Breaking Cycles, Building Companies: The Transformation of Alejandro Saucedo

Alejandro Saucedo is a proud descendant of migrant field workers. As a child, his identity was shaped by his family’s perseverance and aspirations as they navigated seasonal farm labor. After receiving professional development opportunities as custodial workers, his grandparents and mother transitioned out of manual labor, taking their strong work ethic with them.

As a teenager, Saucedo suffered from addiction and was incarcerated. He did not allow incarceration to restrict his dreams, however. Recognizing his confinement as an opportunity for personal growth, Saucedo entered a substance recovery program and earned his associate’s degree.

“Never mind where I came from – It wasn’t even a factor. I never allowed [the fear of challenges] to take root in my mind. The resilience came with a strong belief system about who I was and what I wanted to achieve.”

Saucedo reconnected with his family’s entrepreneurial legacy upon his release from prison by founding a janitorial business: Indiana’s Elite Cleaning. His transparency about his past has been well-received by the South Bend community, but a local mentor reminded Saucedo that his success isn’t attributable to the label “reformed ex-con;” it has been realized by his hard work. Saucedo’s past may have defined him once, but this mentor recognized his entrepreneurial drive as what makes him truly special.

“I started this company fresh out of prison while on house arrest. I had restraints and restrictions, but I just kept that dream alive by being bold enough to put myself out there and carrying myself as a business owner. I acted like a CEO, and I allowed that to be the mindset moving forward, not where I once was.

At the start of his second year managing IEC, Saucedo sought to take advantage of his entrepreneurial “hunger and ambition.” Eager to conquer the local market for janitorial services, Saucedo applied for the South Bend Entrepreneurship and Adversity Program (SBEAP), an 11-month-long bootcamp that educates disadvantaged entrepreneurs on venture development. Believing that he would have to lower his prices to secure larger clients, he sought advice on competitive pricing. Although he had been sharing his new pricing structure with potential new clients, he had been met with rejection, and “that had started to prick at [his] heart.” But after completing a cost analysis with Keough School faculty and SBEAP program director Dr. Michael Morris, Saucedo soon learned that he should raise his prices instead of lowering them.

“When Dr. Morris helped us identify our business model as low volume with high margins, the conclusion allowed us to have more confidence and stay resilient with the ‘nos.’ Shifting to high volume with low profits would not have been a good fit for us. With SBEAP, working through my problem allowed us to realize who we are as a business and what we wanted to accomplish. Sticking by our values, we stayed that course, and by the end of the second year, we multiplied our revenue five times over.”

It has been three years since Saucedo founded IEC, and he refuses to allow his ambition to dwindle. He is transforming his company from routine janitorial services to comprehensive cleaning. Now a licensed government contractor, he has scaled IEC to offer pressure-washing, carpet installation, waxing, concrete repair, painting and more. Recently, he was proud to be recognized as the first minority contractor to successfully complete a government custodial project in the South Bend region.

Saucedo regularly visits SBEAP’s Collaboration Hub to receive consulting services as he continues to grow his company. The Hub, located in downtown South Bend, supports SBEAP’s alumni by providing tailored business assistance, ensuring every entrepreneur has the resources, guidance and support needed to thrive.

“IEC had a major problem last year with designing operating procedures to educate new employees,” Saucedo said “I was able to go down to the Hub, and the student consultants were able to quickly brainstorm a solution. It was a brilliant and effective [solution] that we still use today.”

Although he has developed a profitable venture, Saucedo is not content with simply providing high-end janitorial services. He values supplier diversity, and he believes that IEC’s strength streams from the unique skills and talents of a multifaceted workforce. Hoping to offer professional development opportunities to the underprivileged, Saucedo hires employees from disadvantaged backgrounds. In acknowledgment of Saucedo’s efforts to teach trade skills to under-resourced communities, the state of Indiana recognized IEC as a certified minority contractor in 2024.

“Each employee’s project contributions may look different, but when we bring them together, every person begins to feel a sense of value and worth about their contributions to an end goal. It resonates with them. They get to utilize and feel good about what they have to offer, so it becomes a joyful experience for them to be able to contribute to IEC’s mission.”

Saucedo has major plans for IEC in the next few years. Now offering services beyond cleaning, he dreams of becoming the city’s prime minority contractor. He continues to bid on large projects and hopes to secure the Great Lakes Hospital contract. As a sports fan, he dreams of being involved in the construction of a new entertainment center in South Bend.