BY DAVE HALL, THE WINDSOR STAR MARCH 24, 2012
Immigrants to Canada are often pushed into becoming entrepreneurs because they can't find employment in traditional ways or because their credentials aren't recognized quickly enough before they have to start making a living to support a family.
But for others, such as Indrajit Sinha and Kurosh Taromi, they were pulled into establishing their own businesses because they have a passion for what they do and were able to identify a niche that was also lucrative.
Both took part in a recent Wise5 study, which was designed to identify challenges faced by immigrant entrepreneurs, identify areas of support in five communities across Ontario and offer recommendations to enrich their entrepreneurial experience.
"In my experience, you have to decide what you like, what you want to do and also what works in a financial sense," said Taromi, a native of Iran who runs Golden Maple Publications, a publisher of e-books for children and adults.
"It's important to find a combination of both so you can enjoy life as well," said Taromi, who lived for seven years in Germany before moving to Windsor a year ago. "I never felt assimilated in Germany because of my complexion, but here in Windsor, I felt that way after seven days."
Taromi, who has a PhD, also operates a book publishing company in Tehran, which he runs with some partners, and recently published three e-books for children including the very first in Farsi.
Sinha, who has a PhD in infectious diseases, is another success story after he moved here seven years ago from India and started work at the Karmanos Cancer Institute before opening BioMed Core in Windsor.
"It's been a dream of mine to have my own business, but you need the right circumstances and everything has to come together at the right time," said Sinha. "Making something is easy, but making it successful is a different ball game altogether,"
Sinha said he's lived and worked in many countries but finds Canada uniquely different, in that it rewards hard work and, at the same time, is very welcoming to newcomers and their ideas.
His company analyzes tumour tissues to predict their drug sensitivity prior to chemotherapy treatment.
"It's been thrilling, challenging and fulfilling all at the same time," said Sinha.
Both Sinha and Taromi chose Windsor because of its location.
For Sinha, his business is in proximity to London Health Sciences Centre as well as the Karmanos Institute and other treatment centres in Michigan. But for Taromi, the reasons for moving here centre on economics and climate.
"I wanted to find somewhere with good weather and where I could spend $90,000 for a house instead of $1 million," he said. "You can be richer here in Windsor with the same amount of income."
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Read more:http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Newcomers+build+their+success/6353316/story.html#ixzz1qBkDZFHn
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