Erick Sanchez was born and raised in El Salvador, while his mother came to the US when he was only 11 years old. When he turned 15, his mother made it a priority to get him to the United States because she was afraid of all the violence and wanted to keep her son out of danger. He left his country to come to the land of freedom, with hopes of having a better life. At an early age he started selling products and charged for services. He, of course, did not know how powerful the ability to sell anything was at that time, he was just doing it naturally.
When did Erick start Entrepreneurship?
Erick’s first business venture was at the age of 7 years old when he started selling pokemon tazos. Then, around 11 years old he figured out how to fix computers! He would charge people in his town to not only fix their computer, but can also download software’s that they’d have no idea how to get if it wasn’t for him. Later on, he got into the phone tech world and would charge to download music for people on their phones. Keep in mind this was back in the early 2000’s and in El Salvador, not many people knew much about technology.
What Obstacles did he overcome?
When Erick first came to the United States, there wasn’t much he could do for work due to his language barrier and documents. He quickly started attending high school to dominate the English language and at the age of 19 continued his studies by attending college. Although he did like receiving higher education to perfect his English, he really did it all for his dad. His father wanted one of his kids to graduate university so he gave it a shot. It didn’t take long before he realized college just wasn’t for him and left after the first semester.
Erick went back to his restaurant job but moved on as soon as he qualified for his green card. This is when he got his first commission-based job doing business to business, marketing a makeup company. He didn’t really care for this particular business, but he quickly fell in love with the business model. This business showed him about leadership, closing sales, business tactics and more. Although he learned a lot in the time being, he was let go after 6 months which brought him back to square one.
How did Erick get into the Solar Industry?
The same week he got let go, he saw an advertisement on craigslist for a solar company, and he submitted an application to set up an interview. At the interview he heard someone say they can break $20k in a month, which immediately triggered this as a “scam,” but went on with the interview anyway. He was hired and started his training immediately. Excited not only because he had already fallen in love with commission-based pay but the concept of solar and its benefits for the environment made him feel like he’ll truly be making a difference in the environment.
His initial outcome in the Solar Industry:
Although he didn’t know much about solar, his first month he was the top rep and closed a total of 13 Houses which made him break the $20k goal within his first 30 days. Erick was eager to level up to the next position in his career. Within 3 months he had obtained all the qualifications to be a District manager. He built a team that were producing 30% of the whole office production but yet he wasn’t given the position of a District manager after hitting the requirements. This was then when he decided to go work with another solar company.
It was like a dream that turned into a nightmare, his second company failed him. Within a year Erick and his team of 3 solid guys had done over 150 houses signed but only 20 got installed. After going through this big major set back in the industry, he learned how to overcome situations that required a lot of patience, discipline, and tenacity. Although he did switch up the companies he worked for throughout the years, he remained in the solar industry.
What are the current and future Business Ventures?
In May of 2018, he decided to start his own business selling solar because he experienced problems that he wanted to change for himself and other solar professionals. Erick believes in partnerships, and he treats all of his sales reps as such. His company is now operating in Massachusetts, New York, and California, with numerous other locations in the works.
“The ability to believe in yourself and provide value to others is the key of success. ” – Erick Sanchez
If you have any questions you can contact Erick directly at [email protected] or @solarkng on Instagram