Business

The Pros and Cons of Starting a Construction Company in 2020

Published

6 years ago

May 14, 2020

It’s almost impossible to go anywhere these days without seeing some kind of construction taking place. It might be the road outside your neighborhood being repaired, the house across the street adding on an extra bedroom, or your favorite shopping mall getting an entirely new wing.

With so many projects taking place at all times, would it be worth your while to get a piece of the pie and jump into the construction world? Is now a good time to start a construction company?

Let’s run through the pros and cons of starting a construction company in 2020.

The Pros

Why not start off positive with our list of pros.

Plenty of Work

When it comes to construction, there are plenty of projects to go around, especially in large, metropolitan areas. States like New York, California, Texas, and Florida all enjoy strong economies, low unemployment rates, and plenty of money available to be invested in construction projects.

It doesn’t matter if you’re in residential or non-residential construction, there is plenty of work to go around.

Future Growth

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction jobs are on the rebound and by 2026, the industry is set to be employing nearly eight million people.

That means that construction is not just a solid job to enter into now, but it’s going to be a job that doesn’t go away over the next decade. You can expect continuous work for many years to come.

Job Control

No matter how small you start out or how big you grow, you’re going to have more control over your job and the work you do.

As the head honcho, you can decide which projects to take on and which projects to stray away from. Some projects are going to attract multiple construction companies and you’ll have to improve your bidding skills, but you still have control over what you do and where you do it.

You’ll also have control over the types of construction tools you want to use, such as an Aurand deck crawler, and other details like whether or not you want to buy the vehicles you use for each job or simply rent the vehicles you’ll need per job type… Plus, it’s way more cost-effective to rent a flatbed truck than to buy one… and you have full control over that.

High-Earning Potential

OK, let’s talk about money.

Even if you love your job, you may not be able to do it forever if you’re not earning enough cash, right?

When it comes to the construction industry, there is great potential for current and future earnings. Even if your company specializes in a certain trade, you can expect to earn at least $50,000 a year, if not more.

Construction bosses can expect to earn well into six figures over time.

Providing Value and Filling a Need

While having high-speed internet and a great TV are important, humans really only need a few things to survive: food, water, access to medical care, and a roof over your head.

In construction, you can take solace in knowing that you’re filling a dire need in the community and helping people live better lives. Even if your company specializes in electrical repair, you might not be building a house but you’re making sure the lights stay on.

The Cons

We can’t have a pros list without a cons list, unfortunately. What are the biggest cons in the construction world?

Work is Concentrated in a Few Places

Even though there is plenty of work to go around in the country itself, the majority of that work is found in only 10 states.

Other states like Alabama, Mississippi, and Minnesota are actually experiencing negative growth in the construction world. So it’s vital to choose a great location for starting your business.

Lack of Skilled Workers

While you may start off small and do most of the work yourself at the beginning, eventually you might want to grow and hire more and more people.

However, it can be quite hard to find skilled workers in the construction world. Skilled workers to fill trade jobs are becoming scarce and some estimates say that for every four people that retire from a specific trade, only one enters to fill their spot.

Legal Hoops

One of the most annoying parts about starting a construction business is making sure you follow all the legal guidelines.

You have to get the right insurance, obtain a business license, and make sure you have all the correct permits. The challenging thing is every state is going to have its own set of guidelines, so what may work for a friend in Tennessee might not work for you in Kentucky.

Business

Inside the $4.3B Quarter: What’s Fueling Black Banx’s Record Revenues

Published

6 days ago

January 16, 2026

Matthew Wiles

Every quarter brings fresh headlines in fintech, but few make the kind of impact achieved by Black Banx in Q2 2025. The Toronto-based global digital banking group, founded by Michael Gastauer, reported an extraordinary USD 4.3 billion in revenue and a record USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, while improving its cost-to-income ratio to 63%.

These results not only highlight the company’s operational efficiency but also mark a pivotal moment in its journey from challenger to global leader. The big question is: what’s fueling such impressive financial performance?

Customer Growth as the Core Driver

One of the clearest engines of revenue growth is Black Banx’s expanding customer base. By Q2 2025, the platform had reached 84 million clients worldwide, up from 69 million at the end of 2024. This 15 million net gain in six months demonstrates both the attractiveness of its services and the scalability of its model.

Unlike traditional banks, which rely heavily on branch expansion, Black Banx leverages digital-first onboarding that allows customers to open accounts within minutes using just a smartphone. This approach is especially effective in regions underserved by legacy institutions, where access to affordable financial tools is in high demand.

More customers don’t just mean higher transaction volumes—they generate a compounding effect where network size, brand trust, and service adoption reinforce one another.

Real-Time Payments and Cross-Border Solutions

A major contributor to Q2 revenues is the platform’s real-time payments infrastructure. Black Banx enables instant cross-border transfers across its 28 supported fiat currencies and multiple cryptocurrencies, helping both individuals and businesses bypass the traditional bottlenecks of international banking.

For freelancers, SMEs, and multinational clients, this means faster liquidity, reduced foreign exchange costs, and simplified global operations. The demand for real-time financial services is growing rapidly—Juniper Research projects global real-time payments turnover to hit USD 58 trillion by 2028—and Black Banx is strategically positioned to capture a significant share of this market.

Crypto Integration as a Revenue Stream

Another key revenue driver is crypto integration. While many traditional institutions remain hesitant, Black Banx embraced digital assets early and has built infrastructure to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Lightning Network. In Q2 2025, 20% of all transactions on the platform were crypto-based, reflecting strong customer appetite for hybrid banking services that bridge fiat and digital assets.

Revenue comes not only from transaction fees but also from value-added services like crypto-to-fiat conversion, staking yields (4–12% APY), and blockchain-enabled payments. For customers in markets with unstable currencies, these services act as a financial lifeline, further expanding the platform’s relevance.

AI-Powered Efficiency and Risk Management

Record revenues would be less impressive if costs ballooned at the same rate. But Black Banx has proven adept at balancing growth with efficiency. Its cost-to-income ratio improved to 63% in Q2, down from 69% a year earlier, thanks to heavy reliance on AI-powered automation.

AI now drives fraud detection, compliance, and customer onboarding—areas where traditional banks often struggle with cost inefficiencies. By automating these processes, Black Banx can process millions of transactions securely while maintaining profitability at scale. This level of efficiency is rare in fintech, where high growth often comes at the expense of margins.

Regional Expansion and Untapped Markets

Geography also plays a role in fueling revenues. Much of the Q2 growth came from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America—regions where demand for mobile-first banking continues to soar. In 2024 alone, Black Banx reported a 32% increase in SME clients from the Middle East and Africa, signaling the strength of its positioning in underserved markets.

By extending services to populations previously excluded from formal banking—migrant workers, rural communities, and small businesses—Black Banx taps into vast pools of latent demand. The strategy proves that financial inclusion and profitability are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing.

Diversified Revenue Streams

Another factor behind Q2’s record revenues is Black Banx’s diversified business model. Income is not tied to a single service but spread across multiple streams, including:

Transaction fees from cross-border transfers and payments.
Crypto trading and exchange services.
Premium account features for high-net-worth clients.
Corporate services for SMEs and international businesses.

This diversification insulates the company against volatility in any single segment, creating stable revenue growth even in shifting market conditions.

Michael Gastauer’s Strategic Blueprint

Behind these results is Michael Gastauer’s long-term strategy: scale aggressively but with efficiency, innovation, and inclusion at the core. His vision has always been to create a borderless financial ecosystem, and Q2 2025’s performance is evidence that this vision is not only achievable but sustainable.

By balancing mass-market accessibility with premium features, and by blending fiat with digital assets, Gastauer has positioned Black Banx as a category-defining player in global finance.

The Road Ahead: Toward 100 Million Clients

Looking forward, the company’s goal of reaching 100 million customers by the end of 2025 will likely be the next catalyst for revenue growth. More customers mean more transactions, more data insights, and more opportunities to refine and expand its service offering.

If current momentum holds, the USD 4.3 billion quarterly revenue milestone could be just the beginning of an even larger growth story. The challenge will be ensuring systems scale securely while maintaining trust in an environment where privacy and compliance are paramount.

A Record That Signals More to Come

Black Banx’s Q2 2025 performance—USD 4.3 billion in revenue, USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, 84 million clients worldwide, and a lean 63% cost-to-income ratio—is more than a financial milestone. It is a signal of how the future of banking is being rewritten by platforms that are borderless, crypto-inclusive, and data-driven.

What fueled this record-breaking quarter is not one innovation but a combination of strategies—scalable onboarding, real-time payments, crypto integration, AI efficiency, and expansion into underserved regions. Together, they form a model that doesn’t just challenge traditional banking but actively builds the foundation for global dominance.

For Black Banx, the road ahead is clear: the $4.3 billion quarter is not an endpoint but a launchpad for even greater scale and profitability.