Construction Forum’s mission is, “To facilitate the collaboration of all the stakeholders in the St. Louis Region’s built environment in creating inclusive, robust employment and economic growth.”  The “Forum Focus” podcasts present stories of people who are working to make that vision and mission happen.

Growing up in University City, Cordell Sawyer always liked to read.

While he was working a job as a janitor to support his family he read a book on creating generational wealth. The author suggested three paths: stocks, real estate, or entrepreneurship.

Soon, he was taking money that he made as a union carpenter (where he was one of the first apprentices to take advantage of the Carpenters’ associate degree program) and investing it in real estate.

In 2009, when the building economy turned down, he  read an article about the need for qualified minority contractors. He took the leap to found his own construction company Sledroc Construction Co. (that’s a play on his name in reverse). He started his business with a business plan in hand that he had developed by enrolling in a program and – once again – reading and studying.

The path has not been simple since then, but Cordell has continued to read, learn and to network and build connections that many in his position as an MBE contractor outside traditional networks find hard to master.

Today Sledroc has worked on highly visible projects in our region, with some of the areas most respected contractors. His company was selected by SLC3 (St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers) as its M/W/DBE of the year in 2020

Please listen to our conversation with Cordell Sawyer.