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

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26Burmese market in Akron, a city near Cleveland with aconsiderable Burmese population, and a Chinese market.These options were extremely expensive, however, and hequickly reached his already restricted budgetary limits.Oo identified two affordable options to purchase thefood, the Chicago Burmese and Chinese Warehouses,but was ineligible for a bank loan, and unsure of whatto do next.It was a fortuitous moment for Oo to encountera representative from the Economic CommunityDevelopment Institute (ECDI), a Columbus-basedorganization that provides financial literacy andmicroenterprise development training courses andmicrocredit to local and immigrant business owners. TheECDI representative was impressed with Oo’s initiativeand, after connecting him with Neighborhood HousingServices to address some unresolved credit issues anddevelop a solid financial plan, provided him a muchneeded loan.With the loan, Oo was able to purchase food suppliesfrom the abovementioned Chicago Warehouses, as wellas import them from Thailand where they were evenless expensive. His store carries traditional Burmeseand Asian food and clothing, as well as U.S. products toappeal to a broader customer base.While the Market was originally opened with the Burmesecommunity in mind, the many American customers havepleasantly surprised Oo. The latter must be drawn by apreexisting interest in Asian culture and cuisine, visitingthe website - which is promoted on the Lakewoodneighborhood’s webpage, or by sheer curiosity to explorewhile passing by.The Burmese entrepreneur’s current goals are to makethe Market flourish and to open the first Burmeserestaurant in Cleveland. His biggest life objective,however, is to earn enough money to be able to offer hisdaughter a good life and access to quality education, sothat she can pursue any profession she chooses.Oo feels fully integrated in U.S. society and embracesits core values. He mostly appreciates the respectfor the rule of law, and the fact that everyone has theopportunity to be successful through hard work.Written by Raluca Besliu“He had a plan and he wasdetermined to succeed, nomatter the obstacles.”A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEUR
DAYTONWE GLOBAL NETWORK 27Like Father, Like Son:Dr. Ayman SalemBrings Family Valuesto Aerospace ScienceDR. AYMAN SALEMCountry of Origin: EgyptCompany: Materials Resources LLCICMRL.netfacebook.com/ICMRLEmployees: 5Years in business: 5Every day starts with a reminder: my 6,000-mile leapfrom Giza, Egypt to Dayton, Ohio is thanks in large partto the many giants on whose shoulders I stood to reachmy dreams.The biggest giant of all was my father. As a blue-collarworker and a dedicated family man, he had three jobs tomake ends meet while pursuing a Bachelor’s of Sciencein civil engineering at the age of 43. His biggest influenceon me, however, was what he did to send me to America.My long immigration process almost came to a halt justtwo nights before my Master’s thesis defense at CairoUniversity in 1998.Dad was hospitalized with permanent kidney failure.I spent the night on the floor of his hospital room. I triedto hide my worries, reflect courage, and extend hope tothe giant who taught me the meaning of strength. Withone week left before my flight to America for a researchassistantship, and just a few hours before my thesisdefense, I made up my mind to cancel my trip. Dad alwaysput family first, and I wanted to be like him.The following day, I felt like I was sleepwalking through myentire thesis presentation. Afterwards, however, I racedto his hospital bed to say, “Dad, you and I succeeded!My degree was only possible by your support.” His proudsmile and bear hug made my day.Afterwards, the doctor asked to speak privately withme. I learned that my father refused to receive furthertreatment until I traveled to America for my Ph.D. Forcingme to pursue my dream at such a time couldn’t havebeen easy, but Dad always put his family first. These days,I apply the same “family first” value with my employees.Worrying about their next paycheck, their mental state atSTORIES 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 22 and 23: 20Bank, but his poor credit rating
Page 24 and 25: 22In June of 2012, I started my sma
Page 26 and 27: 24My choice to own a restaurant was
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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