Influential Woman · Construction

Aliya Ricks

Operations Manager, Hulen Construction

San Francisco, CA 94607

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Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Member Contractors Association

Her Story

About Aliya

I grew up in the construction industry, watching my father Robert Ricks, who has a company that facilitates project management and operations for multifamily communities in the Bay Area. While watching him talk to vendors, stakeholders, and clients for each project, I was in awe, thinking that is so interesting how he's doing it. I definitely wanted to do this for a career and wanted to be better than him. When I got older, I started my own construction company called Spaces General Contracting, located in Seattle, Washington, where I made contracts and deals all over the Pacific West. I then moved to Dallas and opened up another construction company, where I serve as the operations manager. I have been in operations and project management for the last 10 years in the construction industry, and I am very passionate about it. I am excited about career growth in the industry and am currently focused on building a construction empire.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Aliya

01What do you attribute your success to?

I would say my loved ones, my family, and my friends keeping me grounded, keeping me focused, and just supporting me on my journey to success and building a construction empire. That's my goal in life. It takes a village, and I need that support system. My three Fs are family, faith, and focus, and having that support from the people around me has been the key to my success.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I would say the advice I would give to women is go for your dreams. Go big and go hard. Don't let this male-dominated industry deter you from what you want to do in life. If you want to do construction, do construction. We need more women in the field. I'm the type of person where if somebody tells me I can't do it, I'm going to do it anyways, and I'm not going to let my emotions or what they say to me determine who I am as a person. I will always get my projects done, and when I do so, it makes me feel really good because I like proving people wrong. Make sure that you are spending time for yourself, and you're making sure that you feel good, and you're not letting people's opinions get to you.

03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

Being a good person and treating people with respect are most important to me. I also value having time to yourself. I'm a very spiritual person, so I love reading books relating to personal growth, manifestations, and things like that. I value my family and spending time with my loved ones, making sure everybody is good. I'm the type of person where I'm very empathetic. I love to make sure that people around me are feeling happy and feeling at peace. I meditate daily because with this type of field, you need to make sure that you have your head in the game all the time. I spend time making sure that my head is right and my mental is right as well.

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