Businesswoman Beatrice born to build an empire.

Six years ago, Beatrice Ortega, then 27, learned that her lifelong dream of owning a construction company was considered too "high risk" for any investor.

"They said I was destined to fail," says the petite--barely five foot tall--Latina.

Today, Beatrice is the president, CEO and owner of Dot Construction of N.Y. (DCNY), a certified woman-and minority-owned business enterprise (W/MBE) and a union shop with gross revenues that exceed $3 million.

The company has completed, or is currently working on, large-scale projects for Barney's New York; the Brooklyn Academy of Music; Marymount Convent; the MTA; Scarsdale, Bronxville and Pleasantville Schools; PriceWaterhouseCoopers; MOMA; the new White Plains City Center, White Plains Public Library; and 1400 Fifth Avenue, among others.

"I didn't choose construction--it chose me," says Beatrice.

It was, in fact, a family legacy born in 1940 when her late grandfather bought nine acres of land in Puerto Rico for $300. As a girl, Beatrice used to travel from her home in the South Bronx to watch her cousins build "beautiful houses" on the family's property. As she grew up, she began to join in the labor. Her vision, to have her own construction company, started to form.

Beatrice graduated from Jane Addams High School, studied nursing (as her mother wished) at John Jay College, and worked as a registered medical assistant at Mount Sinai Hospital. But she knew that she could never be satisfied working for someone else.

One afternoon, at a trade show in Albany, she saw a sign for an Internet company that claimed to have "put the 'dot' in dotcom."

Beatrice turned to her husband, James Ortega, and vowed that she would "put the dot in construction."

Soon, bold red circles were emblazoned on the sides of her white van with the words Dot Construction of N.Y. painted beside and above them in large black letters. "Dot is a woman's name," explains Beatrice.

"I wanted to put a woman's name next to the word 'construction'--which is still considered a 'man's world.'"

On January 22, 1998, Beatrice officially founded Dot Construction of N.Y., Inc.

Initially, to circumvent the "usual sources" of funding, Beatrice developed her own innovative financing strategy. She charged all expenses from huge to small and paid the bills promptly to extend her line of credit.

She paid off all debts--from mortgage to car payments. She traveled to major cities throughout the U.S. to take--and complete--"just about every course" offered by companies and public agencies in project management, blueprint reading, cost estimating and other areas.

She handed out stacks of business cards at trade shows and conferences, mailed letters of introduction, even sent cakes with the company name written in icing. "They called back," she says.

Beatrice soon hired her husband, James Ortega, as director of operations. "He left a good job and took a huge pay cut. I am lucky to have him," she says. With a background in real estate and the construction business, he is, says Beatrice, "my head soldier."

She credits the company's continued growth to its targeted marketing efforts and the sterling reputation for quality and speed it has gained under her guidance.

Being one of the only certified W/MBEs in its field in New York City and the only one in Westchester is a boon, yet Beatrice points out, "My customers hire me because I am the fastest contractor in New York who gets the job done right the first time, not the second or third time."

Her success is getting noticed in the industry and beyond.

In 2003, she was named a Woman of the Future by New York Women's Agenda (NYWA) and a Rising Star by the Latino Job Service Employer Committee and the New York State Department of Labor.

This year, she was selected as one of Crain's NY Business' "40 Under 40" leaders and one of 2004's most "distinguished women" by El Diario La Prensa.

She also received a Special Recognition Award from Professional Women in Construction (PWC), and was invited to tell her success story as one of two featured speakers at a panel discussion on entrepreneurship held at NYU.

During the session, moderator Alair Townsend, publisher of Crain's, remarked spontaneously, "Can't you see that the heart of an entrepreneur beats in this small body? She wants to succeed!"

What remains the biggest challenge facing women in construction? "Gaining the respect of men," says Beatrice, who concedes that male attitudes still have a way to go. "A security guard will let my driver walk through a job site, but he'll stop me and say, 'Who are you looking for?'"

Do the biases discourage her?

"Not at all. They only push me to try harder," she says, smiling. "I love proving people wrong."