Sergio Morales: Anything is possible with hard work and perseverance

Sergio Morales was born in Guatemala in 1977 and came to the United States in 1993. At that time, the Guatemalan government had begun to use aggressive and threatening tactics to take property from individuals. Given the government’s history of oppressive actions, Sergio chose to come to America to pursue a better life.

Sergio started out in Florida but didn’t like the weather. He wanted to move farther north where he could experience snow for the first time. He had a friend who lived in Georgetown and moved in with him. He began working at Mountaire in Selbyville and later worked for Perdue. He spoke no English back then.

Sergio decided if he was going to be successful in this country, he would need to learn English. He began his English studies in Georgetown, two evenings a week, at a small house with five other people. It was very difficult, but his teacher encouraged him to stick with it. He watched TV in English, read newspapers in English and talked in English with his friends. Eventually, he became more fluent in the new language and started taking formal English classes at Sussex Central High School. 

Soon, Sergio looked for a different kind of job and started doing road construction work. His first job was working on the Salisbury bypass. Because he was such a dedicated and conscientious worker, his supervisor convinced him to take a job in Baltimore that paid more money. He drove to Baltimore from Georgetown every day for six months. He soon tired of the commute and didn’t want to go back to the poultry plants. He found work at a construction company doing siding installation. While doing the siding work, Sergio also taught himself to do framing, roofing and drywall installation. The owner of the company was so impressed with his work ethic that he asked Sergio to supervise their projects, which he did for about seven years. Ultimately, that company began to fail, and Sergio found a position at another company. Within a few years, the real estate bubble burst, and that business closed down. Finding himself out of work, with no money coming in, he depended upon Catholic Charities for financial support for a short period of time.

Sergio and his brothers recognized that with all the construction skills they had mastered, they could start their own construction company, and that’s what they did in 2010. They obtained a business license, printed up some business cards and began visiting every construction site in the county to see if the contractors would be willing to hire Sergio and his brothers. Ultimately, they found a lawyer who was building a home. He agreed to pay them a fixed amount of money and said he would pay them more when the house was completed. Sergio and his brothers did an excellent job, and the lawyer was very generous with his final payment to them. He also helped the brothers find additional work with his glowing recommendation.

They started to advertise on Facebook and Home Advisor, and the jobs began to roll in. One of the principles Sergio had followed from the very beginning was to focus less on the money and more on building a reputation for his company. It was a smart move strategically, because his company developed an excellent reputation, and as Sergio had surmised, the reputation is what would help market their company and bring in more business. As Sergio says, his marketing challenge was, “How do I let people know that I work hard and do quality work?”

With the many challenges Sergio has faced, there are several lessons he has learned from his life experiences: One, there are unlimited opportunities in this country, and with hard work and perseverance, anything is possible. Two, the best way to learn is to fail and do it better the next time. Focus on getting better every day. Three, if you have been successful financially, be grateful for the opportunities you have had and use your good fortune to help others. Helping one person or one family at a time can make all the difference in the world for someone. Lastly, Sergio believes going to church is important. It teaches you how to love others, respect others and forgive. He believes learning how to forgive is one of the important lessons in life.

Sergio’s goal is to work another 20 years and help people build the homes of their dreams. Ultimately, he would love to see his children take over the business that he and his brothers have worked so hard to build, but only if that is something they want to do. He believes that anything is possible in this country, and he wants his children to be able to follow their dreams, too.