Hidden Gems: Meet Marian Bujor of European Granite and Remodeling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marian Bujor.

Marian, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started to work in granite countertops when I was 16 years old with my father’s business, I was very active and I have always dreamed big, soon I started to do side jobs and I separate myself from my father’s business. I was young and selling jobs for thousands of dollars, I had to lie about my age and make myself rough enough to make feel people comfortable doing business with me, when I got my first check I did not have a business name or bank account, I just invented the name for the customer to write me the check and then I went to the bank and open my business bank account.

I make myself trustworthy I hired people to work for me when I was under 20 and they barely take me seriously until I prove myself, I made mistakes, but I was a hard worker, and my commitment to customers who trusted me with their projects was impressive, I always give my extra care to the customer and fast service. After the recession in 2010, I lost everything that I had worked for, tools, trucks, forklifts, customers, everything. I felt lost and I feel depressed, but I never quit, I started over again, asking for raids, favors, jobs, and sometimes for material to keep working. After a few months of being under zero, I found a place (my current shop) that I rented and I started over again, I bought an old Suburban to pull my trailer, the suburban has this noisy sound like a trailer and a big hole under the pedals that you can see the road under, with no money and no tools, was really hard to make it work every job was hand labor, I found my first saw that I bought in two payments, I had to work day and night to set up everything in my shop because I did not have money to pay for services, I had to do it all by my own. Time passed and I got married and my wife started helping me in the office managing and doing the paperwork, we make the best team ever, we started growing our sales, and investing in our shop, contracting more employees. After hustling for several years building up everything again, getting educated in conferences, classes, certifications, etc, finally in 2018 I reached my first million dollars in sales all by myself, I did a great job and we were very busy, and very productive, I kept the same in 2019, in 2020 when pandemic hits we did not close down it only keeps us slow but mostly for the feeling in the air of sadness and sickness but business kept running, employees got scared but we manage to keep working, by the end of 2022 I have signed a contract with my first national company who was looking for wholesale production, I was scared and I did not feel prepared, but I had built a strong team and we create new systems and we went digital, I invested half million dollars in new machinery and digital tools improve our service, making more than 80 houses per month, we were running in full potential in 2021 and 2022 reaching more than two million dollars in sales every year.

Last April 2022 we celebrate our 10th anniversary in the same location that I rented ten years ago but the difference now I own it, and we announced our expansion to San Antonio Texas where we invested, and we are ready to run and operate offering our fast and clean service for countertops. This is my story! When I was 16 years old, I dreamed to have a company serving nationwide and be known for my excellent work, and be able to compete with big brands, I am 35 years old, I feel strong and accomplished, I am still working towards my dreams, today I feel very grateful for my family and my team who supported everything I do.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The most recent struggle after the pandemic was the decrease in labor resources, it is very hard to find people who had the skills or commitment to grow in this industry.

We’ve been impressed with European Granite and Remodeling LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We specialize in natural stone countertops, we educate our customers to get the most from their countertops. We create beautiful countertops for beautiful memories at home with their families. We help customers to make inspiring spaces where they can share beautiful memories.

We do kitchen and bathroom countertops, shower walls, fireplaces, barbecue tops, full backsplashes, and anything you can imagine, we can create it for you!

We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
It’s enjoying the way getting wherever you want to be. As long as I enjoy doing it I feel like a very successful person.

Pricing:

• $50 sq. ft.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eurogranitea-z.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eurogranitellc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/europeangraniteandremodeling/