Micro-business Owner
Falcon Builders and Developers, Inc
Fresno, CA
John Falcon spent 20 years and 6 months in the Air Force. While stationed in Las Vegas in the mid-1990’s, John and his wife Marina fixed up old houses. They took on three rehab projects on low income, section 8 housing. Providing safe homes to code to less fortunate families gave them great pride.
John’s Air Force experience included 10 years as a pavements maintenance specialist and equipment operator and 10 years in project management. He was deployed all over the world on humanitarian assignments that included hospital and school remodels in Haiti and new school construction in French Guyana. And for business know-how, he attended SBA training programs during his last assignment at Pope AFB. The Air Force clearly trained him to manage construction projects. So the move to federal construction contracting was a logical next step.
Using the GI Bill, he went back to school and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Management just before retiring from the Air Force in 2007.
He launched Falcon Builders and Developers, Inc. in 2007 with his wife and partner, Marina. Early on, John saw the potential in the lucrative (but incredibly competitive) arena of government contracting and decided to capitalize on the different designations his business qualified for as a disabled veteran owned business. John found the Central Valley Business Incubator/Small Business Development Center, whose Rich Mostert counseled John and provided technical assistance regarding certifications for government procurement. John attended every training session and networking event and built relationships with contracting officers.
Starting a business wasn’t easy, it took him seven months to get his first contract, which was a VA project and he “hasn’t looked back.” Because John developed a unique niche, his construction company weathered the recent economic crisis. Falcon Builders currently employs 10 people. Most recently he returned to CVBI/SBDC for a review of his five year strategic growth plan. The company has maintained revenue streams and is well positioned for future opportunities; and John is known as the “go-to” person on government contracting issues and is a leader in his local Disabled Veteran’s organization. Rich successfully nominated the company for the Regional Veteran-owned Business of the Year, an award that Falcon Builders now displays on the office wall.