NFIB

The Roots of the Business
04/ 29/ 2002

by Kathleen Landis

They're passionate about their heritage. They're connected to their communities. Their businesses fill market niches that others don't. These creative business owners have parlayed their heritage into successful enterprises, and show how tapping your roots can translate into a profitable business.

Immigrating to Opportunity

Seeking religious freedom, more security and a better future, Sergey Ivannikov packed up his family in 1995 and left Uzbekistan, headed for Sacramento, Calif.

After retraining in the computer field, the independent Russian Republic native discovered that he loved computer design.

"Nobody in Sacramento's Russian community was doing digital printing, so that was a spot that I could fill," explains Ivannikov, who, with business partner Vladimir Vecherkovskiy, founded Vesti Printing & Publishing in 1997.

The partners soon recognized another pressing need in their burgeoning Russian community. It was for a resource to promote American- and Russian-speaking businesses to nearly 75,000 potential customers. Their solution was The Russian Yellow Pages (RYP). They registered it as a separate business entity in 1999, and delivered the free, 190-page business directories to Russian and Ukrainian-speaking churches, stores, and advertisers' businesses in March 2000.

The partners use already-proven marketing tools to promote the RYP. They advertise in VESTI, their own bi-weekly newspaper. They do broadcast promotions on two Russian radio stations and a Russian radio channel. And they meet with decision-makers of agencies and businesses that work, or plan to work, with the area's Russian-speaking community.

The pair's Web site, www.rypweb.com, logs more than 10,000 hits per month. And to date, 250 owners, managers and representatives of American businesses have taken scores of directories, although most don't speak Russian. This overwhelming interest prompted a bilingual directory last year.

"Not only are our advertisers pleased with our way of doing business, but they keep endorsing our company to other businesses and agencies," says Ivannikov.

Grounded in Tradition

Shirley and Paul Meidl have spent their life together in New Ulm, Minn., a small German-American community.

"Our German heritage has always been important to us because it's all we've ever known," explains Shirley, who with Paul owns and operates GutenTag Haus, a German import store.

For seven years GutenTag Haus has attracted visitors who come to New Ulm seeking a German experience. Customers find an attractive mix of imports including traditional glass-blown and wooden ornaments, nutcrackers, wax angels and Christmas pyramids, displayed in the style of an open-air German Cristkindlemarkt. Authenticity is important to the Meidls, who purchase most of their wooden ornaments from a mountain range called the Erzgeberta, recognized as the birthplace of German woodcrafting.

While GutenTag Haus has a good local trade, regional day-trippers comprise its largest market. Commitment to her community, and belief in the benefits of tourism inspire Shirley's involvement in several local organizations: Heritage Fest, one of many ethnic events that drew nearly 50,000 visitors in 1999, and the New Ulm Business and Retail Association, "envied by other cities for its successful promotion of New Ulm," Shirley notes. The Meidls also advertise cooperatively with several other specialty businesses.

With business growing at about 20 percent a year, the Meidls could become complacent. Instead, they travel frequently to Germany searching for new merchandise and learning the products' histories directly from the source. Shirley says she loves to talk about what she sells with her customers.

"All of that is part of our experience," she explains. "I believe that if somebody's going to buy a German import they should understand where it came from and how it came about."

Reading the Demand

For James Fugate and Thomas Hamilton, their identity as African Americans led directly to their successful niche business.

For 13 years, the two have owned Eso Won Books, known as the premier African-American bookstore in Los Angeles.

"We originally came together to sell books we were really interested in," Fugate says.

Fugate and Hamilton initially sold books out of their cars while working at full-time jobs. The two would sell at community functions, churches or from their homes.

"People were asking for books they couldn't find anywhere else," Fugate says. "There was definitely a demand."

In the summer of 1989, the two found a small, 900-square-foot store and opened it from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. during the week and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. After about six months, business was good enough for Fugate to quit his full-time job.

Today, Eso Won is in a 3,400-square-foot store with four employees. The store has expanded into selling African-American videos and DVDs, as well as online at www.esowonbooks.com.

Besides its focus on African-American books, what set Eso Won apart from the beginning was its owners' willingness to bring the books to the members of the local African-American community, whether at churches, conferences or street festivals.

"That really gave the books more exposure," Fugate says. "There was no one else bringing books around, and growing the audience that way."

Eso Won, which is an Ethiopian word meaning "water over rocks," stocks hard-to-find titles by and about African Americans, and regularly holds author readings and book signings.

"I enjoy the ordering and talking to people about good books," Fugate says. "It's important that I still enjoy doing what we set out to do a great deal."

Rising to Success

A popular bread, a keen business sense and a prime location make Erick Schat's Bakkery in Bishop, Calif., a celebrated stop along the Eastern Sierra tour route.Schat learned the trade from his Dutch father, a Master Baker. Before opening his own bakery in 1980, the younger Schat baked in France, Sweden and across the United States, studying both techniques and regional preferences. When he opened his doors it was with one product: Bishop's Original Sheepherder¿ Bread, made from a 100-year-old recipe brought to Bishop by Basque sheepherders.

Today, it takes 63 employees and eight ovens to handle the demand for the bakery's 54 breads, baked goods and specialty items. Customers come from down the street and from around the world, thanks to his Web site, www.erickschatsbakery.com.

Schat says a shifting customer mix keeps him busy analyzing trends and tastes and introducing new products when he sees a need. His goal is that everyone finds something tempting under a glass bakery case. For instance, "We're the only bakery for miles where you can buy a pastry and a cappuccino," he notes, "because Europeans must have their pastries."

Membership in the Retail Bakers Association and the European Artisans Bakers Guild keep Schat abreast of his industry. And he works with European bakers to stay in touch with international appetites. Schat also employs a Mexican baker to cater to his growing local Hispanic clientele.

"The key is paying attention to who walks in the door, and from where," remarks Schat. "I don't bake for myself; I bake for my customers."

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Tap Your Ethnicity

The Minority Business Development Agency, www.mbda.gov, is a federal agency that assists in creating, growing and expanding minority-owned businesses. Its Web site offers helpful advice on starting a business and features several categories of resource links.

National Association of Asian American Professionals, www.naaap.org, is an online resource provider for both individuals and businesses.

African-American Business Link, www.aabl.com, offers a directory of African-American businesses as well as links to relevant manufacturers, publications and vendors.

AllSmallBiz.com, at www.allsmallbiz.com, is a Web site with information on importing, exporting, mail order sales and more.

Shopping for Identity: The Marketing of Ethnicity, by Marilyn Halter (Schocken Books, $23).

Hispanic Business Magazine reports on the U.S. Hispanic market and offers resources for entrepreneurs at www.hispanicbusiness.com.

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This article originally appeared in the April/May 2002 issue of MyBUSINESS magazine.

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