Maria Marin WINs by Turning Issues Into Opportunities

Welcome to another podcast from our EY Entrepreneur of the Year interview series. 

At the age of 15, war forced Maria Marin to flee from her home in Nicaragua.  She immigrated to the US alone, she did not speak English, and she had $200 to her name.

Fast forward many years, Maria is the founder and CEO of Unlimited Recycling and this year, was nominated for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year. 

In this interview, Maria shares how a petite Latina woman who is expecting her first child quits her job and starts a business in the male-dominated waste disposal industry. 

Maria is passionate about her family, the environment, and the Small Business Administration.  Learn how each of these passions played an important role in the growth of her multimillion dollar business. 

Ms. Marin is a successful entrepreneur, a keynote speaker, a leader in her community and industry, and a delightful podcast guest. 

Learn more about Maria's EY Nomination here.

This episode of WIN - What's Important Now is hosted by Carrie Richardson, Partner, Richardson & Richardson Consulting.

Have you got a founder story to share with the world?   We'd love to hear from you!
Schedule time to chat with Carrie here:  https://randr.consulting/connect

Carrie Richardson and Ian Richardson host the WIN Podcast - What's Important Now?

Carrie helps businesses improve their sales and marketing teams.

Ian is certified in Eagle Center For Leadership Making A Difference, Paterson StratOp, and LifePlan.

Learn more at www.foxcrowgroup.com

Book time with them here: https://randr.consulting/connect

Be a guest on WIN! We host successful entrepreneurs who share advice with other entrepreneurs on how to build, grow or sell a business using examples from their own experience.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Carrie Richardson: Good afternoon everyone. My name is Carrie Richardson and I am the host of WIN!. I'm really excited to introduce you to our guest today. She is one of the ey, entrepreneur of the Year nominees, and she came to the US when she was only 15 years old. She immigrated here from Nicaragua with $200 in her pocket.

[00:00:20] Carrie Richardson: Now she is a nominee for Entrepreneur of the Year. She is the c e o and founder of Unlimited Recycling, and her name is Maria Marin. Maria, thank you so much 

[00:00:31] Maria Marin: for being on WIN Today. Thank you so much, Carrie. It's such an honor to to be speaking with you and to have this opportunity to tell my story. So thank you so much and you did an amazing job pronouncing my name, by the way.

[00:00:45] Maria Marin: It sounds 

[00:00:45] Carrie Richardson: so much better when you do it though. You tell us how it's actually 

[00:00:47] Maria Marin: pronounced. It is pronounced Maria Marin. Wonderful. Tell me a little bit 

[00:00:53] Carrie Richardson: about how you how did you start your business? You're a petite. Latina woman [00:01:00] and you work in the trash industry. How did that 

[00:01:03] Maria Marin: happen? I have a passion for the environment.

[00:01:08] Maria Marin: I think growing up in Nicaragua I've always knew that I was gonna end up doing something great and wonderful. I just didn't know when and where. But I used to work for the Department of Natural Resources and we maintain and operate all the boarding access sites. In southeastern Michigan. And we used to receive all the illegal dumping calls from the community.

[00:01:31] Maria Marin: And I just remember we, our office was actually next to the Clinton River, so we were able to see all the waste and all the trash that was Floating to the river, we would get calls that from the Canada side companies were dumping liquid hazardous waste into the river, which was, there was nothing we could do.

[00:01:53] Maria Marin: And so I just knew that eventually I was gonna do this. And So when I [00:02:00] started my business, I actually graduated from the eight A program through the Small Business Administration. But during their nine year program the u s Army had a contract that Basically included recycling and trash.

[00:02:18] Maria Marin: So they asked me if I wanted to manage this contract. I didn't know anything about trash, and I remember thinking, how am I gonna do this? What am I gonna do? I have, I don't know anything about trucks, but I learned the business actually in three months. I started looking at roll off trucks.

[00:02:34] Maria Marin: I started doing my homework on what kind of containers I needed, which in the state of Michigan, you gotta have top style otherwise. The, ice gets stuck in the corners and you can't get the trash out. So I just started really doing my due diligence and my homework. And actually once I got into the business, I realized how I went from recycling to trash and how I wanted to recycle the trash that was [00:03:00] going in the containers.

[00:03:01] Maria Marin: And so that's when I develop lead disposal management, which stands for leading energy efficient design that buildings can construct. The, construction is basically all energy efficient, and then all the material that's generated during the construction is recycled. So really that's how I got in the business.

[00:03:25] Maria Marin: It was just by coincidence. I know that. The, as I call 'em, the big boys, when they found out there's this Latina woman, they always had the, their eyes on me wanting to see when is she gonna fall? They were watching me, but now I can honestly, say that they either like me, And respect me, or they're afraid of me because I have a, I have two rules.

[00:03:52] Maria Marin: Don't mess with my family, don't mess with my business, and I'm not afraid to stand up to anything or anyone to do the right thing [00:04:00] because at the end of the day, we're here to help the environment, number one, to help our customers and our company grow. And 

[00:04:07] Carrie Richardson: in the green room, we're talking a little bit and you mentioned that you started your business or you won a big contract the day that you found out that you were going to have your son.

[00:04:18] Maria Marin: Actually the, reason why I got into this business, really, like I said, going back to the D dnr, I remember I was told not to eat fish from the Great Lakes because of the Mercury. And at the time Actually it was, my son is now 34 years old, and that's how long ago I first received this information.

[00:04:39] Maria Marin: But honestly I. The, opportunity came with the US Army, and that's how my, business really scaled. A lot of people said why did it take you so long 22 years to get to where you are? And it's because for, from 2000 and, from 1999 until 2007, [00:05:00] I was a home state mom working out of my home raising my family and working, and I was making a very good living.

[00:05:07] Maria Marin: And it wasn't until 2008 that I really got my big break. With the US Army I was able to scale the business to what, it is today. And how did 

[00:05:17] Carrie Richardson: you name your company? How did you choose 

[00:05:20] Maria Marin: the name? I remember when I used to work for other companies, which I'm very thankful for all the jobs that I've had cuz I've learned so much.

[00:05:28] Maria Marin: But I always felt restricted, like I had wings and I wanted to fly and I had ideas and. The boss would say, no, you can't do that. I remember one time I worked for a John Deere dealership and I asked the guy, can I drive the truck to Lansing for a meeting? He said, no, because you, don't know how to drive a five stick.

[00:05:46] Maria Marin: I'm like, what do you mean? I, know how to drive a truck. He's, no, you don't. Yes, I do. So I always felt like I was working in a immense world and I could never get ahead, and I had wings and I wanted to fly. So one day I'm [00:06:00] sitting there as I'm thinking about starting my company, and I said, I'm unlimited.

[00:06:03] Maria Marin: That's who I am. I'm gonna name it. I unlimited recycling. And to this day I'm still in love with this name. It is such an amazing name. Actually, I got the trademark for unlimited recycling, and so that's how I started the, that's how I named the company Unlimited Recycling. I've 

[00:06:20] Carrie Richardson: I enjoyed talking to you about that so much in the Green room, and I'm glad you were happy to share that story with us.

[00:06:26] Carrie Richardson: Tell me about how you were nominated for the EY Entrepreneur 

[00:06:29] Maria Marin: of the Year Award. I had an opportunity to speak with Clarence. He's the attorney for the Michigan minority, and we had some conversations back and forth, and I mostly, I don't think he had ever heard of me before and during conversations he started to learn about all the wonderful things that our company's doing.

[00:06:48] Maria Marin: Including the fact that we are doing the. Lead disposal management for the construction project, for the us port of entry, the [00:07:00] Gordy Highway Bridge, US port of entry, which is the largest project in North America in the most sophisticated port of entry in the world. Once, once it's complete.

[00:07:10] Maria Marin: And he found out all the things that I've been doing locally and helping the community with recycling and waste disposal management. And so he nominated me. And honestly, before that, I had never heard of ey. And I was actually shocked that I was nominated and I was actually landing from a, New Jersey, from flying from Poland, actually from Norway.

[00:07:33] Maria Marin: When my son Max, my, he's my oldest, my VP said, Marie, mom, did you hear? Did you get the email? You got nominated. So that's how I ended up being nominated actually part of this amazing program. And it's such an honor. I'm very humbled that I am, I was nominated when there's so many other beautiful, amazing companies out there.

[00:07:55] Maria Marin: So it is such an honor and I'm so thankful for that. Yeah, 

[00:07:59] Carrie Richardson: we talked a little bit [00:08:00] about how many women and how many minorities have been nominated this year and, how impressive those numbers are. And it, I think it's just gonna 

[00:08:07] Maria Marin: keep growing. Absolutely. And and I'm so used to walking into a businesses in, I think the women, especially in the sustainability world environmental health and safety.

[00:08:20] Maria Marin: There's a lot of women that are really joining this business and I think it's amazing. So when I walked in there and I see men, I'm used to that. I'm used to walking into a men's room all the time and I feel very comfortable. I'm just one of the guys lots of times. But when I saw the photo and I started looking, oh my God, there's nine women or so, and, but they're mostly men, which is okay, but it should be up and down. And I'm thinking, I wonder if there'll ever be a time where you're gonna see mostly women and a few men or equal, so yeah, very excited to see [00:09:00] that and be a part of that actually. 

[00:09:04] Carrie Richardson: Tell me a little bit about the, biggest opportunity in your business right now.

[00:09:10] Maria Marin: The biggest opportunity is because of Covid. Obviously, we all went through that. So many facilities have shut down or a lot of companies went outta business, but then so many have actually come back to work and they're starting to see the need for recycling and being sustainable. And the, automotive industry, they're actually, the tier ones are required.

[00:09:34] Maria Marin: To report their sustainability goals. And so as they're coming back, they're starting to see that we do have an a global. Warming problem. We have deforestation and we need to be responsible and we need to be sustainable. So the growth that I see is right now we can't even keep up with the walkthroughs that we're doing and all these automotive plants, because they all want to recycle.

[00:09:59] Maria Marin: And they're [00:10:00] like, they're usually calling us saying, when can you start? So we're just gonna grow. And the next. Five to 10 years, I see ourselves quadrupling our sales just because of the awareness that's out there and the desire for companies that want to be sustainable, that want to recycle.

[00:10:18] Maria Marin: And the most beautiful thing about it is we not just help them be sustainable, but we can actually. Save them money by recycling, by diverting those materials from going to the landfill and to be reused and recycled. They're actually either getting paid for the material or they're, paying less to have that material.

[00:10:37] Maria Marin: Going to a recycling facility 

[00:10:40] Carrie Richardson: You don't quadruple your revenue without a few challenges along the way. So tell me what you believe are gonna be your biggest challenges as you work towards that goal. 

[00:10:49] Maria Marin: I think one of the challenges is really implementing those programs and the challenge is, Turn really changing the mindset of the [00:11:00] employees because they're so used to throwing everything in the trash and they see everything is trash.

[00:11:05] Maria Marin: Although there's a few that are recycling their cardboard and their pallets and their metal and some of the universal waste, like electronic equipment or fluorescent lamps. But a lot of companies, like even their paper they throw their paper in the trash. So it's just teaching the employees, incentivizing the employees and.

[00:11:25] Maria Marin: And so part of what we do is not just implement the program and haul the material, but we actually educate them on how to properly dispose of the waste at the time of generation. So I think that's gonna be a, the, it's really the challenge for the customer. We just, it just takes time for us to, so everybody can be on board.

[00:11:49] Maria Marin: But I, think that's really the, and we, are going to hire, which I'm excited to give more opportunities to to others that can come [00:12:00] more for our company. And so we are, but we're ready for that. To me, it's not a, anything that I have to do is not a challenge. It's just, it just has to get done and you do it one step at a time.

[00:12:11] Maria Marin: And not worry about it. I love that attitude. Yes. Not worry about it. 

[00:12:15] Carrie Richardson: My favorite part of our Green Room interview was your answer to the question. What keeps you up at night? What keeps you 

[00:12:21] Maria Marin: up at night? Nothing keeps me up at night. Nothing. Because I throughout the day, I I tackle what I need to tackle.

[00:12:31] Maria Marin: I resolve, I work hard, but when I'm done. It is time for my family. It's time for me to take care of me physically, emotionally in every way. And my creative juices do go, but I think of solutions, not problems, because when we get, when we think of a problem, that's exactly what we think it's a problem, but there's a solution to every issue.

[00:12:57] Maria Marin: So I don't call it a problem. We have an [00:13:00] issue. And so I leave that to rest until the next day. And I think that we, never know if we're gonna get up tomorrow so every night that I go to sleep, I feel happy that I did my best and I'm just gonna rest. Now it's time to rest. There's a time and a place for everything.

[00:13:20] Maria Marin: And I think entrepreneurs need to really take time for themselves and their family and really have that balance. We all need a balance in our lives and we can't be taking our work home. And I tell my employees the same thing. Come in, be happy and go home to your families. You're here to work. Do your best.

[00:13:41] Maria Marin: But when you leave go, enjoy yourself. And in our employees, a lot of times we communicate sometimes after work, but we try not to because I think it's very important for us. To rest the mind. We all need our sleep. I need people to come and be on [00:14:00] their toes and be strong. So if I don't practice that, how can I teach it?

[00:14:04] Maria Marin: How can I expect my employees to do the same? So that's just my mindset. Always been this way in, even at my age, I'm very young, will always be this way. Never gonna change because I think life's too short to worry. I, think worry to me is a waste of energy. So if I can't resolve that issue right now, I'll just leave it there until the next day.

[00:14:28] Maria Marin: An amazing 

[00:14:29] Carrie Richardson: skillset and if you were going to give a Ted talk on that topic, I would absolutely come and learn from you. 

[00:14:35] Maria Marin: Thank you. I, haven't mastered it yet. That is my goal. Okay. That's one of my goals is to do that. Ah, put it out there to the universe 

[00:14:42] Carrie Richardson: because you already said if you put it out to the universe will 

[00:14:46] Maria Marin: bring it back to you.

[00:14:46] Maria Marin: It does, yes. I, wanted to take my camp engineer national when I did my video and we went national within actually three years. And we're gonna go global and I know it's gonna happen. [00:15:00] So yes, when we say it and we really believe it, it really happens. And I really am a strong believer of that. 

[00:15:08] Carrie Richardson: Tell us about the video.

[00:15:09] Carrie Richardson: You, you didn't mention it previously so people will wonder what you're talking about. 

[00:15:14] Maria Marin: I was one of the you asked about important things that I have held my company scale. I participated in a program I stand for university called L Band Latino Action Business Network. And basically it's to help Latino owned businesses throughout the United States.

[00:15:35] Maria Marin: To be to be to scale their business. And so I, I graduated from cohort three and since then I became a mentor. So we're up to cohort 15. And I one of the things that we had to do was a video. So I actually hired. The, couple from Venezuela that was actually working for Stanford at the time, doing [00:16:00] the, audio and the video, I flew them to Detroit.

[00:16:03] Maria Marin: We did the video and we want first place. So that video actually at the time I remember thinking, oh my God, how can I spend so much money on this video? But it was worth every penny. It's amazing how many opportunities have come my way because people see this video and it's a beautiful video.

[00:16:25] Maria Marin: Even to this day, I see it and brings tears to my eyes cuz I think, wow how, amazing to come from Nicaragua because of the war. And, then I'm here in this space and, I'm able to shine. And so it's it's, a blessing. So yeah. Have this, video. I, recommend everyone to tell your story through a video and because we all have a story to tell, everybody has a story, 

[00:16:57] Carrie Richardson: and it sounds like your story will be carried on for [00:17:00] a few generations.

[00:17:01] Carrie Richardson: Tell me about your legacy. 

[00:17:04] Maria Marin: My legacy are my two sons. Like I said, I my first son I the, Mercury don't eat fish from the Great Lakes. I remember that planted that seed for me to start my company. And the day I incorporated unlimited recycling, I actually got the facts from the state of Michigan that I was incorporated.

[00:17:26] Maria Marin: My son Max, my oldest has been working for the company for 13 years, and he actually begged me to come work for me because I didn't want my sons to work for me if they, that was not what, they really was not in their heart to do and so my, youngest Evan graduated from Northville University with a business degree and I'm proud to say that I pay for that education.

[00:17:53] Maria Marin: He also got scholarships through Northwood. He worked very hard, but when he graduated [00:18:00] he really thought about, he said, I wanna come work for unlimited recycling. So I was like, oh my God. That was the happiest day of my life because how cool it is for a parent to leave a legacy, whatever that legacy is.

[00:18:15] Maria Marin: So my legacy are my sons. And they're both working hard. The between both, between the two of them, the company can keep going. If I'm not here and I'm building my team, I'm amazing team and every field of my business. And so I think every owner, every entrepreneur c e o needs to think about that is when we exit, do we, like you said, do we wanna exit vertical horizonal?

[00:18:47] Maria Marin: I wanna exit vertical and I want to run, I wanna run to Europe. I wanna run to the beach. I wanna, and I want my sons to be behind loving what they do and [00:19:00] carrying on that legacy and continue to mentor our employees and helping our customers and building those relationships that will be lasting.

[00:19:10] Maria Marin: I am, I'm extremely happy that my sons are my legacy. I 

[00:19:15] Carrie Richardson: don't think we could stop at a better place. The bells were just the ultimate ending to that story. It was perfect. 

[00:19:24] Maria Marin: Thank you so 

[00:19:25] Carrie Richardson: much. Thank you so much for sharing your story with our audience today. We really appreciated learning from you and I, just know you're gonna be wildly successful.

[00:19:33] Carrie Richardson: Good luck with the finals for ey. I understand the the announcement will be made closer to the end of June for the regional finalists. Yes. And for everyone else who's listening out there today, 

[00:19:45] Maria Marin: Keep winning. Keep winning. Yeah. Reach for the stars. They're out there for us to grab. The world is ours.

[00:19:52] Maria Marin: Yes. Thank you so much. Yours especially. Thank you, Carrie, for this opportunity and have a wonderful day. Thank you so much. Thank you, Maria. All right. [00:20:00] Bye-Bye.