Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Sanchez.
Laura is the founder and CEO of SWATware LLC, a full-service Information Technology (IT) firm that delivers comprehensive Telecommunications, IT and Web solutions, with a focus on Cyber Security. She has been in business for over 10 years, and her company has assisted numerous businesses in improving their IT Strategy, IT Infrastructure, and Web Technologies, while at the same time improving their information security and reliability. She is one of the few existing Latina entrepreneurs in Chicago’s Technology field, combining her quality services and passion for IT she shares her experience with small business owners in various capacities. Laura has utilized her proficiency in both English and Spanish to perform work internationally and is well recognized for her expertise in the IT field. She has spoken for Google, Verizon, HMG’s Chicago CIO Executive Leadership Summit, the City of Chicago (BACP), the IHCC (Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce), WBDC, UNAM Chicago, HACIA, HispanicPro, and other organizations dedicated to educational and economic development that encourage the proper use of technology both professionally and personally.
Laura received her Master’s degree in Innovation and Business Development from the Tec de Monterrey (ITESM), one of the top universities in Mexico. She graduated Summa Cum Laude when receiving her undergraduate degree in International Business and Marketing. In 2013, Laura was awarded the Nueva Latina Estrella in the Technology category by Verizon and was an honorable mention recipient for the 2013 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards by Enterprising Women Magazine. These awards are meant to honor women business owners who have demonstrated high-potential-growth and stand out as leaders in their communities. And in 2017 she was part of the Latinos 40 under 40 awarded in Chicago by Negocios Now. In addition to this Laura has been featured on TV by Univision, Telemundo, and ABC7, as well as on local radio stations and newspapers such as Hoy and Negocios Now and the national publication Latino Leaders Magazine.
Laura, please tell us about your story.
I vividly remember that on February 8th, 2008, I was 23 years old and I arrived for the first time here to Chicago, I must say that in that day my life changed in a matter of 4 hours (that’s the time it takes the plane from Morelia to Chicago); before taking the plane I was in my country, with my family, my friends, and some decent savings according to the Mexican standards. 4 hours and one flight later I realized I was alone in another country, with no family, no friends, I needed to communicate in another language that was not mine, and my savings suddenly banished, because at that time 1 dollar was 15 pesos (it was like if I used to have $ 60,000.00 and suddenly I just had $ 4,000). That day my husband and I arrived with 2 baggage each, our micro savings and tons of dreams. One of them was to open a business, but to make things more interesting (as if we needed more drama) it was 2008 and we were living one of the worst economic recessions in recent history. Definitely, we didn’t have the best conditions to start a business. But regardless of our circumstances, we were confident because we had something that nobody could take away from us, our education, our experience in the IT industry, and overall, our determination to succeed no matter what. For us, it was not an option to go back to Mexico defeated.
Once we made ourselves conscious of what we had and didn’t have, we realized we had no idea how to open a business here in the US, and we needed to start the business immediately because we only had savings to survive for 2 or 3 months tops. So we did some research and we found out that there were many organizations out there who would be able to help us with the process of opening a business and they would do it for free. I was astonished because having so many organizations offering their help for free is something that you do not see in Mexico at all (or they are really difficult to find). At the time, we didn’t feel very confident about our English; so we went to the only organization that we thought would speak Spanish, the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC) and they helped us all the way.
After a few weeks, we registered our business and started promoting our services the same way people do in Mexico, by knocking the door place by place; and a funny story is that at that time we did not know what “not soliciting” was, so when we saw the sign we entered anyway, and we learned the hard way what “not soliciting” meant. When we got lucky, sometimes people listened to us, and they were interested in what we were offering, but they always asked us for 3 referrals in the US, and as you might suspect we didn’t know 2 people; so, how could we give them three referrals? After a while, we realized this approach was not working, and there must be another way to succeed and find clients. That’s when we attended one of the free workshops that the IHCC offered, I liked the presentation and I asked the presenter how did he find his customers? And he kindly introduced me to the concept of networking, which was new for me as in Mexico there isn’t anything like that, there´s no such thing like networking events. So finally I found a way to meet people, and during the first years I attended to as many networking events as I could, up until today some people describe me as a “Networking Machine”; and, I can proudly say that at this point I know as many people as other folks who have been living here their whole life. But after a couple of years, I realized that in this city there are too many events, so I started refining my networking skills and just attended to those that I knew I would meet the people who are more aligned with my target market.
Thanks to the networking events, some people gave us the opportunity to start working with them. We knew that was the moment of truth, it was the moment where we needed to show all the passion that we have for our business, the value of our services and the integrity of our company. Because that reputation will follow us everywhere. We did our best with every project and each project was a success, and we knew it was a success, because every single client referred us with another person, and for me, the best compliment you can have is a referral. Nowadays, we can count within our clients the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Mexican Tourism Board of Chicago, some of the top 10 Illinois Hispanic owned construction firms and many other small and medium businesses in the community. They hands-down are my best sales representatives, thanks to them, I receive a referral almost every week.
But in all this process, I need to recognize that there have been so many good people who helped me out of the goodness of their heart, they really had nothing to win and they went out of their way to help me at different levels. Because of them, I knew I had the responsibility to give back to the community and for me the best way to give back is by educating and sharing my knowledge with others, this is why I collaborate with organizations like the City of Chicago, WBDC, Hacia, Verizon, Google and many others, presenting workshops about technology. There are very few Latinas business owners in the IT industry in the whole Chicagoland area, and I happen to be one of the most active in the community. And although I wasn´t expecting anything in return, my work has been noticed, in 2017 I was part of the Latinos 40 under 40 award in Chicago by Negocios Now, in 2015 I was featured in the National Publication Latino Leader Magazine, in 2013 I was awarded as the Nueva Latina Estrella in Technology by Verizon, and as a former winner Verizon asked me to be the face and official representative of the program in the 2015 year. Also, I have been very fortunate to be featured in Univision, Telemundo, and ABC7, as well as in local radio stations and newspapers such as Hoy and Negocios Now.
Has it been a smooth road?
After we started the business, we had many challenges, but I would like to share with you two of the most important ones:
1. Our lack of network, as I mentioned I remembered that at the beginning when finally, somebody agreed to have a meeting with us, we presented our proposal and they were excited to move forward with the project, but at the end, they always asked for 3 referrals of previous clients. At that time we didn’t know 2 people here, so how can we give them 3 referrals? Many times we take for granted our network and we don’t realize how valuable it is until we don’t have it. In order to build our network here, we had to invest a massive amount of hours in networking events and follow up.
2. To overcome the social stereotypes. Especially in an industry like IT dominated by White and Asian Men, where Latinos are severely underrepresented. For many people it was (and still is) difficult to believe that a Women Immigrant from Mexico could own an IT firm. But once they know me and my company, they see our professionalism, we gain their respect and trust. As I mentioned today, I can count within my clients the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Mexican Tourism Board of Chicago, some of the top 10 Illinois Hispanic owned construction firms and many other small and medium businesses in the community.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with SWATware LLC – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
SWATware LLC is a full-service Information Technology (IT) firm specialized in Telecommunications, Networking, Systems Integration and Web solutions with a focus on Cyber Security. With a combination of personalized services, deep industry knowledge and experience, we strive to be our clients IT Partner by providing the best solutions for their specific needs!
Our client-centered approach and our passion for what we do, allow us to provide custom strategies that align with our clients’ and partners’ growth plans. Our goal is to maximize business performance and empower our clients to excel in their industries while they know their IT infrastructure is in place and ready to help them succeed.
We believe that technology is no longer a tool, it is the backbone of all businesses and organizations. For this reason, our mission is to empower our clients to take the best business decisions by helping them design a sustainable IT strategy, implement it, maintain it and improve it according to their evolving challenges.
We are an MBE, WBE, and DBE certified business.
My bilingual and bicultural roots have been an asset because we can communicate complex IT concepts to everyone from the warehouse workers to the CEOs of a firm.
Future Plans
We recently opened a downtown office and our plans for the future are to grow the Telecommunications Desing department and get certified to work with the Federal Government.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I like the best that people in Chicago is very diverse and, in general, it is a very friendly and welcoming city. What I like the least is the corruption and that some political and business circles lack diversity, are very close and difficult to approach for younger generations.
Contact Info:
- Address: 36 S Wabash Ave Suite. 310 Chicago, IL 60603
- Website: www.swat-ware.com
- Phone: 773.634.9394
- Email: contact@swat-ware.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swatwarellc/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SWATware1/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SWATware
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/swatware-llc/
Image Credit:
Negocios Now http://negociosnow.com/40under40/, Hoy Chicago http://www.chicagotribune.com/hoy/ct-hoy-8432214-tecnologia-para-la-microempresa-story.html
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