Built on Family, Focused on the Future
After his crew had spent weeks on a demanding commercial painting project, Khalid Joshua Jr. began rotating them through a nearby construction cleanup job for a couple of days at a time. They cleared debris from apartments and kept the site tidy behind the construction crews. The change of pace let them talk more and take lunch when they wanted. It also gave them a break from the constant scrutiny of finish work.
“They all work with me, not for me,” Joshua said. “If it wasn’t for my guys with me, I wouldn’t have been able to complete these jobs. I wouldn’t even bid the job.”
He measures KRA Designs’ success by whether the people working beside him can support their families and still have the freedom to pursue goals of their own.
Joshua learned construction from his father, a general contractor who built houses and taught the trade. He and his siblings grew up cutting grass, hauling materials, stripping roofs, and demolishing houses. Joshua was often put in charge. That taught him early that keeping people motivated was part of getting the job done.
He later studied visual communications at Sinclair Community College while taking on painting jobs and occasional design work. By then, he knew the skills he already had could support a business, and he did not want to take on more debt for school. He founded KRA Designs in January 2020.
The company started with smaller residential jobs, then expanded into commercial and industrial painting, specialty coatings, construction cleanup, and janitorial work. Joshua pursued longer commercial projects because they could keep his crew working for months instead of sending him back out to find a new residential client every few days. “Job security is a big deal for me,” he said.
Those longer contracts also meant spending more money before he got paid. That became a real problem on a major commercial and industrial painting project at an aquatic center.
Joshua had to buy coatings and supplies while keeping his crew paid. When the project required more materials than expected, more money kept going out before any came back in.
“Every week of that process, I’m paying another $4,000, $4,000, $4,000, $4,000 in payroll,” Joshua said. “It can start really sucking money out of you.”
Joshua could have covered the gap by emptying the company’s operating reserves and pulling money from savings. That would have taken care of the immediate bills, but KRA Designs would have had little left for the next payroll cycle or its other projects.
He'd already tried banks and credit unions. KRA Designs had secured contracts, good credit, complete documentation, and no business debt. Still, Joshua said, the responses came too slowly. His frustration came down to a simple question: “Is it a yes, or is it a no? That’s all I need.”
Joshua and his wife, Amari, had been attending local business meetings and following projects around Dayton when a community connection introduced him to ECDI’s Contractor Resource Cener. They responded quickly and told Joshua exactly what ECDI needed from him.
Joshua came prepared with a capability statement, signed contracts, subcontractor plans, and supporting documents. ECDI helped structure a $65,000 Mobility Loan tied to a contract worth approximately $135,000. Catherine Lentz also spent about two hours with Amari revising KRA Designs’ financial projections so they met the underwriting requirements.
“CRC was awesome. My relationship manager was amazing,” Joshua said. “Everything flowed properly, and we love the relationship that we have with them. The service they provide is amazing."
The loan covered payroll and materials while KRA Designs waited to be paid. It kept the aquatic-center job moving without draining the money needed for the rest of the business.
“If we didn’t have the ECDI support, we would have drained our own overhead,” he said.
KRA Designs completed the project and repaid the loan. The same prime contractor later awarded the company another contract.
Joshua has since completed several commercial projects without borrowing. He does not want KRA Designs to depend on financing for every job. He returns to ECDI when the size of a project or the wait for payment makes outside funding necessary. On other jobs, he watches payroll and payment schedules closely so the company can cover the costs itself.
Joshua also wants to do more work with his family. His parents already join him on commercial jobs, and his brother owns a separate business that often works alongside KRA Designs. He can imagine the companies bidding on projects together, with each family member taking on the work they do best. Over time, he hopes they can build something that supports the next generation.
But for now, his plans for KRA Designs still come back to the people working beside him.
“To see their wives and kids never need anything, to see them travel, pay off vehicles, and invest in their future, that’s what makes me happy the most,” Joshua said.
