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Cultural adjustment added challenge for Bosnian entrepreneurs
Starting a small business is tough for anybody. But when you’re new to the country, it can be even tougher. Rifet Nuhanovic knows this all too well. A year ago, the Bosnian refugee bought the former Pescatore’s Italian restaurant on Albany Street and turned it into a nightclub catering primarily to Bosnians.It didn’t work out, so he shut it down, did some renovation work and returned it to its roots as an Italian restaurant, this time called Medino’s. But the change from restaurant to club and back again pushed customers away, Nuhanovic said. Frustrated, he turned to others for advice about how to attract customers. He also looked into advertising, but decided it either didn’t work or was too expensive. He hopes by lowering his prices, some by nearly 40 percent, that it will help. “This is a hard business. It’s a very hard business,” he said. “If you want it to work well, you have to work hard.” Medino’s is one of many refugee- and immigrant-owned businesses that have sprouted up in Utica. Some have found success, others have failed and still others are struggling to stay open. Most small businesses fail within the first five years, regardless of where the owners are from, said Jim Roche, president of the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce. But, “when you add that additional challenge of assimilating to this culture, new customs, new language, that’s a pretty tremendous challenge,” he said. “I’m not surprised that some refugee businesses fail.” It’s much harder to start a business in America than it is in some countries, including Bosnia, said Nedim Mujic, the office manager at Work Ownership Resource Center on Genesee Street, which provides funding and training assistance to refugees who want to operate new businesses. Many new to the country don’t know the regulations and often invest too much money in their business before knowing whether it will succeed, he said. Mujic teaches prospective business owners that the most important things after getting the proper permits and tax information are finding the right location, advertising and selling a good product. There’s more red tape than most are used to, he said. In Bosnia, where he’s from, the process is less complicated, he said. “In Bosnia, you don’t have to register your business. You sit in a store, shake hands and get to work. If you have money you can negotiate,” Mujic said. “But here, you have to check on everything … zoning, fines, health department inspections. Here, you need things like an insurance policy.” And you need to get things in writing, said Sulejman Serdarevic. He learned that the hard way. The Bosnian refugee started a construction business, Eurostyle Construction, after working as a machine operator for a few years. After two years in business, he closed. He said he lost $15,000 because he got verbal approval for changes to his plans with property owners but never added it to the written contract, and the work went unpaid. “Here there is no trust,” he said. “I learned everything must be written down.” Success is not unattainable, Ramo Libic said. Not long after arriving in Utica from Bosnia he opened Lira Trade with help from the Work Ownership Center. That was in 1997. Nearly six years later, Libic’s store, which sells ethnic music and groceries, is still in business. He’s even looking to expand and recently bought space at Kossuth Avenue and Blandina Street. It’s a lot of hard work, Libic said, offering advice to those planning to start their own businesses. “They have to have vision. They have to do everything legally. If you don’t know what to do, just go to City Hall. They know about permits and licenses,” he said. “Number two: Be honest with people. Appreciate and respect people and their time.” |
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