SBA’s Minority Honoree Sees Perseverance as a Starting Point

Grace Vaswani, president and chief executive of Santa Barbara Applied Research in Ventura, has a suggestion for budding small-business owners: persevere.

“Anybody who wants to start a small business, before you even think about it, has to realize it is going to take everything you have plus more,” she said. “You are going to be stretched to your limits physically, mentally and financially.”

Vaswani followed her own advice for years, and her hard work has now been rewarded with the Minority Small Business Person of the Year award, presented by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Los Angeles District office.

Vaswani has headed Santa Barbara Applied Research since 1988. She overcame a takeover attempt by a small group of minority shareholders in the early 1990s and in 1992 emerged as sole owner of the operation.

The company provides engineering, logistic and management services and develops computer information systems for the government and private sectors. Its clients include the Naval Air Weapons Station in Port Hueneme, Falcon Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.

Vaswani, 37, has seen the business grow into a multimillion-dollar operation, last year posting $7 million in revenue. The full-time staff has increased from fewer than a dozen her first year to about 130.

Vaswani said her ability to withstand the demands of running her own business--and doing battle with other government contractors--is something she developed in childhood.

A native of Hong Kong, Vaswani relocated to Huntington Beach with her family in 1975, at age 16. She faced severe language barriers and had few acquaintances, making the transition particularly difficult.

With her parents unable to find work, it became Vaswani’s responsibility to financially support her father, mother and brother, while continuing her high school and subsequently UCLA education.

She helped pay her way through college as a receptionist at IBM in Los Angeles. Within 11 years, she worked her way up to area telecommunications manager for IBM’s Western region.

But the desire to develop her own business was persistent.

“My father was always in the import-export and manufacturing business [in Hong Kong]. I watched him and there was something inside me that said, ‘I want to give it a try,’ ” Vaswani said.

Santa Barbara Applied Research was founded in 1980 by a group of UC Santa Barbara graduate students who served as consultants on community social service projects.

When Vaswani took over as president of the organization, she changed the direction of the company, bidding on engineering contracts from the federal government.

“The defense business had been dropping, government budgets were shrinking, I had competition from big defense contractors. I didn’t fit the mold at all,” she said. “Maybe it was not smart of me, but I like doing business in the technical arena.”

Santa Barbara Applied Research’s projects include the installation of ocean fiber optics, analysis of air quality emissions from U.S. Navy power plants and Naval logistics analysis. About 80% of its business is with governmental agencies.

Vaswani said it is only within the last couple of years that she has been taken seriously in the industry.

“They must figure they can’t get rid of me,” she said. “I’m winning contracts, gaining a reputation. I’m not going away. Your goals are always reachable, it’s just how hard you are going to work to attain them.”

Alberto G. Alvarado, Los Angeles district director for the Small Business Administration, said Vaswani received the honor because of her hard work and enthusiasm for the small business community.

“She’s just a tremendously energetic person, coming from very humble beginnings and moving up the system. It’s kind of a rags-to-riches story,” he said. “We really watched her business grow through dedication.”

Alvarado said Vaswani has long been a supporter of the SBA’s efforts to promote minority-owned businesses and serves as a good example for fledgling operations.

“One of the goals of our agency is to further the growth and development of the businesses in our community,” Alvarado said. “By honoring various contributors to the minority business community we are highlighting the importance of the development of minority businesses. Development leads to job growth, and that’s what it’s all about.”