She didn’t wait to feel ready
Vanessa Rios owns Vlaz Construction, a drywall and painting company in Bluffdale, Utah.
Vanessa Rios spent her early career in advertising, public relations, marketing and disaster management, a field built around risk management, strategic planning, leadership, resource coordination and emergency preparedness. Construction was not on the list. Then she started working with a local subcontractor in Utah, and she saw the industry from the inside for the first time.
“The more I learned, the more I realized this was something I could build on my own,” she says. “At some point, I decided to trust myself, take the risk, and go for it.”
That decision became Vlaz Construction. This November the company turns three.
What Vlaz does
Vlaz does drywall and painting, on residential and commercial projects. Its clients are general contractors, home builders and homeowners, on everything from new construction to remodels and renovations.
Rios puts it simply: “Basically, we help turn unfinished spaces into beautiful, finished spaces.” She says her focus is “delivering quality work, being reliable, and building long-term relationships with our clients.”
How it started
She had no years of experience in the trade and no established network. What she had was a willingness to learn it from someone already doing it, and a belief that she could do it herself. “What started as a leap of faith has turned into a business I’m incredibly proud of,” she says, “and I’m still learning, growing, and pushing myself to take it further every day.”
The hard part
Ask Rios what has been hardest and she doesn’t point to a single bad week. She points to doing two jobs at once: building a business while keeping it running.
“In construction, you’re constantly balancing projects, deadlines, cash flow, and the responsibility of making sure your team has what they need to succeed. Sometimes you’re making difficult decisions, solving unexpected problems, and figuring things out as you go, all at once.”
Coming in without a track record meant earning trust from scratch. “And as a woman in construction, I’ve also had to learn how to stand confidently behind my knowledge and decisions.”
The lesson underneath it: “Being a business owner isn’t just about knowing how to do the work. It’s about learning how to lead, adapt, and keep moving forward even when things don’t go according to plan. It hasn’t always been easy, but every challenge has helped me become a stronger business owner and a more confident person.”
What people get wrong
Rios says outsiders see the finished wall and miss everything behind it. “People see the finished product, but they don’t always realize how much planning, coordination, problem-solving, and responsibility go into making it happen.”
She also pushes back on the idea that the lowest bid is the best deal. “In construction, quality, reliability, communication, and accountability make a huge difference. You’re not just paying for someone to do a job; you’re trusting them to deliver something that will last.”
What she’s building toward
The next two years are about the foundation, not just the size. “I want to develop a solid team, create better systems, and continue building long-term relationships with general contractors and clients who value quality and reliability.” She wants larger and more challenging projects too, without losing the attention to detail that got Vlaz there.
In three years, Vlaz has qualified with well-established general contractors, meeting their rigorous qualification and compliance requirements and earning their trust. It now handles multiple projects at once through a network of more than 15 construction crews.
In 2025, Vlaz was one of eight finalists from a large pool of small businesses in the Real Salt Lake & America First Credit Union Small Business Showcase. That led to Vlaz becoming a Proud Partner of the Utah Royals through their Women in Business initiative for the 2026 season. The company is now expanding into Idaho.
“Ultimately, I’m not just trying to build a bigger company,” she says. “I’m working toward building a business that is respected, sustainable, and capable of growing beyond what I can accomplish on my own.”
Who she’d like to hear from: general contractors, developers, home builders and others in construction looking for reliable subcontractors and long-term partnerships, and business leaders who value strong relationships and quality work. Vlaz is online at vlazconstruction.com and on Instagram at @vlaz.construction.
For an owner a few years behind her
“Don’t wait until you have everything figured out, because the truth is, you probably never will. Start with what you have, learn as you go, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Building a business will challenge you in ways you never expected, but those challenges will also teach you things you couldn’t learn any other way.”
“Believe in your vision, but be willing to adapt. Surround yourself with the right people, protect your reputation, and never stop learning. Most importantly, don’t compare your journey to someone else’s. Growth takes time, and sometimes the progress you’re making isn’t immediately visible.”
And in her own words: “I didn’t start this journey knowing everything. I started because I believed I was capable of learning, growing, and building something of my own. And three years later, I still believe the best is yet to come.”
Durable is Utah’s Business Commons. Vanessa Rios is a member of Durable Private.
