Sunday, November 25, 2012

New US Citizens’ Cultures and Products




Recently I have had discussions with US citizens who are not natural born Americans.  They are saying that it is very difficult for them and their friends and relatives to find food and clothing in the US that are staple products in their original homeland. 

For example a group of citizens from Nepal are accustomed to having goat meat in their diet. However, it has proven very difficult for them to find goat meat that is good quality and reasonable in price.  These folks are considering opening their own business which will supply goat meat products to members of their community.

Another Score client has a small business that manufactures and distributes African dresses for women.  Her business is expanding via marketing on the Internet.

From another direction, another US citizen from Oman said it was difficult for citizens of Oman to find high quality beans.  The beans that are available are imported from Europe and are of poor quality and very expensive.  She is considering opening a business to export the types of beans that her friends and family back home desire.

So what is my point?  I think that there are opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship for citizens with language skills and contacts in their homeland.  As the US continues to be the destination for many cultures, niche markets develop with demands for products not readily available in the US. I suggest individuals interested in pursuing such opportunities contact a counselor at SCORE (Counselors to Small Business – http://www.score.org) and/or conduct an Internet search using relevant key words.  

If you have suggestions for individuals interested in marketing or producing cultural products, please post your comments here are email me at glynjordan@gmail.com.

Thanks, Glyn.
  





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