After being an ironworker for many years, Maria Storms decided to step out on faith and start her own construction business, MVS Welding LLC in 2020.

When she began her business, she made sure to center her four values at its foundation —which she calls “the four F’s” — family, freedom, financials and paying it forward.

Storms credits the city’s Supplying Capital and Leveraging Education (SCALE) technical assistance program for small businesses in specific industries, for helping her get her business off the ground.

As a grant recipient, she was one of the small, minority- and women-owned businesses that received six months of industry-specific technical assistance and funding of up to $200,000.

The grant program funding was provided through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Storms shared more about why it is special for her to have started her own construction business — it’s the opportunity to choose with whom she works.

“I want more opportunit[ies] for people like me, for people in my community, who can relate [and] who really need it. A lot of the people that you see [in the field], they come from money or…from education and a lot of the people that need [these jobs] don’t have that access. I would like to be that pipeline, that relationship. …They can come to me and however I can help, that’s what I’ll do,” she said.

She shared some of the services that MVS Welding offers, which include commercial and residential ironworks, mixed metals, structural work and welding.

When asked what accomplishment she is most proud of, Storms said that she is just thankful her business is still going strong.

“So as a business…I will say, thank the Lord that I am still here, because we started in 2020. In 2020, nothing was really happening, and I was freestyling a lot of it. Just because [I’m] in the trades, and know that side and the work, I didn’t know the business side,” she said.

“Even being part of the SCALE grant, having that six months of technical assistance, that one-onone coach, that was huge. I know a lot more now, and I feel way more confident. So that was a huge accomplishment for us,” she added.

When Storms decided to open her business, her family members were her true supporters, especially her five children. However, she also had naysayers who did not believe in her vision and dream.

“When I second guess myself, I believe those naysayers, and I don’t look at myself, like ‘You know what? You’ve been in this. You can do this.’ Then who else am I going to look to? That’s what keeps me going. …I have to look at myself at the end of the day [and say to myself] ‘Maria, you said you were going to do this. Why’d you let them talk you out of it? Why don’t you think you’re good enough?’ No, I have to put all of that aside and keep it moving,” she said.

Storms spoke of some of the obstacles she faced when opening her business, which included funding and not having the right relationships to help her secure construction jobs.

“You go for a job, you get a job, and they’re like, ‘Okay, have you done this?’ I’ll say, ‘Oh, I’ve done that, being an ironworker [and] as a tradeswoman, but I haven’t done it with MVS yet.’ They’re like, ‘Oh, well, we need to see this.’ A lot of it is like, ‘Okay, well, how do you… expect to see it?’ I just told you, we haven’t done that with [MVS], but I’m letting you know that I’ve done it in the past. I have the experience. So, that’s a big hurdle right there,” she said.

“Just the capital. …Thank God for that SCALE project, because we can receive up to $200,000. That’s a life changer. That’s a life changer that can help us get the supplies that we need to scale. Right now, we’re subbing out as far as steel. If we have this, we can get our own equipment and we can fabricate it ourselves, keeping things in house,” she said. “That amount of money for starters is huge.”

Storms gave her advice for Black and entrepreneurs of color who may want to follow her footsteps and open a business.

“It’s so cliche for somebody to say, ‘Believe in yourself.’ Being in the position that I’m in, when I tell you, it’s blood, sweat, tears and uncertainty. [Those] are the times, it’s like if you’re not going to do it, then who? Who’s going to do it? I can’t ask you, ‘Hey, this is what I want. This is what I’ve been thinking about my whole life. Can you do it for me?’ No… only I can do it the way that I want to see it, the outcome. So, I would just say to believe in yourself and don’t stop. …Don’t count yourself out,” she said.