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Those darn Muslim immigrants...


umsami
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Thanks for sharing such a cool story.

 

:)

 

His story is a neat one.  His first million dollar business was a feta cheese company.  He then received something in the mail about an old yogurt factory (I want to say it was Kraft's) and founded Chobani.

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I always wonder how people have the guts to go out and start a business, especially the ones who initially start with almost nothing. And quite frequently the folks who do it are immigrants; maybe because it takes a lot of guts and gumption to immigrate in the first place, they have the necessary personality and mindset.

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I always wonder how people have the guts to go out and start a business, especially the ones who initially start with almost nothing. And quite frequently the folks who do it are immigrants; maybe because it takes a lot of guts and gumption to immigrate in the first place, they have the necessary personality and mindset.

 

I wonder how they afford to! I've been doing a lot of listening around my local area lately on the topic of small business. One fella said he could only afford to open his gem/jewellery/crafty stuff shop because he is on a hundred grand a year at the milk factories a few towns over.

 

How on earth do people start businesses without serious capital behind them? !!

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Saw that on the news last night.  Sure wish more folks were like that.  Our world would be a much better place.  I wish I liked Chobani... sadly, I don't care for it (or any other thick yogurt).

 

I see oodles of immigrants/refugees at our school.  It's become one of my major pet peeves when I hear people dissing them (or immigrants in general).  So many have so much to offer.  They're great kids dealing with a lot more than most of us ever will have to.  

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I wonder how they afford to! I've been doing a lot of listening around my local area lately on the topic of small business. One fella said he could only afford to open his gem/jewellery/crafty stuff shop because he is on a hundred grand a year at the milk factories a few towns over.

 

How on earth do people start businesses without serious capital behind them? !!

Thinking specifically of immigrants, I wonder if it's the combination of already being the type of person to take a risk, plus often coming from more community oriented cultures? Your community can be counted on to support you over competitors. And you may have extended family who help out, contribute funds etc.

 

I recently watched Meet the Patels, basically a documentary about arranged marriage in modern Indian-American culture, but also more generally about immigrant culture, and some of these issues came up tangentially. The narrator's father had immigrated with financial help from his village, he became successful and now gives back to the village, lots of hard work, close family and beyond that a supportive 'clan' of people sharing the same surname. It was a really thought provoking (and amusing) documentary.

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I think the community thing can come into play with start up costs.  Some immigrant communities here - the Lebanese community is a good example, tend to help new people get started in a small business.  And typically they are family businesses.  There can be downsides to this - your community gets a lot more say in what you do, but advantages as well.

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I always wonder how people have the guts to go out and start a business, especially the ones who initially start with almost nothing. And quite frequently the folks who do it are immigrants; maybe because it takes a lot of guts and gumption to immigrate in the first place, they have the necessary personality and mindset.

 

Dh once had a young co-worker who owned a lot of rental properties, initially bought via maxing out his credit card.  He had been a refugee, at one point surviving a sinking boat by holding on to an empty milk jug for flotation.  His perspective was "Hey, what have I got to lose, going broke is still better than being in the ocean with no boat and only a plastic milk jug!"

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