The 10-year old company, which employs about 40 people today, is notable for its accomplishments, even in an industry rife with success stories. What makes it even more interesting, however, is the fact that the man whose name the company bears, Michael J. Martinez, knew very little about the IT industry when he launched it.

"I have to say that, looking back, starting this company is probably the most creative thing I ever did -but I did it out of necessity," Martinez recalls. "Times were tough, my construction/real estate development business was foundering, I was in my mid-40s, and I realized I would have to reinvent myself if I were going to continue feeding my family."

Connecticut's economy took a severe nose dive in the early 1990s, losing some 175,000 jobs at the start of the decade. The banking, insurance and defense contracting industries - the backbones of the state's economy - all suffered steep downturns. Downsizing was rampant, and Martinez remembers it as "a very-destabilizing situation, economically. A lot of us were hurt badly."

Rather than panic, Martinez stepped back and tried to grasp the "big picture" of where the local economy stood and, more importantly, where it was going. He concluded that the only segment holding out any promise of growth was IT. Here was a technology that was becoming important to businesses in virtually every industry and that promised to evolve into an indispensable business tool. The question was, how could he hitch his wagon to that rising star?

Martinez realized his managerial skills could serve him well in the new world of technology business.

"I was a totally non-technical person - and I'm still very much that way," he admits. However, he realized that just as the manager of a construction company does not need to be skilled in all the crafts of his employees and subcontractors, neither did the head of an IT company need to be a computer geek.

"It was clear that an opportunity existed. Companies had laid off thousands of workers, but they still needed skilled technicians to get certain projects done, often on a temporary basis," he says.

Martinez, who holds an MBA from the University of Hartford New Haven, ventured that the management skills that had served him well in the construction industry could be applied with equal effect in the IT industry. He launched his company as a temporary personnel agency supplying high-tech workers to companies that had downsized their own IT departments.

"I felt it was a creative way to start a business, and I believe I have been proven right," he says. "IT is the industry to be in right now, and it certainly has a great future. We have evolved into one of the preeminent IT firms in the state."

DON'T GIVE UP

What Martinez has been through should serve as an important lesson for anyone who is serious about succeeding in business. When things don't go your way, it's easy just to give up. Real winners, however, simply will not do that. They make their own breaks - in business and in life.

That Martinez came through such a difficult time in the economy to emerge as the head of a successful, growing business might not have surprised those who knew him well. Although he was born into a life he frankly describes as one of privilege, he had to learn early on to take responsibility for himself and his well-being.

"I was born into a tremendously privileged family, not only in economic terms, but also insofar as the love they provided and the examples they set for me," he relates. "But in 1961, when I had just turned 15, that all came to an abrupt end."

The Martinez family were natives of Havana, Cuba, and the establishment of that country was being turned upside down by the revolution led by Fidel Castro. Martinez recalls his family discussing their options: "We could stay in Cuba and live under a system with no freedoms, or we could seek freedom across the water in the United States. My parents chose to take the risk of sending us children here and hoping they would be able to follow later."

You have to play the hand that's dealt you; you are the sum of all your experiences through life.

Martinez and his 13-year-old brother joined 15,000 other young Cubans relocated to the United States as part of Operation Peter Pan, an effort sponsored by a coalition of Catholic organizations. They landed in a refugee camp in Miami.

"I went from being a privileged young kid to finding myself in the Miami airport with no money, no command of the language, no parents to give me advice, and responsible for both myself and my brother. I knew that from that point on I would have to make the choice either to crumble or to survive," he says. "I had to become a man in a matter of minutes."

He made the choice to survive, and it would serve him well. The luck of the draw did not go Martinez' way, and he and his brother were sent to an orphanage in New Orleans. Reluctant to talk about it today, he describes it simply as "not a nice place." He is quick to add, however, that he is not complaining and would not trade the freedom he found in America for the life he would have had in Cuba.

"Those were difficult circumstances and difficult times," he states simply. "Thousands of kids were coming in, and some ended up in nice places. Ours was not quite as good, but I'm not complaining. You have to play the hand that's dealt you, and I believe those experiences are what made me what I am today."

Over the past decade, Martinez Associates has grown from a temporary personnel agency to a full-service IT firm. It offers its clients IT planning services, project management, quality assurance programs, document management, technical writing, custom system development and implementation and Web development.

PERSONAL GROWTH

Along the way, Martinez has also grown. A long-time supporter of the University of Connecticut, he was named to the school's board of trustees in 1999 by Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland. That is hardly the limit of his civic involvement. He also serves on the boards of directors of the United Way of the (Hartford) Capital Area, the Connecticut Historical Society, the Bushnell Theater and the Science Center of Connecticut. He is a director of Hartford Hospital and chairs its Community Relations Committee.

Committed to the growing small business movement across his state and the nation, Martinez often sponsors seminars to promote and assist the small business community. He co-chair's Governor Rowland's Small Business Advisory Council and has served as a delegate to all three White House Conferences on Small Business.

"I would say a third of my day is spent on activities unrelated to my business," he says. "But these things are very important to me because I feel so blessed to have had the opportunities I have had. Education has always been a high priority in my life - that's a legacy from my family.

Education is the great equalizer, capable of opening doors people never even knew existed.

"I think education is truly the great equalizer," he continues. "For people faced with the despair and hopelessness that life sometimes brings, education can open doors for them that they could not even imagine."

Martinez is not just a supporter of education; he is an avid participant. He estimates that he has taken between 30 and 40 masters-level courses in Spanish literature and language over the years, all part of an effort to deepen his understanding and appreciation of the Spanish culture both Hispanic and Iberian.

"This is a country of immigrants. We have all come from somewhere, and it is very important that we learn the English language and understand what we have in the U.S. and why it is important to maintain our system of government," he says. "But the cultures we have come from have a lot to offer, also. I think it is important that we hang on to the best of the old world while we take advantage of the opportunities the new one offers."