After a few months of closure last spring, the pandemic has benefited the construction and renovation sector. The massive use of teleworking has led more and more people to want to change their nest or optimize their living space.

"For renovation projects, I have 30% more requests than last year," estimates Gabriel Ccopa, president of Excellence Construction Rénovation , which has passed the five-year mark. All in all, the contractor says he has suffered above all from the significant delays from both suppliers and subcontractors. "The challenge in a market that is potentially going through a bubble with a meteoric rise in prices is to maintain its financial health in the medium term," he observes.

"With rising prices (especially for lumber) and additional delays, we have no choice but to be creative to offer the best value for money. It pushes us to do business differently."

When COVID-19 restrictions complicated his renovation projects last spring, Gabriel Ccopa questioned himself. “I realized I wasn’t equipped to deal with all the changes that needed to be implemented,” he admits. “I had moments where I asked myself: What do I do? Do I close the business? What’s the right thing to do?”

Invest in yourself first

Gabriel Ccopa's reflex was to seek out training in personal development and real estate (from Leadership Management International and Flip-Académie , in particular) to help him establish his new vision. "I used the electroshock of COVID to make positive changes. By working on myself as an entrepreneur, I came out of it with a vision of the company that aims for the well-being of all."

Among the lessons learned, Gabriel Ccopa writes, every morning, the dashboard of his day in order to set his objectives, his priority and important tasks. "This tool allows me to start off on the right foot! Before, I got up, drank my coffee and went to work. Now, I am still just as surrounded, but I know where I am going. (laughs)"

Gabriel Ccopa also transformed his car into a mobile library in order to listen to books on personal growth and real estate that interest him, thus optimizing his travels.

"I needed tools, it was too chaotic around me. If I had continued in the same way, I would have failed."

Pivoting by passion

Having reached the end of his reasoning, he decided to change course and chose to give life to a project he had been toying with for a long time: devoting himself entirely to real estate projects. “My dream was to flip houses,” he says. “I set myself a very clear and defined goal: to renovate a million-dollar house in Saint-Lambert. In a few months, I had found the house and the financing and the project was underway!”

Unfortunately, the current situation has meant that we have exceeded the planned deadlines."

Looking ahead to 2021 and beyond, he hopes to continue flipping properties and see what can be done creatively with commercial buildings that will remain empty even after the pandemic. “The biggest billionaires were made during economic crises!” he concludes.

A key to success: “Knowing how to surround yourself with the right people. At my side, I have the best: a good broker, a good designer, a good team on the ground.”

A book: Be obsessed or Be average by Grant Cardone. “I’ve read it at least five times!”

An app: Audible to download all the books that interest me, from Tony Robbins to Grant Cardone, including Dale Cornegie.