We were lucky to catch up with Ale Solano recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

Having spent the better half of my life dreaming about a life in American while living in Nicaragua, I can now say that I really am living the American dream. I came to this country with literally $200 in my pocket and a barely proficient level of English. Within 3 years I have been able to improve my English (without any formal classes), start my own business and grow it. As I continue to grow it I want to show others considering this path that it can be done and that you can be successful, even without a foundation in business. I hope my legacy inspires immigrants to take a risk, believe in themselves and work hard to be of service to others while running a successful business.

Ale, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am from Nicaragua and back in my country I owned a bike shop for 20 years, so I have always been an entrepreneur. In my country it is very hard to find a job, so you are forced to think outside of the box to invent ways of making money. I have had many jobs over the years, such as radio DJ, tour guide, construction, selling bread in the street, hardware store salesman, pineapple picker, fire extinguisher technician and the list could go on but I always kept coming back to working for myself. While living in Costa Rica I started working with my cousin in landscaping, and that is where I learned about plant maintenance. When I moved to the United States to be with my wife I felt a strong desire to be the provider for my family. I tried working odd jobs, but nothing felt right. I worked for a large landscaping company here in Rochester, NY and I was grateful for the opportunity to learn about landscaping in this climate that was quite foreign to me, yet I knew that I could branch out and own my own landscaping businesses, so that is what I did. It was very hard at first because I was still learning English and I had to build up my inventory of tools and equipment. Something that sets me apart from others in this industry is how hard I work. Clients tell me all the time that they have never seen anyone work as hard as I do. But for me, it is normal to work like this, because in my country when you don’t work hard, you don’t eat, so I have an insanely strong work ethic. What keeps me motivated is the joy that I see on my client’s faces when they step out of their homes and look at the transformation of their yard. Seeing them pleased, makes me feel good and gives me the energy to keep going to make more people happy. Another thing that distinguishes my work from others is that I do everything by hand, no chemicals.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The culture in my country of Nicaragua is a communal one, most people have a group mentality and everyone helps each other out. Unfortunately, sometimes that backfires and can cause problems, problems that cause me to lose money or damage a relationship with a friend or family member. When you come from a community in which no one has enough, everyone learns to share just to survive, but people tend to get stuck in poverty patterns this way. When I first came to the United States I was frustrated by how independent everyone is in this society. I was waiting around for someone to give me a job, or invite me somewhere, or offer to help me out if they saw me working in my yard. Once my business launched, I still had that “give” mentality that is seen in collectivist cultures and I started giving away my time and services. I was undercharging for my work and I though that I would get repaid in the future, yet it never happened. I had to learn quick to change my thinking to be more individualistic in order to protect myself, my family and my business.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Just re-read what I wrote previously about growing up poor in rural Central America trying to scrape by with odd jobs, and now I am an American Business owner!

Contact Info:

• Website: alexsolanolandscaping.com
• Instagram: alex_solano_landscaping
• Facebook: Alex Solano