How J. Angel Turned Construction Setbacks into Long-Term Wins

After years of working under someone else's banner, J. Angel Ortiz Jr. made a bold leap during a business presentation—unveiling ZITRO Construction Services LLC to a room full of peers. What followed was a journey fueled by deep family inspiration, unwavering integrity, and a clear mission to transform lives through spaces built with care. In this Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight interview, J. Angel shares how challenges shaped his mindset, how strategic focus led to surprising growth, and why slowing down when hiring was the game-changer his company needed.

Hi, J. Angel Ortiz Jr.! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?

ZITRO Construction Services LLC is a state licensed General Contractor specializing in remodeling and new construction in residential and commercial. Our mission is to provide each client with a unique project experience through a combination of high quality construction and impeccable customer service. ZITRO improves the lives of our clients by creating new spaces for them which they can safely enjoy for years to come. We do this sometimes by adding on new square footage for a growing family and sometimes by simply making improvements to existing spaces that haven't been touched in decades. 

Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.

I had been representing another company for a few years and I knew deep down that I really needed to break out on my own. I finally made my move during a marketing presentation with a group of business associates in BNI. I waited until the end of the speech before I did the big reveal of my newly created company. The rest is history.

Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.

There were several of them along the way my whole life. I was fortunate enough to have a grandfather that was uber successful in business. I would sometimes travel with him out of the country when I was young. I always knew I wanted to do something on my own. I did not have the confidence until many years later but eventually it came to be.

Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?

Communication software for our projects has been very helpful. Anything that can integrate between our team seamlessly helps us progress more efficiently.

Lately, we have been dabbling with AI in our estimating efforts. This has proven to be quite helpful and we anticipate using more of these types of tools in the future.

We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.

The construction business can be very disappointing. One wrong move along the course of a job and it can eat up your time and finances. I did have a couple of projects in my career that proved very challenging. I had a choice to give up or get honest with myself and commit to the solution by addressing the issues head on. We are still here to talk about it.

What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?

I decided to focus on a small demographic area and go deep with my marketing efforts rather than travel a bunch to projects. I did this to be able to be very active in my family life since we just had our first child at the time. I was nervous that we wouldn't get enough work but the plan ended up working out just fine.

What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?

Hire slow. Take time to vet people you plan on bringing in your organization. Ask for help if you are not the best recruiter. We all get tired. We all just want to get things done. Having the wrong person at the wheel in any position can be very damaging to your company's mission. I had to learn this lesson.

Want to dive deeper into J. Angel Ortiz Jr.'s work? Check out the links below!

• Visit AZITRO Construction's website: zitrocs.com
• Connect with  J. Angel Ortiz Jr. on LinkedIn: J. Angel Ortiz Jr.
• Follow AZITRO Construction Services on Instagram: @zitroconstructionservices