ENTREPRENEURSHIPRegardless of the motivation for starting businesses, research indicates that immigrants in the U.S. start businessesand/or are self-employed at significantly higher rates than the U.S.-born. 7 Immigrant entrepreneurship appears tobe strongest in the high-technology sector, as well as “Main Street” businesses —such as grocery stores, restaurants,and retail shops—that are considered important to the revitalization or stabilization of urban commercial districtsand communities. Yet, overall business ownership in the U.S. is only slightly higher for immigrants. Nationally,about one in ten working immigrants owns a business, and there is nearly one new business start per month forevery 150 immigrants, with average annual sales of $435,000. Overall, immigrants are slightly more likely to own abusiness than U.S.-born Americans—10.5 percent of the immigrant work force owns a business compared with 9.3percent of the U.S.-born work force.These statistics suggest that immigrants have high entrepreneurship rates, as well as high turnover rates. Despitethe overwhelming success of many immigrant entrepreneurs, these businesses are not immune from pitfalls andhurdles common to any startup. In fact, immigrant entrepreneurs starting a business may face additional obstacles,including the absence of personal or professional relationships tohelp navigate issues that inevitably arise in start-up and growthphases of business development; limited access to capital—oftenbecause of a lack of credit history in the U.S.; a less than fullunderstanding of local laws and regulations for small businesses; and,possibly, a distrust of government. Moreover, language and culturalbarriers can further exacerbate these obstacles, making it less likelyfor immigrants to seek help from non-profit or governmentprograms. Finally, immigrant businesses are more likely to succeed andthrive in a community where the individuals who start them, alongwith the new goods and services they offer, are valued.Immigrant businesses are morelikely to succeed and thrive ina community where theindividuals who start them,along with the new goods andservices they offer, are valued.Immigrant economic development initiatives may want to focus onhelping immigrant business owners overcome the unique challengesthey face. This chapter seeks to highlight programs focused on entrepreneurship that both seeks to capitalize onthe opportunities generated by immigrants starting businesses, as well as overcome the challenges they face insustaining and growing them. While there are many entrepreneurship training, lending, and support models,choosing the model that best fits your region should be done based on existing programs and resources, the natureof the immigrant talent present locally, and the types of businesses and industries you want to target for growth.7Robert Fairlie, “Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners, and their Access to Financial Capital,” U.S. Small BusinessAdministration, May 2012. The report finds that the monthly rate of business formation among immigrants (0.62 percent, or 620 outof 100,000) is much higher than the non-immigrant rate (0.28 percent, or 280 of 100,000).8 Vivek Wadhwa, AnnaLee Saxenian, Ben Rissing, and Gary Gereffi “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs” Duke University andUniversity of California-Berkeley, January 4, 2007. This research suggests that immigrants are responsible for approximately onequarterof all of the high-tech startups, and nearly half of the high-tech startups in Silicon Valley.9David Kallick, “Bringing Vitality to Main Street: How Immigrant Small Businesses Help Local Economies Grow,” Fiscal PolicyInstitute and the Americas Society/Council of the Americas January 2015. This research uses Census data to conclude that 28 percentof all Main Street businesses in America are owned by immigrants, including 58 percent of dry cleaners, 53 percent of grocery stores,38 percent of restaurants, and 32 percent of clothing stores.10Fairlie. 11Fairlie. 12Immigrants own fewer established businesses (having been established for more than three years) than non-immigrants (5 percent to9 percent) according to survey research by Donna Kelley, Abdul Ali, Candida Brush, Andrew Corbett, Mahdi Majbouri, and EdwardRogoff, “2012 National Entrepreneurial Assessment of the United States of America,” Global Entrepreneurship Monitor at BabsonCollege, 2012, page 37.13Ibid.WELCOMING AMERICA | GUIDE TO <strong>IMMIGRANT</strong> ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | CHAPTER 3.18
ENTREPRENEURSHIPThe Importance of Languageand Cultural CompetencyConventional business development programs—nonprofit, for-profit, and government—often falter whenattempting to provide support to immigrant entrepreneurs. Cultural differences and language barriers can draw aninvisible, yet very real, line between U.S.-born and foreign-born communities. Conventional business developmentprograms can maximize their impact with immigrant entrepreneurs by developing customer-centric strategiesand leveraging new partnerships to increase their success. This caninclude partnering with institutions that have existing resources,relationships, and cultural/linguistic competency with immigrantsthat can be leveraged. Like any business owner, immigrants are morelikely to seek assistance from a trusted source.Attracting immigrants to business development programs is oftenbest achieved when orientations, trainings, and seminars are taughtin foreign languages; classes and programming are hosted in animmigrant community and/or by people who share customs andculture; and delivered by organizations that have establishedcredibility and trust with the immigrants they serve. Additionally,leading business development programs that serve immigrantsestablish trust and credibility in immigrant communities by getting toknow community leaders, hiring multi-lingual staff, offering seminarsand programs in languages other than English, marketing programs inethnic newspapers and ethnic media, and partnering with communitybasedentities that have credibility among immigrants.Our research indicates that successful entrepreneurship programsworking with immigrants possess a strong cultural awareness andcompetency. Many of these model programs are run directly by immigrants. Others are run by non-immigrantsthat, either by origin stories within their own family, or simply a strong passion to support and foster diversity andeconomic growth, have developed strong cultural sensitivities. This sensitivity helps them find a way of establishingcredibility in immigrant neighborhoods.MODEL PROGRAMSPrograms with an immigrant entrepreneurship focus are hard at work across the country, operating in a numberof different geographies and markets. Some clearly stand out. We found these “model programs” offering a rangeof services for immigrant entrepreneurs utilize at least four different models to achieve success: some focus onsupporting the immigrant entrepreneur’s role in the context of developing a healthy neighborhood communityeconomy; others seek ways to serve immigrant entrepreneurs through case management referrals; some provideimmigrants with entrepreneurship tools and services in the context of providing comprehensive wrap aroundservice integration; finally others target services specifically to women, realizing that the needs of female immigrantentrepreneurs may require different approaches from other programs.Communit y Development Model:Neighborhood Development Center, Minneapolis/St. PaulThe terms “community development” and the economic development corollary “community economic development”are collective processes whereby community members together take action to address community wide issues. Thesebroad ideas seek to empower community members with the tools and skills they need to create positive change andimprove the quality of life in their community.WELCOMING AMERICA | GUIDE TO <strong>IMMIGRANT</strong> ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | CHAPTER 3.19Attracting immigrants to businessdevelopment programs is often bestachieved when orientations, trainings,and seminars are taught in foreignlanguages; classes and programmingare hosted in an immigrantcommunity and/or by people whoshare customs and culture; anddelivered by organizations thathave established credibility andtrust with the immigrants they serve.
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