Helen Callier, who recently served as Emcee for the first annual Harris County Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Summit with SBA Houston, is expanding PermitUsNow’s position in the
construction industry.
As President of the firm, Callier uses PermitUsNow, an industry recognized building permit expediting firm helping architects, contractors, and project owners, to save time and money by obtaining building permits in a timely manner.
“We understand that small business owners have dreams. We get that. We understand that. But I got to tell you, even when we’re pulling a building permit for our large corporate accounts, say, like an H-E-B,we’re still pulling a building permit for their dreams,” she said. “Their dream to touch the lives of customers that come through their stores.”
helen callier
As President of the firm, Callier uses PermitUsNow, an industry recognized building permit expediting firm helping architects, contractors, and project owners, to save time and money by obtaining building permits in a timely manner.
“We understand that small business owners have dreams. We get that. We understand that. But I got to tell you, even when we’re pulling a building permit for our large corporate accounts, say, like an H-E-B, we’re still pulling a building permit for their dreams,” she said. “Their dream to touch the lives of customers that come through their stores.”
She serves as a key contributor in the business community and often participates in industry conferences as a panel moderator, Emcee, or keynote speaker.
Starting in the fourth quarter 2016, PermitUsNow is the only permit expediting firm recognized as Diversity Firm of the Year by H-E-B for helping to save 50% in time in pulling permits allowing them to become profitable sooner. The company has pulled permits in over 700 jurisdictions in Texas for commercial clients, and has established relationships with plan reviewers, plan analysts, inspectors, and other jurisdictional staff.
With Women’s History Month celebrated in March, Callier is no stranger in support of women-based businesses and women in construction,
“This is our fourth year celebrating National Women in Construction Week recognizing many roles that women work in. What started out over 20 years ago, the National Women in Construction Association thought it was prudent to acknowledge the value that women are providing in design and construction. And, I’m honored to say that we have women working in our business.”
She added,
“I’m a Mechanical Engineer by training, and I’ve been in construction for some 15 plus years. So, I challenge any and every one to chase their dreams in the areas of construction, building and design.”
Q&A With PermitUsNow:
What are your top areas of focus for 2023?
We are excited about providing exceptional permitting services to the design and construction industry in 2023 across Texas and other key regions. Our top areas of focus are taking care of our long-time clients and core business (continuing to be innovative in helping clients save time and money plus become profitable sooner), growing our green market share including permitting more EV charging stations, and building our bench strength via continuous training of team members and leveraging technology.
How have your strategies improved from the start of your company until now? What are some of the benefits and outcomes?
One strategy that we exercised at the start of PermitUsNow was writing regular newspaper and blog articles to educate our clients and the industry on best practices, changes in jurisdiction policies and tips on how to obtain building permits.
Our articles are published monthly in Subcontractors USA and on permitusnow.com. We receive text messages and calls from general contractors, Architects and Project Owners saying they appreciate the tips we provide or have found the articles to be valuable. This speaks volumes.
We also speak at contractors’ expos focused on building permitting and code compliance. Recently, we have started our PermitUsNow Youtube channel to serve as an educational resource for a larger audience. To date, responses have been positive.
Are there any other areas within Permit Us Now that you are working to improve?
We perform in a fast-paced challenging industry. Finding creative and innovative ways to save time and money when obtaining permits for our clients is important. We are planning to begin using drones to collect field data when doing site assessments and working on improving our CRM tool to allow quicker access to a client’s project information.
What challenges have you faced and overcome in the procurement industry?
We rarely participate in a typical RFP procurement process. Relationships are important to our success. It’s important for us to identify the architects engaged on a corporate project. The primary architect typically has permitting responsibilities included in their scope which they typically outsource.
We live and breathe permitting jurisdictions, building codes and stay in regular communications with Permitting staff (plan reviewers, plan analysts, inspectors, etc.) which helps us to be referred and in growing our business with existing clients.
Tell us more about your commitment to constructional compliance.
Helping our clients to adhere to compliance requirements is the top priority of our company. We understand the importance of helping our clients to meet all requirements regarding permitting, regulatory codes, and other critical factors.
Breakdown some of your accomplishments over the years and future expectations.
- We are the only Permit Expediting firm recognized as Diversity Firm of the Year by H-E-B Grocery and featured in an H-E-B video. We are the only Permit Expediting firm and 1 of 5 small businesses featured in the official NFL Super Bowl 51 Commemorative Magazine
- We have permitted approximately 85% of the concessions and restaurants at Bush Intercontinental Airport and Houston Hobby International Airport. 85% of our revenue comes from repeat business and referrals. We are the only permit expediting firm recognized as Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Subcontractor of the Year by SubContractors USA in 2022, and to receive the prestigious LUNA Award from the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association in 2021.
- We have assisted many senior citizens and economically challenged homeowners in Texas on a pro bono basis with obtaining building permits after Hurricane Harvey, many floods, and Winter Storm Yuri. We also have provided support in Louisiana after numerous hurricanes over the last several years.
- In the future, we will continue to save our clients time and money in obtaining building permits in Texas and across North America, to be a recognized leader in permitting EV charging stations and other green infrastructure (solar, battery storage facilities, etc.) and to be recognized in using innovative technologies to obtain building permits.
What opportunities/resources does Permit Us Now provide?
PermitUsNow has an experienced multi-discipline team, led by Moruf Jimoh, AAIA, Technical Manager, that conducts plan reviews, provides design assistance, conducts site assessments, expedites building permits, and assists clients with close-out as needed.
What are the takeaways you want for the readers to have after they read this cover story?
We are a proven building permitting firm in the industry that saves time and money plus removes the frustrations in obtaining a building permit. Permit Us Now is here to bring you tips, practical insights and just the dynamics as to what’s going on with the jurisdictions to help our target clients and the industry to pull permits faster. We help architects. We help project owners and contractors to save time and money and, of course, to help them build their customer dreams. That’s what we’re here for.
