Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | November 12, 2018 | wbjournal.com Source: Seven Hills Foundation (2015) Foreign-born entrepreneurs aren't as familiar with the resources available to help them succeed BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor W hen the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and the City of worcester held a focus group for immigrant businesses this summer, they found many foreign-born entrepreneurs weren't as connected as they could be to resources and had a hard time navigat- ing the agencies available to help them. "It's a big part of the business commu- nity in our region," said Karen Pelletier, the chamber's director of education and workforce development. "It's definitely something that we need to continue to be thoughtful about as a community." To help the immigrant communi- ty start companies, the city's business development office has people who speak Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese and Italian. For other languages, the city part- ners with Worcester nonprofit Ascentria Care Alliance for real-time interpretation services and document translation. A business startup guide, with suggestions for business planning and lists of incen- tive programs and necessary permits, is available in Spanish and Vietnamese in the city clerk's office, where new busi- nesses file business certificates. e state agency MassHire works with the Health Foundation of Central Mas- sachusetts to help people start restau- rants or other food-related businesses and with English-language service providers for those who don't speak it as a native language. Immigrants "oen come with a wealth of skills and experience that they could use to create a successful business if given some help navigating the process," said Jeffrey Turgeon, the executive direc- tor for MassHire in Worcester. Help should be more in-depth For all the efforts made by the city and its partners, there is still much more that could be done, said Ramon Borg- es-Mendez, an associate professor of community development and planning at Clark University in Worcester. Borges-Mendez, who has worked closely with immigrant-run businesses in Worcester, said conversations between immigrant business owners and business groups can be too superficial, leaving an impression there isn't enough genuine concern with nurturing the immigrant business community. Marcos Reynoso, a co-owner of Rosy's Beauty Salon in Main South and native of the Dominican Republic, said he has found city code enforcement workers to be rude and too demanding when they stop by the shop. For a city of its size, Worcester should have, say, more Indian restaurants, authentic bagel shops or places to grab fresh pasta, Borges-Mendez said. Immigrant-run shops, he said, could fill more storefronts if they had better access to capital, for example. Many aren't able to attend networking events, he said, because they spend nearly all of their time with their business. "Here in the city, that conversation is very cosmetic," Borges-Mendez said. Willing to explore options Of 24 respondents to a confidential survey of Worcester businesses operat- ed by foreign-born residents conducted by the WRRB in collaboration with the WBJ, four said their experience with city officials in opening a business was "very easy." Eight said it was "some- what easy," and five said it was "some- what difficult." Of the respondents, half said the Worcester community was "very sup- portive" or "somewhat supportive" of their business. Of the remainder, four respondents answered to each of the following: "neutral," "somewhat unsup- portive" and "very unsupportive." Immigrant business owners inter- viewed by the Worcester Business Jour- nal were generally pleased with the ease of doing business in the city. "e process has gotten so much easi- er and knowing what is required helps as well," said Khalil Yatim, a native of Sierra Leone a co-owner with two brothers of the Yatco gas station chain in Worcester. Oriola Koci, an owner with her hus- band, Enton Mehillaj, of the Worcester restaurants Livia's Dish and Altea's Eatery – both native to Albania – said she found city officials to be easily reachable and ready to help with questions. "When we have had to deal with them about issues and concerns, they seem to be will to explore all options and helpful," she said. City Manager Edward Augustus said creating opportunities for all is a core tenet of the city's economic agenda. "Foreign-born individuals add tremendous value to the Worcester economy," he said. Pelletier acknowledged while the outreach is there in a city with more than 700 foreign-born businesss owners, more needs to be done by the chamber of commerce and others to help support and keep such businesses growing. City of Immigrants Worcester Regional Research Bureau A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN Helping immigrant businesses 39,921-Total number of Worcester immigrants 85-Estimated number of countries where Worcester residents emigrate from 51%-Of foreign-born residents of Worcester who are not U.S. citizens 5,500-Estimated number of foreign-born residents who are unauthorized immigrants 2,196-Estimated number of refugees who arrived between 2007 and 2012 70%-Estimated percent of Asian residents in Worcester who are foreign-born 46%-Estimated percent of African residents in Worcester who are foreign-born 24%-Estimated percent of Hispanic residents in Worcester who are foreign-born 12%-Estimated percent of white residents in Worcester who are foreign-born Quick facts: Worcester immigrants W PHOTO/GRANT WELKER Rosy and Marcos Reynoso, the owners of Rosy's Beauty Salon, had many positive comments about operating a busi- ness in Worcester, but they have found the city code enforcement difficult to deal with.

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