Success stories

SH5 Construction

After being turned down by six different lenders, Latif reached out to BOC Capital for a loan, applying for $500,000 in project-based financing to get back on track.

Yasmin Latiff

For Yasmin Latif, the construction industry is in her blood. Ever since she was a child, Latif had a desire to work in her father, Mohammad Latif’s, construction business. She credits her father’s determination as to the “pushing force” behind her ambition. Now, as the President and Owner of SH5 Construction Corporation, Latif has led the company, founded in a partnership with her father, to major growth as both a prime and subcontractor for public construction projects.

Latif gained a degree in Construction Management from NYIT NYCCT and worked for two construction firms for one year only, rising quickly through their ranks. Armed with her new experience, Latif joined her father to launch SH5 in 2004 and served as its first full-time office employee. She learned about estimating, management, quality, safety, scheduling, insurance, bonding, and accounting, and went out into the field with her father. Latif progressively moved into full control of and ownership of the company.

The business was growing steadily when, in 2017, a major project caused a financial setback resulting in a shortage of working capital. At that stage, Latif created an “accelerated growth plan” for the business to take its gross sale from $3.7 Million Dollars to $8 Million Dollars. After being turned down by six different lenders, Latif reached out to BOC Capital for a loan, applying for $500,000 in project-based financing to get back on track. “[BOC] trusted us,” Ms. Latif says. “They gave us an opportunity. They gave us a huge opportunity. That was really a revival for our business.”

When Ms. Latif assumed sole ownership of SH5 Construction Corporation in 2018 the company was on track to reach over $7.8 million in annual revenue.

Ms. Latif completed the NYC EDC ConstructNYC program delivered by BOC Capital and was prequalified to bid on opportunities to work on NYCEDC projects. Along with the loan and training, BOC Capital helped Ms. Latif develop financial projections for upcoming projects and the business as a whole. Ms. Latif says BOC counselors helped her move beyond the day-to-day details of her business to see the “big picture.”

or Ms. Latif, business is about vision through hardship, responsibility, family, and community.