by: Kelle Marsalis, Director, Small Business Initiative & Member Services
Before Vince E. Puente, Sr., the president of Sales and Marketing for Southwest Office Systems, Inc. (SOS), became an executive in his family’s company and an active member in the community, his career was influenced by boiling hot water. Want to learn how? Read on!
Who is your business-mentor?
I have two: John Harvison Sr. for his ability to be a highly entrepreneurial multimillionaire and a every-day nice guy, and Victor “Pop” Puente, Sr., my dad, for his work-ethic and his entrepreneurship.
What was your first job and what did you learn from it?
When I was 11 years old, I was a Dishwasher working for $0.75 an hour at a very small restaurant. Boiling hot water and a sink taught me that working hourly, or for a set wage, would never reward the energy that I was willing to put into my work.
What is one thing we might not know about SOS?
Pop founded the company in 1964, and we have weathered many technology & financial storms since then. We’re proud of the fact that the company is entirely debt-free, and this includes our 39,000 SF headquarters building.
Facebook or Twitter?
Facebook, but I’m not active.
What television show do you wish was still on the air – or would never leave the air?
I never have watched much TV, even as a kid. I was always out throwing newspaper routes and washing dishes!
