Aspire Sales & Electrical Services owner Sandra Janak

proves that small business success is built on integrity.

During her previous life in insurance, Sandra Janak aspired to do something more… something different with her life to give her opportunities to grow to new heights as a professional and as a person. The door to that “something more” cracked open when she got a new insurance client – an electrical services and generator company. After getting to know Sandra, the client suggested Sandra try selling generators on the side and bypass the middle man.  The encounter inspired Sandra and literally changed her life and her career. As soon as she sold her first generator, she was hooked.

Opened in 2006 as a way for Sandra to make a little extra money to pay for her daughter’s college expenses, Aspire Sales & Electrical Services is now Sandra’s full-time passion. And in spite of the fact that Sandra did not come into the entrepreneurial venture with an electrical background, Aspire has quickly grown into a serious industry contender, adding electrical services and ultimately purchasing her former insurance client’s business.

Today, Aspire is a fully licensed electrical contractor business for residential and commercial services like wiring, design, computer lighting, and product sales. With just five employees, including electricians, techs, and office professionals, Sandra keeps a lean but talented staff busy and supplements with contract workers as the need arises. As a 100% woman-owned Houston business, Aspire is certified by the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program and by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), which opened the door to working with the Houston Independent School District. Sandra is also on the board of directors for the Women Contractors Association, which works to help and mentor women as future workforce leaders and entrepreneurs. All of Sandra’s work as an industry leader and mentor has earned her recognition from her peers, and she was named Houston’s 2018 Women in Business Champion of the Year by the Small Business Administration.

Additionally, Sandra continues to serve as a court-appointed child advocate, as she has done for 15 years.

“It helps me feel good to work with these kids, and I can come back to my business refreshed, knowing I’ve helped others,” she says.

And having surmounted the uphill climb as a woman in a male-dominated industry, Sandra has proven her resilience and her business prowess. But like all skilled small business owners, she was hit hard by the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Faced with a 75% reduction in income, Sandra had limited resources to keep her business running. With the fear of infection spreading faster than the virus itself, Sandra’s people-based business was no longer able to do business in the usual ways, going into homeowners’ and companies’ properties to provide service. A large part of Aspire’s business – construction sites – also closed down, significantly reducing work and revenue for the company.

But just as impactful as the fear of getting coronavirus was the financial devastation. “People’s livelihoods took a huge hit,” says Sandra. And it’s had a ripple effect on her business and her staff. As people across Houston tighten their belts, there’s less business to go around, even as businesses begin to open back up.

“Paying employees, getting them enough hours to work, making rent, paying bills – these are all big concerns,” Sandra explains.

Fortunately, Sandra was able to take advantage of the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) for the funding she needed to keep her employees paid. She was also able to obtain an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) for the additional help her business needed.

As Sandra ponders the way forward, she reflects back on the lessons she has learned… the Goldman Sachs 10kSB training that helps her find reassurance… the accomplishments she has been able to achieve. She reaches out and connects regularly with her many contacts to bounce off ideas and brainstorm solutions.

“Thinking about these things helps me adapt to these kinds of changes and makes me less fearful of what’s to come,” says Sandra.

As for where Aspire will go from here, Sandra’s not too worried. That’s because her business has been built on the most powerful type of advertising available: word of mouth. She has worked hard to build a stellar reputation and knows that people trust seeing an Aspire truck at the neighbor’s house more than anything, especially in times like these – and having an A+ Better Business Bureau rating doesn’t hurt, either.

But as people are slow to open their homes and businesses to service providers, Sandra understands – and she assures her customers that they are doing all they can to be safe: touchless service, which involves social distancing, interacting without physical contact with others, wearing masks and gloves, and taking temperatures and sanitizing.

“We know this is all about comfort and peace of mind,” says Sandra. “We’re taking every precaution for our employees and for the welfare of our customers. We know that we’re people supporting people, and it all starts with comfort, so that’s all just part of working to satisfy our customers. You can have full confidence that we will do everything for the safety of your business, your home, and our employees.”

What you can do now:

Sandra reminds us that even in a pandemic, the warmer summer months are still ahead – and with them come the hurricanes and rolling blackouts that leave businesses and residents without power. So she encourages regular maintenance protocols for A/C systems and generators and, for those without generators, to plan ahead.

“We’re ready to help. You have to adopt a relentless attitude to stay alive,” Sandra quips.

For the future, Sandra expects to constantly update and hone the safety protocols she has developed for Aspire to make sure employees are safe and customers are satisfied. She considers such steps a natural evolution of her business and how she will continue to earn the trust of her customers and build the reputation of her company.

An inspiring entrepreneur who manages to dedicate her talent to industry leadership and her time to service of her community, Sandra asks that you do everything you can to rally behind Houston’s small businesses like Aspire – to help them all aspire to greater things in the brighter days ahead.