Charlie Amato and Gary Dudleyhave been business partners for 32 years,and few can deny that destiny has playeda clever hand in bringing the co–foundersof Southwest Business Corp. (SWBC)together, considering that the two – bornsix days apart in August 1947 – becamefriends during elementary school in LaPorte.
Years after their families left the small,East Texas town and moved to differentparts of the state, Amato and Dudley justso happened to reunite at Sam HoustonState University, when they pledgedthe same fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon,during the mid–1960s. After graduation,they once again went their separateways. Amato pursued a banking career inHarlingen and Dudley became a football,basketball, track and swimming coach inHouston.
Fast forward to 1974, when, as fatewould have it, they ran into each otherat a party in Houston. It was there thatDudley, who had left his coaching jobyears earlier, invited Amato to comework with him at a financial company.He agreed and began selling credit lifeinsurance in San Antonio.
It wasn’t long, however, that both menbecame disillusioned with the company,when they noticed that the owners didn’tshare the same goals of delivering qualityservice backed by word of honor.
“Charlie and I had worked hard to dobusiness with clients, and the way weconvinced them to do business with usis … we promised them a certain levelof service excellence,” Dudley says. “Thecompany didn’t have that same sense.They weren’t honest with clients andtreated them like they didn’t need them.So we decided to keep those clientshappy and go in another direction.”
On April 1, 1976, with just $1,500starting capital, Amato and Dudleyestablished SWBC, bringing with them76 of the 77 financial institution clientsthey did business with, but not beforepaying their former employers for thoseclients.
Now, with Amato as chairmanand Dudley as president, SWBC is adiversified financial services companythat provides a wide range of insurance,mortgage and investment services tofinancial institutions, businesses andindividuals in all 50 states. And whatbegan with two people has evolved intoa corporation that consists of 1,200employees and more than $1 billion peryear in premiums and loans.
Amato has been recognized by hispeers in the community for his creative,relationship–building approach tobuilding business. “Gary and I always feltthat our clients have to be our friendsand no one wants to offend a friend,” hesays. “That’s why we work extra hard toprovide the quality of service we offerand the relationships have lasted overthe years. One of the reasons we’ve beenso successful is because we lose verylittle business, and we continue to addproducts and services and (gain) clientson a daily basis.”
Dudley, on the other hand, is creditedfor spearheading the development ofSWBC’s technology, information anddelivery systems. “Product developmentis pretty simple,” the president says. “Ifyou listen to your clients, and they comeup with an idea for a product that theyneed, then we try to design what wethink we heard. We use our marketingdepartment and a lot of other specialtydepartments. Next thing you know we’reselling a product to them across thecountry.”
Another reason for SWBC’s success,the founders say, is although it is aprivately–held corporation, it is run as ifit was publicly traded.
“We’ve been asked to go public manytimes,” Dudley says. “If somebody wantssomething, Charlie and I can say, ‘Yes,’and it’s done. Whereby if we do businesswith public or trading companies, theyuse the term ‘you have to run it up theflagpole,’ and sometimes that flagpole is40,00–feet–tall.
“So if somebody wants to dosomething, and it’s a high–dollar itemthat we need to do, and if Charlie and Iare out of town, all it takes is a phone callor e–mail and we get it done. The clientknows that if they really want something,and it benefits all of us, it gets done.”
Mario Hernandez, president of theSan Antonio Economic DevelopmentFoundation that assists businesses andindustries relocating here, has knownAmato and Dudley through theirinvolvement with the non–profit. He saysboth continue to show an interest in thegrowth and development of the AlamoCity.
“What I can say about them – andit translates to their company – is thatthere’s a real sense of caring and sincerityabout the city they live in,” Hernandezsays. “First of all, they could have chosenany other city in the United Statesto have their headquarters, but theychose to have it here. They understandthat if San Antonio continues to be aneconomic success, then it benefits allbusinesses and citizens by improvingtheir quality of life.”
SWBC recently kicked off a new adcampaign, “We Do That Too,” in orderto better communicate to clients thatit provides an array of services to assistthem, Amato says, adding that manywere unaware of all that the corporationoffers.
“They were a little disappointedwhenever they learned we offered allthese other services because they were sopleased with the quality of service theywere receiving,” the chairman says. “Theysaid, ‘We would have done more businesswith you if we had known.’”
Amato recalls the challenges he andDudley encountered during the earlyyears after establishing SWBC, such asmanaging the company’s rapid growthand hiring staff. “We had to doeverything from A to Z, sales, serviceand administer, and at the time ourcorporate office was in Dallas,” hesays. “We did have a hard time when(President) Carter raised interestrates to 18 percent, and the productsof the business we’re in is related tothe lending business … So we reallystruggled. But we were small. Wedidn’t have any debt, and we wereable to survive it.
“We also learned a valuablelesson that if we did survive wewould diversify as much as we couldproduct–wise and geographically.”
That diversification today extendsbeyond SWBC’s financial productsand services. They have created foursubsidiaries of which Dudley is alsopresident: Employees Life InsuranceCompany, Financial ServicesAcceptance Corporation and CotrakInsurance Services in California. Thefounders have also ventured intothe real estate business and own 51percent of Dallas–based RoyaltonReal Estate, and own Lone StarAutomotive.
On an interesting note, Amatoand Dudley are 2006 and 2008,respectively, graduates of the FBICitizens Academy in which bothare licensed to carry firearms.Participants meet at the localheadquarters for three hours once aweek for nine weeks and learn aboutgangs, white–collar crimes and othercriminal offenses.
“They re–enact crimes and youput on gloves and look for weaponson cars and we do fingerprinting,”Dudley says. “It’s designed forawareness. You’re another set of eyesand ears for the FBI because we’reout in the community. We fire 15different weapons.”
As a testament to the founders’desire to provide employment ina fun environment that promotesa positive morale, camaraderieand personal and professionaldevelopment, SWBC was ranked No.8 in a listing of “Best Places to Workin San Antonio” in 2008 by the SanAntonio Business Journal.
David Horne, SWBC executivevice president and chiefadministrative officer, says thatalthough many companies claimthat their most important asset areits employees, Amato and Dudleydemonstrate that belief daily throughthe company’s employee benefitspackage, Christmas bonuses,wellness program, employeerecognition efforts and commitmentto its core values.
“This commitment creates anemployee relations environmentwhere we are able to successfullyattract, motivate, develop andretain the best talent available in theworkplace,” Horne says in an e–mail.
SWBC is also big on communityservice. Employees participatein various charities, includingAmerican Heart Association, BigBrothers Big Sisters, Respite Care,SAMMinistries and United Way,among others.
“It’s part of our culture. Webelieve you have to give back tothe communities we serve,” Amatosays. “Communities you live inare more than making money. It’sabout people’s lives. Because we dobusiness in all 50 states, we reach outand give to causes throughout theUnited States.”
From childhood friends tobusiness partners, Amato andDudley have been a part of eachother’s lives for more than 50 years;and in retrospect both wonder wheretime has gone.
“(When I was a boy), I used to sitin church and the priest would say,‘Life is short,’ and I used to think hemust be 40 years old,” Amato, 61,says with a chuckle. “It is so true.When you work hard and keep busy,time flies dramatically. Now we’vegot to keep up the hard work.”
