LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A woman who came to Las Vegas from El Salvador with hopes of learning English and building a better future says she is now leading a multimillion-dollar company in the valley.
Claudia Meneses came to the United States from El Salvador in 2004. She said she, like many immigrants, came looking for opportunity and the American dream.
“It was difficult for all immigrants to come to the country. Number one, the barrier of language. Number two, the culture is very different,” Meneses said.
One of her first jobs in Las Vegas was working for a local family, where she and her aunt worked as a nanny and housekeeper.
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“And with the children, it was how I started practicing and learning. In fact, it was very fun because they always corrected my pronunciation and everything,” Meneses said.
Meneses said she noticed that in the cleaning industry, especially among immigrants, long hours and low pay are all too common. She decided to take matters into her own hands.
“We got certified, certification in green cleaning and starting, you know, running with that niche. And we were lucky because people said, you know, they liked that, you know, we were different, that we were green,” Meneses said.
From there, her company, Avanti Green, grew. What started with just her and her aunt turned into a successful company with over 50 employees.
“Last year we brought in about 2.3 million. And this year we’re projecting about 2.5, 2.6 million,” Meneses said.
For her, she said the success is now helping others who were in the position she was once in all those years ago.
“When I had cleaners come that they didn’t know English, they didn’t have a car, and they’ve grown in the company. You know, they learned to speak English. They got their license. They’ve got a car. So, to me, that’s the success,” Meneses said.
Meneses said she hopes her journey encourages other immigrants and Latinas to believe entrepreneurship is possible for them too.
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