Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • July 22, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 13 Saleh said. "You take risks, you're not expecting to have much at once, and if it goes slowly, you persevere." Barriers to entry While immigrants are more likely to start a business in Connecticut, it's not an easy endeavor. Serious barriers exist including dealing with local and state regula- tions, said Art Feltman, executive director of International Hartford, a nonprofit that works to stimulate the local economy through immigrant entrepreneurship. Many foreign nationals looking to start a business in Greater Hartford are experts in their line of work, but have no experience with the kind of government oversight and require- ments that exist here, Feltman said. "In other countries, you don't need these permits; you have a building, you build a store out from the first floor, and you open for business," Feltman said. "We've had businesses that have actually opened but not had permits, and had been threatened with closure, because people didn't know that they were supposed to fill out forms." There are a number of resources available for local foreign-born busi- ness owners, including International Hartford, which, among other services, runs One World Market, an outdoor international food court and entertain- ment space that features immigrant- owned restaurants each summer. One of those eateries is Bombay Olive, a West Hartford Indian restaurant run by Hem Raj Gurung, who moved to the United States from Nepal in 1996. Before he opened Bombay Olive in 2008, Gu- rung spent years working in Indian food restaurants in Boston and Hartford, learning the restaurant industry, includ- ing the regulatory environment. He also spent that time saving about $100,000 that he used — along with additional loans he secured from friends — to start up the restaurant. He credits members of the Greater Hartford business community with supporting and encouraging him in the beginning. Another entrepreneur who works out of One World Market says the biggest challenges to immigrant-owned busi- nesses are the same as those facing all small companies in Greater Hartford. Yvette Williams runs 2 Your Health LLC, a holistic health and vegetarian food venture. Williams, who moved to the area from Jamaica with her mother as a child, said over-regulation and laws like the recently-passed $15-per-hour minimum wage are some of the most pronounced hindrances to immigrant as well as native-born business owners. "Just in general for the state itself, and definitely how it would impact people who are arriving here, it would be great if [the state] had an efficiency task force that really went through and addressed certain aspects of our laws," Williams said. Legal immigration Gioia, the economist, said problems also exist on the federal level with the country's legal immigration system. He recalls when he was giving a lec- ture to a college class a few years back, and noticed a lot of foreign accents. He asked how many people were from another country, about two-thirds of the class' hands went up. He asked how many would work in the U.S. after graduation, only two hands went up. Students told him they wanted to stay in the country, but couldn't get visas. He said Greater Hartford and Connect- icut in general simply cannot afford to lose out on young, educated people likely to start businesses, buy property and stimulate the state's struggling economy. While the state can't do anything directly about immigration law, Gioia said, Gov. Ned Lamont can begin mak- ing direct public appeals to prospec- tive foreign-born entrepreneurs that Connecticut will welcome them. Ad- ditionally, the Northeast congressional delegation must advocate for policies that make it easier for people to move to the U.S. and start a business. "This is part of immigration reform I think everyone would be on board with," Gioia said. "This is the sort of stuff that's going to help the economy." Hem Raj Gurung spent years learning about the restaurant industry after moving to the United States from Nepal in 1996. He currently owns Bombay Olive in West Hartford. HBJ PHOTO | SEAN TEEHAN Approved Industrial Site D 62.9 acres D Portion of site approved for 267,000 SF D Frontage on Day Hill Road, Iron Ore Road & Goodwin Drive via traffic signal D Day Hill Corridor location (Exit 38 off I-91) D All utilities to site D Easy access to Bradley International Airport, I-91, I-84 11 Goodwin Drive Windsor, CT 860-286-7660 www.griffinindustrial.com Find out why Amazon, Walgreens, Dollar Tree, Domino's, Eaton, Westinghouse, FedEx, Pepsi, UPS and Tire Rack all chose to locate within central Connecticut's premier industrial market Old IronRoad Day Hill Road Goodwin Drive APPROVED SITE WE PROVIDE CT BUSINESS LEADERS WITH THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO SUCCESSFULLY RUN THEIR BUSINESS. ARE YOU IN THE KNOW? SUBSCRIBE BY GOING TO HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM CLICK ON "SUBSCRIBE"

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