leave the other dangling, and then call Rattis, who helped him communicate with clients. One early client in Bonita Springs was impressed enough with the couple and the quality of their work that she recommended them to her neighbors. Rattis says she’s the reason why the business is where it is today.
“We did about nine or 10 jobs inside her community because of her referral,” she says. “And we now have about 300 clients that I say came from her, because of the fact that we’ve never done any paid advertisements. It’s always been referrals, and it goes back to her.
“We’re always going to be thankful to her, because she had the patience,” Rattis continues. “We had the desire, but she had the patience. And she saw in my husband a potential that we didn’t know he had.”
Their business started to grow as they worked on their own projects and as a subcontractor for others. They brought in about $11,000 in income the first year, $97,000 the second year, around $200,000 the third year and almost $500,000 annually before the pandemic hit.
And then business fell significantly: The company went from doing 30 to 40 installs a month to two or three.
The couple didn’t take out any loans or take advantage of any federal programs. “We got scared,” says Rattis. “We didn’t know what was going to happen.”
But the experience convinced them to fully go out on their own and not work as subs anymore. So they picked up the phone and started letting people know. Everyone being stuck at home during the early days of the pandemic actually worked to their benefit. People decided they wanted a home office or an outdoor kitchen. They were taking a good look at their floors and realized it was time for an upgrade.
“Anything that we could do, we would just offer to people,” says Rattis. “It took a little while to catch on, but it finally did.”
They were successful enough to get a warehouse on Metro Parkway, from which they operated for almost a year and a half. And then came Hurricane Ian.
The roof of the warehouse collapsed during the storm, which made landfall in Lee County Sept. 28, 2022, and their home was destroyed beyond repair. Rattis seriously questioned whether she wanted to start over. She considered going to Massachusetts, where she’d lived for many years previously. But a longtime friend convinced her to think it over. And she’s glad she did.
“I started understanding that I could do it once again,” says Rattis. “I understood that if I were going through all of that, it was because I could handle it. Because God will never give me something that I can’t handle.
“I finally understood that when God gives you a dream, it’s because it’s going to be yours, no matter how long it takes,” she continues. “And I needed to prove to myself that I can overcome anything. If I had run away, I would have never overcome anything.”
That refreshed determination led to the new Fort Myers showroom for G&R Construction Group. They got the keys at the end of March 2023 and worked on it during the evenings and weekends while doing jobs during the day to bring in income. They did everything they could do themselves.
“We didn’t have any more money,” says Rattis. “We had to start over; we had to buy another house…That’s why it took us from March of last year to June of this year to finally open, because we were limited in funds.”
One person not surprised with Rattis’ persistence and ability to rebuild is Marilyn Santiago, a partner with Creative Architectural Resin Products in Fort Myers. The pair met several years ago at a meeting for Southwest Florida women construction executives. Santiago has stayed close with Rattis and watched her company grow, shrink and grow again. “They attest to good quality and a good product, and when you start with that, word of mouth runs fast,” Santiago says. “The other thing is that when (Giselle) gets knocked down, she dusts herself off and just keeps on going.”
Now that they’re welcoming clients into the new space, the future looks bright. The company takes on anywhere from seven to 15 smaller-scale jobs each month, and then has about three to four bigger renovation jobs that can take several months at a time. The business surpassed $500,000 in income through September; has two part-time office employees and about 15 subs; and works throughout Lee County and in other parts of the state.
They’ve been intentional with the suppliers and partners they work with, taking a narrow focus to differentiate themselves. Vendors include Finger Design Cabinetry out of Brazil, and clients can come to the showroom to actually see and touch samples as well as examples of kitchen, bath and closet designs.
“We chose to go with certain vendors and a certain quality,” says Rattis. “We were very specific with the type of people that we wanted to partner with. Before, we were like everybody else out there. Even though we had quality and we had good customer service, we needed more. We needed to stand out.”
G&R Construction Group is working on a marketing strategy for the first time in its history to let potential clients know about all the new developments. “For a very long time, we were known as the couple that would come to your house and redo your floors and your kitchen backsplash, and that was it,” says Rattis. “Not many people know that we have all of this to offer. So we are working on a marketing strategy now to put our names out there in a different way.”
And this might be just the beginning. Rattis hopes to bring the business to Massachusetts, in partnership with her longtime friend in the area. A location in Brazil is also a possibility further down the road.
“We need to make sure that this is good,” says Rattis. “But we do want to multiply.”
