Liliam M. López is the founder of the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (SFLHCC) and the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation, serving as President/CEO of both organizations since 1994. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in Political Science from St. Thomas University and a Certificate in Paralegal Studies from the University of Miami.
The South Florida Hispanic Chamber was founded 28 years ago and is a non-profit organization with over 1600 members, making it one of the top five Hispanic chambers in the United States.
Below are highlights of the interview:
What has been your biggest learning since becoming an entrepreneur?
My biggest takeaway from being the CEO of a non-profit has been to learn to deal with people from various backgrounds and cultures, and to always look for the best in everyone I meet. It is a blessing to work with so many hundreds of people continuously, and I find myself privileged to run this organization and see the following that it has. Obviously, without the support of the Board of Directors, and of our Chairman of the Board, Mr. Roland Sanchez Medina, Jr., Esq,. Chair-Elect Jose Perez de Corcho, past chair, Felipe Basulto, we would not have made such a big difference in the community. Also, our members bring so much to the table. They are great people who participate actively and promote themselves in a very professional yet relaxed ambiance of the SFLHCC. The members and those that serve on committees are so important. It takes a lot of people to make an organization successful. I am grateful to all who are a part of the SFLHCC.
How do you motivate people to go the extra mile?
I motivate people to go the extra mile by just being persistent. I do not take “no” for an answer like I mentioned previously. I always try to work my way around when things are not going the way I think they should be. When you focus your mind on something that you know that needs to be done and you are sure will work, you make it happen. I find it extremely motivating to have that drive, and that desire and willingness to help others succeed. When people see that you are motivated to help them, they become motivated as well, so it’s a two-way road.
What gets you up in the morning? What motivates you?
I am always motivated in the morning. I wake up around 7:30 in the morning, always happy and looking forward to a new day. I don’t like to see way in advance what I have on my agenda because that could be disturbing since it’s very hectic. I look at it in the morning and I prepare for the day. I am always motivated to help others. I’m an extremely happy person. I laugh a lot, but at the same time, I’m very serious. I take my job very seriously. Basically, I’m motivated because I like people. I am a people person. I was born to help others and I feel that is a calling. In our case, helping businesses is what it’s all about.
Kindly describe how you will specifically know what success looks like for you.
Success for me looks like having a room full of 200-300 people at every chamber function that we do every three weeks, and providing great speakers that teach the members and address a different topic of interest to them. The fact that all events are always packed with small, medium, and large business owners demonstrates that we are on the right track. We started doing live events in October 2020 with lots of precautions, but our leadership actually felt that it was time to go live and to meet in person. We did five months of virtual webinars but decided to go ahead and proceed cautiously with live events. We were the first Chamber of Commerce and are actually the only organization that has been doing live events since October of 2020. For that reason, not only have we grown, but we have earned the respect of those who felt the need to not stay at home and do everything virtual. There are people who wanted at the time to interact in person while being careful. I feel very proud to have been able to provide that service to those who really needed it and wanted to network in person.
What is some of the advice you give to aspiring women leaders?
The advice I would give to aspiring female leaders is to always persevere and work very hard. Try to achieve your goals. Surround yourself with people who are smart and good-hearted. People who have the same goals as you. It is important to be nice and kind to everyone and to have something positive to say. It feels good to be able to help those who need your help at the time that they need it. If need be, work 24 hours a day. Be yourself, be genuine, respectful, caring and kind. That is the most important advice I would give. Also, go the extra mile. We can all do more than what we do. We just have to feel motivated, and then you can reach the stars!
What are your future plans to sustain the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s success?
Our-future plans to sustain the extraordinary success of the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is to continue providing what our members want. The lunch and learns, the big signature events, the conferences, the great speakers, networking receptions and the personal touch which nowadays I find that people are in need of. We are very good at getting our message across and in communicating because ,without communication, there’s no way you can do business the proper way and hence grow to take your Business to another level.
Website: www.sflhcc.com
