Podcast 111 Immigrant Entrepreneurs

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Ian Portsmouth: Welcome to the Business Coach Podcast, an advice-oriented series that tackles the top issues and opportunities facing Canada’s small businesses. I’m your host, Ian Portsmouth, the Editor of PROFIT Magazine. We’ve developed this podcast in cooperation with BMO Bank of Montreal.

Each year, about a quarter of a million people come to Canada to start a new life and a significant percentage of them are or hope to be entrepreneurs. Starting your own business is tough, no matter who or where you are. But that task is even tougher for new Canadians who often face linguistic and cultural barriers not to mention the lack of established professional network in their new country. But help is out there and some of it is on the phone with me right now. Roger Peers is the founder of Newcomersstartup.com, a Toronto based consultancy specializing in immigrant startups. Welcome Roger.

Roger Peers: Thank you Ian.

Ian: Also joining me is Royson Ng, the president of Samtack Incorporated, a distributor of computers and consumer electronics based in Markham Ontario. Royson immigrated to Canada from Malaysia in 1991, joining Samtack a year later. Royson, thank you for joining the Business Coach Podcast.

Royson Ng: Thank you.

Ian: So Roger, this is a difficult question to answer, but I will let you take your best shot. How big is Canada’s immigrant entrepreneurs sector?

Roger: That’s an excellent question Ian. We are very fortunate here in Canada. We’ve got about 250,000 people immigrating to this country every year. And of that number, about 16% or 40,000 become entrepreneurs. And of course, it is growing continuously and I think it is one of the fastest growing segments of the small business market.

Ian: Now Roger, in your view and briefly, what do you feel are the top three challenges that new Canadians face when trying to establish their own business?

Roger: You know, it’s interesting. Entrepreneurs face a lot of challenges, let alone being new to the country. So, unsurprisingly, new comers face a multitude of challenges, and those typically include learning how to run a business in the first place, a lot of them have experience running businesses in their own country, but a lot of them don’t. So they’re learning how to do that first and foremost here. Then they have to learn how to navigate our laws and our resources, understanding all the different Canadian rules and practices, etcetera. And then finally the biggest challenge too for them is the cultural differences, you know. How to do business with Canadians.

Ian: Now Royson, you didn’t launch Samtack when you came from Malaysia in 1991, but you did have to establish yourself as a new Canadian. What challenges did you face in the business world?

Royson: I think firstly, with no Canadian experience, it’s hard to find a job, let alone start a business without a good understanding of the market, needs and the culture. And secondly, past work experience, education not help. But my positive attitude kept me going with the motivation to learn more.

Ian: And Royson, what resources did you find valuable when you were trying to establish yourself as a business leader in Canada and grow Samtack? Did you have a professional network? Did you find associations that you could work with? What helped you get through it other than your own perseverance?

Royson: As the company grows faster than the people; and hiring process becomes a necessity, and people skills particularly the management become more obvious to run a business. And this process has helped us grow the business by extending our business from computer, business consumer electronic, food business, furniture and so on and so on. And I think Samtack continued to give back to the community by going in job shadow, coop-student, hiring more immigrants with great attitudes and as a result contribute a lot to efficiency and export market opportunity. And of course, you were saying that in 2006, Samtack won the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs. And I think this helped me definitely, it helped me to get the networking going and also we established a company culture which I call [Five F]. Firstly, F is fast, focused, flexible, friendly and fun. That drives us to the next level. I think this really gave me a lot of opportunity to expand my businesses.

Ian: So it really sounds like you focused on the business fundamentals while you were in Canada and of course, business fundamentals transfer into any culture in any market place. Roger, you are one of the providers of resources to help new Canadians start their own business. So what other resources exist out there that you might recommend and secondly, where does your particular business newcomers start up.com fit into this mix?

Roger: We are very lucky in this country Ian to have a lot of great resources available; many of them provided by different levels of government. I’d say for a new comer entrepreneur, the first place I would go is to reach out to your local enterprise center. They can usually find one attached to your City Hall. These are free drop-in centers, we’ve got free consultation from business experts, resources, seminars and workshops. Second and most important resource I think is online and that’s the Federal government’s website CanadaBusiness.ca. Pretty much a hub for everything you need to know about starting and growing a business in Canada. The third most important resource I would mention is your own community. We are lucky here in Canada with so many different people from different countries, so there is an Indian Canadian Chamber of Commerce for example. And if you are from that area, I would say, you would want to hook up with people from your own community because they are a source of support.

Ian: Roger, that’s great advice and Royson, you did mention earlier that you became a member of the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs, you won their Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2006, would you recommend that other immigrant entrepreneurs join an organization like the ACCE?

Royson: Most definitely, I recommend ACCE as an organization, as it provides a platform to help to recognize many successful entrepreneurs in Canada. It’s is a place where you can meet role models, and the business forum networking events on a monthly basis encourage the member to do business with their members. Plus, we have a lot of major banks, Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, Staples as our members. ACCE also provides a welcome kit to new immigrants if they want to start up a business, actually they provide free of charge for that as well.

Ian: Now Royson, one of the things that a lot of immigrant entrepreneurs do in Canada, because we have such strong and vibrant immigrant communities here, a lot of entrepreneurs will leverage those communities and they will do a lot of business within those communities. But I guess there may be a risk that they will become so dependent on the expatriate community that they will deprive themselves of opportunities to broaden their business and serve other ethnographic communities. Do you see that as a risk, and have you, as a member of the Chinese Business Community in Canada seen Chinese entrepreneurs who are sticking perhaps too closely to the Chinese Community?

Royson: I think initially, this is what they would do. It is very natural for them you see. But Canada is a multicultural society and new Canadian immigrants would need to adapt to this Canadian culture, I usually call them burn the bridge. If they burn the bridge where they came from, it will be much easier to integrate into the mainstream market place, which is I think 10 times larger than their own communities.

Ian: And Roger, in your experience, have you seen immigrant entrepreneurs who might be sticking a little bit too closely to their own ethno-cultural community?

Roger: I think as Royson was saying, you are right, there is always a danger of getting too comfortable within our own familiar circles. But I think most entrepreneurs who are new to the country are striking a delicate balance Ian. I think they are engaged appropriately in their own communities. But they are also enjoying meeting new people who are born and raised in Canada. So I am seeing a pretty healthy mix.

Ian: Royson, what in closing would be your best advice for a new Canadian entrepreneur?

Royson: Firstly to understand the culture and the market place. I do recommend to work for someone first and to gain some experience. Don’t rush into anything. Otherwise you need to do a lot of feasibility study on the business that you want to get in. Today, there are a lot more resources and all these government enterprises; take advantage of them. And be successful with it and have a positive attitude.

Ian: Royson, that’s great advice. Thank you. Roger, finally, what would be your best advice to any recently arrived immigrant to Canada who wants to start a viable business?

Roger: I would say my advice to a new comer is to take your time and do it properly. Like I say to any entrepreneur that I train or advise, write that business plan, it’s doubly important if you are new to this country and not quite sure how things work here. And as I mentioned, there are lots of available resources to help you do that. I would also say, you know, do your part to learn about “Canadiana” and our different cultural ways and nuances because that’s going to make it easier for you to do business with Canadians. But at the same time, nothing wrong with being true to your own heritage and being true to the way you know how to do business. So again, I would advocate a mix of both approaches.

Ian: Roger and Royson, thank you very much for joining the Business Coach Podcast.

Roger: Thank you Ian.

Royson: Thank you.

Ian: Roger Peers is the founder of Newcomer startup.com in Toronto and Royson Ng is the president of Samtack Incorporated based in Markham Ontario.

That’s it for this episode of the Business Coach Podcast. Be sure to check out other episodes which you can download from BMO.com/coach, profitguide.com and iTunes. For other tools to help you build your business, visit the BMO SmartSteps for Business Community at BMO.com/smartbusinessowners. That’s all one word smartbusinessowners. Until next time, I am Ian Portsmouth, the Editor of PROFIT Magazine, wishing you continued success.