Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1520514
V O L . X X X N O. X I M AY 1 3 , 2 0 2 4 22 S M A L L B U S I N E S S F O C U S Born in the Balkan country of Kosovo, she enrolled in the navigator program after earning her master's in education from the University of Southern Maine last December. Jashari, who may start a café someday with her husband, is applying some of the lessons from the CEI program in her new job, as a multilingual teacher at Gorham Middle School. "When you do business you always have to communicate with your customers and with your partners," says Mensure, who is fluent in Albanian and English. She also aims to improve her French and Spanish, the languages spoken by her students, and learn Portuguese. "In my environment as a teacher, I need to be in direct contact with other teachers as well as administrators and students, so that's a skill I can apply in other fields," she says. Back at the Common reads sewing school in Westbrook, Mpay says she's now pushing herself to market her business on social media after going through the CEI program and hopes to have her own studio one day as she did in Kinshasa. For now, her priority is teaching sewing to fellow immigrants, some of whom also have entrepeneurial ambitions. "I don't really have enough time for my business," she says, "but it's better to empower others." R e n e e C o r d e s , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t r c o r d e s @ m a i n e b i z . b i z HERE TO HELP YOUR SMALL BUSINESS GROW TOWARD A MORE VIBRANT ECONOMY You have big ideas. Our business experts and lenders have advice and capital to help you succeed. Together, we can build a brighter future, one business at a time. 207.504.5900 ceimaine.org Forward Thinking • Innovative • Consistency You Can Count On D'arcy Main-Boyington Economic Development Director ecdev@brewermaine.gov 207-989-7500 W W W. B R E W E R M A I N E . G O V/ B I Z " The City of Brewer has welcomed my small family business with open arms by providing us with resources to facilitate growth within the community." Daniel Finnemore President, Box of Maine P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Khadija El Barkaoui, an Indigenous Moroccan of the Amazigh peoples, founded Coelle Travel. I like to describe it as a travel company with both local and global social impact, also known as a social enterprise. … These experiences have a lasting impact, fostering learning for both visitors and locals. — Khadija El Barkaoui Coelle Travel » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E