| |
2005
Anna Maria
Arias Memorial Business Fund |
|
The Power to Change
We are Sandra and
Sonia Alvarado, sisters, born in Chile
to modest, hard-working parents. We were
in grade school when Mom and Dad brought
us to Los Angeles in pursuit of a better
life.
Our parents worked menial jobs to put
food on the table and taught us to
believe in ourselves and the power of
education. Recognizing our parents’
sacrifice, we quickly learned English
and both went on to receive bachelor’s
degrees in television and film
production.
Our field was a
difficult one to break into. We sent out
hundreds of résumés, only to be rejected
time and time again. But we never gave
up on our dream to work in television.
We started at the bottom as unpaid
interns, even cleaning the studio floor
when necessary.
|
 |
|
Sandra and Sonia Alvarado are
the director and producer,
respectively, for Aces TV, their
Los Angeles–based video-production
company. They were recipients of
a 2004 Anna Maria Arias Memorial
Business Fund Award. |
|
Our perseverance and work
ethic paid off. Sandra became a director of a
Spanish-language newscast and Sonia a producer
of a weekly show about minority entrepreneurs.
By the year 2000, we had won four Los Angeles
Emmy Awards and one Golden Mike Award between us.
After achieving success in television production,
we set our sights on a new, more challenging
goal: entrepreneurship. In 2001, with $200 for
stationery and a cell phone, we started our
video-production company, Aces TV, from Sonia’s
bedroom. We designed a website, mailed
announcements, and made hundreds of phone calls,
but the work did not come.
Giving up was not an option for us. We kept
thinking about the words of writer Napoleon
Hill: “A quitter never wins and a winner never
quits.” We used credit cards to purchase video
equipment and pay all our bills. In our previous
jobs, we had production teams that would follow
our directions. As business owners, we were the
team. We saw our business drought as an
opportunity to further develop our skills. We
participated in the entrepreneur program at
Valley Economic Development Center, attended
workshops and networking events, and learned
computer video editing.
For the first three years, we invested more than
we earned, so taking a salary was out of the
question. It was a scary time, but we believed
in the value of what we had to offer. We
gravitated toward working with nonprofit
organizations and felt successful because our
work was helping to make a positive difference
in the community. Our videos highlighted
companies such as the Women’s Economic
Development Center, the Filipino American
Service Group, and Project Cuddle, an
organization that works to prevent baby
abandonment. Creating something that has the
power to change people’s lives for the better is
a job we are very proud of.
Our educational video about the importance of
folic acid to help prevent certain birth defects
is being used to spread the message in the
Hispanic community. We also joined forces with
our sister Monica, a genetic counselor, to
produce videos in English and Spanish educating
patients about cystic fibrosis, a disease that
is the biggest genetic killer of children and
young adults in the United States. These videos
have been ordered by doctors and hospitals from
across the United States and as far away as
Australia.
Being entrepreneurs has given us a great sense
of accomplishment and personal rewards. Our
flexible schedule also allows us to volunteer
with various organizations. We taught a video-production
class at a home for at-risk boys, ran a marathon
to raise money for AIDS, and are volunteers for
Padres Contra el Cancer and Project Cuddle.
Ours is a story of struggle and
determination in search of the American dream.
We were deeply honored to receive an Anna Maria
Arias Memorial Business Fund Award. The grant
helped Aces TV to produce a video for Buenanueva
Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps
to prevent teen pregnancy and assists young
mothers in continuing their education and
becoming self-sufficient.
We are determined to honor Anna Maria Arias’
memory by becoming role models for other
Latinas, encouraging them to set big goals and
to never give up on their dreams.
By Sandra and Sonia Alvarado |
