ZIONSVILLE— Sitting at Cox Residential, Mishell Cox is discussing her journey to becoming owner and CEO.
"I was born knowing I was going to do roofing, no I'm just kidding," laughed Cox.
Cox and her husband started the venture together, but she's been in charge for the last 12 years.
"Being a woman in the construction business has been different, has been challenging. In the beginning it was a lot of having to prove myself constantly. The industries definitely changing but it's really slow," said Cox.
Cox is making a name for herself in the industry. Cox Residential was named one of the fastest growing companies and Cox leads the Indiana division of National Women in Roofing.
"For anyone to believe in you, you have to believe in yourself first. I'm trying to push women who are in this industry or thinking about joining this industry to believe in themselves," said Cox.
Cox is not only proud to be a woman in roofing, but also about where she comes from.
"I was born and raised in Mexico City, and I came here when I was 15-years-old. My parents believed I was coming here for vacations only, so after a couple weeks I kind of let them know I'm not coming back I really like it. This place is awesome. I ended up staying by myself so I had to work, ended up going to college, but yeah 20 something years later still here," said Cox.
Cox does do business back home in Mexico as well with her hot air balloon company and continues to help the Hispanic community here in Indy.
"I feel like what it was before when I came to the United States and Indiana that I saw as a weakness okay I am not from here, and I'm Mexican, and I'm this and that I turned it around and use it as my super power. Today it is my super power that I'm able to connect with different cultures, different people and being part of different communities," said Cox.
