An experienced site manager who launched his own construction business during lockdown is one step closer to his dream of becoming his "own boss."
Iky Arishad took on the Altar Construction Midlands franchise in May last year when work came to a halt at building sites across the 海角视频 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now the 30-year-old is juggling his full-time job with his new venture in the hope of one day becoming his "own boss."
Iky, who lives in Stoke-on-Trent, said: "I have been in the industry for about 10 years now. I came into management straight from studying construction at Nottingham Trent University.
"I’ve worked on some big projects through the years for various major contractors and I feel that this experience has given me a good foundation.
"When lockdown happened, obviously a lot of the sites had to close, so I decided the time was right to launch my own business.
"I have built up a good reputation over the last few years and was being approached by people who wanted me to get involved with various projects.
"I wanted a business that I could put my name on and it’s been going really well."
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He added: "I am still working as a site manager for a major contractor based on a site in Telford, but one day I want to be my own boss one day. That’s the dream."
Altar Construction is a construction, property development and project management company which specialises in delivering small to medium-sized residential and commercial projects.
It offers a range of building work including conversions, remodelling and refurbishments and extensions as well as electrical, plumbing and heating and fitting services.
The Midlands branch operates across Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.
Iky successfully completed his first project under his Altar Construction Midlands brand last month after helping to transform two closed-down shops in Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent into a trendy new barber shop called The Barber House, which is run by Israr Ahmed and Wesley Lungrin.
Iky said: "When Israr and Wesley approached me they didn’t really have a vision of what they wanted, they just knew it had to stand out from the rest, so we took it all back to brick and went from there. I’ve had some great feedback about it and think we definitely achieved the wow factor.
"There were a few challenges we had to overcome, such as the planning permission in a conservation area and the global pandemic, but I’m really pleased that we were able to get it done before the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted on April 12."
He added: "It is hard doing it on your own, but I am really passionate about what I do and I’m building a very good team around me, plus I have my dad who is my biggest supporter and has been in the trade himself for over 40 years."