A Business Spotlight Interview with Residential General Contractor, Joshua X

Photo Credit: Joshua X 

Reading Time: 10 Minutes

Dr. Nadine Muhammad: Please, would you tell our readers about yourself?

Joshua X: My name is Brother Joshua X. I am a student of The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad under the leadership of The Honorable Min. Louis Farrakhan and the Executive Shura Counsel. I am a residential general contractor operating in Houston, TX. I have over 15 years of experience in the trades and hold a Class B General Contractor’s license in the state of California as well as a certificate in construction at Cosumnes River College. The name of my business is The Builder TX. We currently specialize in residential home repair & remodeling in the Houston and Greater Houston area.

Dr. Nadine Muhammad: Share with us the story behind The Builder TX: the inspiration for starting, history, mission, and purpose.

Joshua X: I originally named and operated my business as The Builder in Sacramento, CA. When I moved to Texas, the name was not available for me to register, so I added the TX on the
end. I named my business The Builder, emphasizing the definite article to remind myself and those whom I may knowingly and/or unknowingly have influence over that the original builders on the earth, of the earth, and of this country looked somewhat like me.

I think this is an important fact and paradigm for us all to understand. It also signifies the effort and pride I put into my work. The true origin of The Builder TX starts with me meeting a general contractor, 15 years ago in Sacramento, CA. At the time, I was low on money and my cell phone was off. He gave me a couple extra dollars to turn my phone on and asked if I would give him a hand with some work he had.

I think the first job I helped him with was measuring and cutting tiles for a bathroom floor he was putting in. The rest is history. I became his apprentice, and as I learned more and gained more skills, I became a handyman. Then I took a couple classes at the community college ,and eventually I studied to take the state test and became a licensed Class B general contractor in the State of CA. The mission & purpose of The Builder TX is to provide high- quality craftsmanship, excellent customer service & last but most importantly, high-level Training for my brothers who are interested in getting into the trades and becoming builders.

Especially for my younger brothers coming up under my generation. Before I met the contractor who trained me and became my teacher and later Father in Law, I didn't even know this type of work existed, let alone that I could do it. I had never seen it done. The only options I knew of to make money were to do music, sports, hustle, or get a job working for someone from another culture. I believe it is the lack of witnessing brothers that look like me mastering these crafts at a level, that inhibits the spark of even possibility in the minds of our youth.

I pray that my work and efforts can contribute to helping change that paradigm for others as it was changed for me. Lastly, speaking on the mission! the mission given to us by The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is that “We Must Make Our Communities a Decent & Safe Place To Live.” This is a major challenge to us, and I believe we all have a role to play in this work!

Photo Credit: Joshua X

The decency and safety of our community start with what is inside the people. The scripture teaches us that “My People Are Destroyed for a Lack of Knowledge.” I would humbly submit that in turn, to building our people requires a certain type of requisite knowledge. Once we have that knowledge, I believe that arming brothers with skills such as the trades will go hand in hand with making our communities decent because that
type of knowledge helps to empower individuals to make jobs for themselves when there are no job opportunities.

There is a high demand for honest, skilled tradesmen. If we produce a class of decent people and teach them skills, then we can produce decent communities. One story that has always inspired me was learning about Booker T. Washington and how he used the students to literally build Tuskegee University.

Photo Credit: Joshua X

 When I learned about that institute and how part of their focus was to clean up the individual students and teach them good character first, and then technical skills next, I thought of what they were able to accomplish back then on a small level and what The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad accomplished on a larger level, and then I thought about what we are going to
help him & The Minister accomplish today with the support of Allah (God)!

Dr. Nadine Muhammad: Tell us about the services that you offer to your customers.

Photo: Joshua X

Joshua X: We offer full repair and remodeling services including:
- Kitchen Remodels
- Bathroom Remodels
- Flooring
- Fencing
- Sheetrock Repair
- Interior/Exterior Painting
- Tile Installation
- Plumbing
- Electrical
- Roofing
- And More!

Photo Credit: Joshua X

Dr. Nadine Muhammad: How can we follow you on social media?  Please provide your website to obtain your services. Also, share with us the value that customers will obtain from using your services.

Joshua X: You can follow me @ThebuilderTX on Instagram. You can also visit us @TheBuilderTX.com. When you choose The Builder TX you get high quality craftsmanship, excellent customer service, and the job done right!

Dr. Nadine Muhammad: Thank you so much, Joshua, for sharing your inspiring business creation story and also for all that you are doing to improve our communities through your general contracting services. To our subscribers, thank you for reading our interview, and please don't forget to show support to another Black-owned business in our community by visiting his website and following him on social media. Additionally, please feel free to share your comment or a question below that you may have for Joshua about the services that he offers.