Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosa Vicent and Andersen Zapata.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After just two weeks working for an LED lighting company for boats, Andersen Zapata, Founder of Lighting of Tomorrow, saw a huge opportunity he couldn’t overlook. Andersen, and his wife and co-founder, Rosa Vicent, began researching the possibilities of starting their own LED lighting business. Within six months, they took the plunge and founded Lighting of Tomorrow in June of 2016.
“After doing a lot of research, we knew it was a great opportunity,” Rosa said. “We also saw the impact that LED had on the environment, which is something we’re very passionate about. I worked as a paralegal for five years prior, so I knew some legal aspects of business. We came up with a business plan, connected with manufacturers and started doing networking events to spread the word.” All out of our apartment! Thankfully we had computers and office desks that my ex-boss had given me. – Says Rosa
We started off in the residential sector. As a service-based business, our value add was connecting the client with the manufacturer and the electrician to do the installation. They were the consultants that brought all parties together.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
A big challenge, in the beginning, was connecting with our clients,” she said. “We had to prove ourselves. We spent a lot of time telling people who we are and what we do. We also spent a lot of time connecting with manufacturers. Since we were brand new to the industry, we had to convince them to work with us.
Also, learning how to work together as husband and wife and separating business from our relationship was an early challenge.”
“Our challenge of being so new to the industry is why I did so much networking. I probably went to a networking event every night of the week. I would meet and get in front of as many people as I could. It was all about establishing personal connections. Eventually, those connections lead to opportunities in the commercial sector. Today, we pretty much exclusively focus on commercial work.”- Says Rosa
It’s been difficult to find and hire qualified people to help us grow. Managing a team is not an easy task. And also working with your husband or wife can be a whole job of itself. Finding our roles, our weaknesses and strengths is definitely a challenge, and to not let your emotions get in the way can be very difficult.
We also had a lot of heartbreaks while hiring electricians to do the job. We had one of them that left the job undone and had to find someone else to finish the job, our client was not happy. But at that point, we had already lost money on the job.
We have completely funded our business with our credit cards, good thing our parents did a great job at helping us start our credit early on in life and we had decent credit card lines and that’s all we have used to grow our business.
Another big challenge was having to bail out on our friends and family. We went all in. NO parties, no gatherings. We have literally worked almost every weekend, holiday. We wake up work, sleep and do it all over again. A lot of people called us crazy and obsessed but we are on a mission to make our dream become a reality. Now that we have been in business close to four years we establishing our relationships and rekindling our social life. It was very hard because we are both social butterflies!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Lighting of Tomorrow story. Tell us more about the business.
Lighting of Tomorrow is an innovative, energy-efficient product & service provider that facilitates the switch from outdated, inefficient lighting to state-of-the-art LED technology. We offer lighting design consultation as well as full electrical services including inspection, installation and maintenance.
We sell & install LED lighting for residential & commercial spaces. But most importantly, we provide a service that will help our customers utilize our products to its maximum performance, and we help decide what fixtures would fit best for your needs.
Lighting of Tomorrow’s vision is to provide efficient, renewable energy solutions that serve our customers and help our planet. We believe that we have a part to play in creating a more sustainable, healthier future for our planet.
Lighting of Tomorrow’s main goal is to achieve significant energy-use reductions through the installation of energy-efficient smart LED lighting systems. We aim to illuminate our world one light fixture at a time. Our efficient and affordable smart lighting solutions allow our clients to benefit from energy reduction and cost. All products and fixtures used by L.o.T. are accredited, certified, and guaranteed for commercial & industrial use.
We believe that saving energy is simply the right thing to do. For every customer we help, we can reduce overall CO2 emissions, directly impacting our environment.
We take pride that we are not just in business for profit but also to provide value to our community and customers. We have handpicked, research, and test the products we offer to guarantee maximum performance. In addition, we help decide what fixtures fit best for your needs, wants and budget.
What sets us apart is that we CARE for every single client and it shows and we also; not only provide LED lighting products but we offer installation, warranty, service, payment terms.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We don’t really believe in luck. We believe that hard work, consistency, honesty, and discipline will lead to success. Maybe not right away, or “your” timing but if you stick through and apply all the above you will succeed. and as for “bad luck,” we don’t believe in that either. Anything that is difficult, challenging, or heartbreaking is only a stepping stone to where you want to go. Its preparing your for the next thing to come in your life.
Contact Info:
- Address: 840 E oakland Park Blvd #117 Oakland Park, FL 33334
- Website: www.lightingoftomorrow.com
- Phone: 954-626-0267
- Email: rosa@lightingoftomorrow.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/lightingoftomorrow
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/lightingoftomorrow
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/lightingoftom
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lighting-of-tomorrow-oakland-park
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightingoftomorrow
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