Not only is she succeeding in a traditionally male-dominated industry, but she launched a construction management business during a time when most people would not have dared to take the plunge. But Mina Fies is anything but "most people" and her company is certainly not run-of-the-mill.
Her website is clean, easy-to-navigate, and beautifully done. Her site is a wonderful example of "less is more." Too many websites offer so much information it turns potential customers away. Fies' Synergy D&C site invites you in with its simplicity.
Fies offers her clients flexible options and a variety of services that take the hassle out of renovations for homeowners. Few men can really appreciate the trauma of having a kitchen torn apart for three weeks but Fies does. Her service options consider the inconvenience renovations cause homeowners.
Be sure to read Mina Fies personal story as well. It will inspire you as much as her business ambitions and give a more intimate look into why she is so successful - and daring.
Like many women entrepreneurs, Ms. Fies suffered measurable hardships in life but refused to become a victim. Her business savvy combined with her ability to see outside the business box will surely propel her company on to even greater success.
About Synergy Design & Construction
Contact Information
Mina Fies, Founder and CEO, Synergy Design & Construction, Inc. (trade name Synergy D&C), 1900 Campus Commons Drive, Suite 100, Reston, VA 20191. Website: www.synergydandc.com; Phone: 703-419-0991.
Synergy D&C provides the following services, offering tremendous flexibility to clients in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.:
- Complete Home Renovations
- Condominium Renovations
- Finished Basements
- Custom Homes
- Additions
- Kitchens
- Baths
An Innovative CEO Sees the Recession as an Opportunity
Mina Fies launched her design, bid and construction management business on January 6, 2009, offering to manage home improvement projects for harried homeowners. Mina saw a depressed housing market as a good time for people to make home improvements – to fix up rather than to move up and to make their home more marketable when the economy improves.
Finding a Niche
Mina, who had worked in the design and construction industry for several years and dealt with hundreds of homeowners, began to see a pattern of frustration over the remodeling process. “In fact, a ‘process’ is exactly what was missing,” she says.
She put together the processes, checklists and a starting team of three (herself, her husband and a designer) and incorporated her remodeling business in September 2008. Their services include architectural design, bid solicitation and construction management for home remodeling. She chose the name Synergy because of its meaning: working together – where the final outcome of a system is greater than the sum of its parts. That’s exactly what she and her team are dedicated to providing their customers.
How Mina's Company Separates Itself From Her Competition
Mina explains how her system differs from the traditional model:
"When people get ready to remodel their homes, they usually call three or four different contractors. For the remodeling of a master bathroom, a homeowner may receive bids ranging from $40,000 to $85,000. Each contractor has his own version of the project and presents a bid with allowances for details such as cabinetry, tile and lighting fixtures. Leaving these details unspecified until after the bidding process makes it impossible to make an apples-to-apples comparison of the contractors. In addition, leaving details unspecified can cause delays and become a very time-and-money-consuming process. The homeowner is often confused and frustrated."
“At Synergy D&C, we do the design work first, down to the smallest detail,” says Mina. “Then we bid out the project and help the homeowner select the best contractor for their type of job.” After the homeowner chooses the contractor, Synergy D&C remains an advocate for the homeowner until the project is successfully completed.
