A-Day-in-the-Life-of-an-Immigrant-Entrepreneur-Story-Book

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20Bank, but his poor credit rating made a loan impossible.Though their hands were tied, the banker knew Dogbewas a credible candidate and so made a call to theNeighborhood Development Center’s Director ofLending, Brian Singer.In partnership with the Black Chamber of Commerce,NDC was able to offer Dogbe a loan to purchaseequipment, and later another loan for working capitaland payroll. His NDC loan officer Perla Mayo says he’sahead of schedule on his payments, and his credit scorehas improved considerably.Dogbe and SOS Building Services were the perfectcandidates to receive assistance from NDC’s newlylaunched Business Expansion Program— an initiative toexpand its business assistance services, including loancapital offerings to better meet the particular needs ofexisting businesses poised for growth.Business has been very good. Working mostly inMinneapolis’ Uptown area, glowing word-of-mouthreferences have kept him busy and allowed him to hiremore employees. NDC’s Business Lab is in the process ofproviding him with a new logo and website and advice onhow to attract and manage more business opportunities.Sitting behind his desk, monitoring three computers athis home in North Minneapolis, Dogbe manages the SOSpayroll, pays invoices and oversees his 24 employees. Butwhen a hire is just starting out, or there’s a new buildingto clean, Dogbe is there— collecting trash, vacuuming,cleaning toilets— alongside his staff, and speaking English.“I work to motivate them,” he said. “By working hard anddoing it right, we have a job. If we don’t do it right, we don’twork. It’s simple.”A version of this story was previously published by theNeighborhood Development Center.Written by Emily Blodgett, Director of ExternalCommunicationsA DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEUR
ST. LOUISWE GLOBAL NETWORK 21Entrepreneurialismand the Human TouchJULIO ZEGARRA-BALLONCountry of Origin: PeruCompany: Zee Bee Market LLC – World Marketzeebeemarket.com3211 South Grand Blvd.,St. Louis, MO 63118Employees: 3Years in business: 3was volunteering, selling their products and involved withFair Trade at the local and national level.Earlier this month, I had an incredible experience.It showed me how lucky I am and why I love living inAmerica. I’ve called St. Louis my home for the last 17years, and this is where I opened the doors to Zee BeeMarket, in one of my favorite neighborhoods, SouthGrand. My store offers beautifully hand-crafted and FairTrade products from around the world. My business givesthe artisans behind these products a better life.I first came to the U.S. from Peru in 1990. The U.S. istruly the land of opportunity. Had I lived in Peru aftergraduating from college, I would not have been affordedthe same resources and possibilities to continue to learnand grow as I found here in this country.In 1998 I moved to St. Louis after a promotion at workand I love this city! In 2009 I connected with Partners forJust Trade, a local organization that connects artisansliving in extreme poverty and consumers in NorthAmerica. Many of these artisans are from Peru. Soon, IFair Trade is a producer-centered supply chain model.It provides workers a fair wage and guarantees healthy,positive and safe work environments. Through Fair Trade,I’m able to provide opportunity to many talented artisansby opening markets for their products here in St. Louis.I built a career in retail and gained invaluable experiencein buying, merchandise planning, and marketing. I alsocompleted an MBA at the University of Missouri St. Louis,and my entrepreneurial spirit rose to a new level whichhelped me launch my business.The support of my family has been incredible. My wifewas born in the U.S., but we met and got married inPeru. She’s been a friend, an advisor, and my biggest fan,from giving feedback on the logo selection to choosingpaint colors for the store. Both our daughters inspire meto pursue my goals. Our oldest, Marcela, has said “I am soinspired by how driven you are Papa, seeing you pursueyour own dreams makes me feel like it’s possible forme to also follow mine no matter the circumstances.” Itwarms my heart to see my children appreciate hard workas an important factor in making their dreams a reality.STORIES FROM AMERICA’S RUST BELT
Page 3: “...every aspectof the Americanec
Page 6 and 7: WEGlobalNetwork.orgWelcomingEconomi
Page 9: Contents9 Did You Know? Immigrant E
Page 12 and 13: 10A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN IMMIGRANT
Page 14 and 15: 12“I amcontent.I live theAmerican
Page 16 and 17: 14“I havebeen moresuccessfulhere
Page 18 and 19: 16“But I believe that if you work
Page 20 and 21: 18Over the years, as Elesban moved
Page 24 and 25: 22In June of 2012, I started my sma
Page 26 and 27: 24My choice to own a restaurant was
Page 28 and 29: 26Burmese market in Akron, a city n
Page 30 and 31: 28work, and their career growth kee
Page 32 and 33: 30growth and increased sales. I go
Page 34 and 35: 32The Job…At the job site, the fi
Page 36 and 37: 34EDDIE AND KANCHANIJ PRADITHAVANIJ
Page 38 and 39: 36About UsWE GLOBAL NETWORKThe WE G
Page 40 and 41: 38Our NetworkWE Global Network aske
Page 42: Our SponsorsA Day in the Life of an

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