Her American dream

For many budding entrepreneurs, the road to success is paved with obstacles. Leading the list of challenges is money. "Most people don't have start-up capital," says Wong, and it is rare for an immigrant to get a bank loan. "Any money comes from family rather than from loans. Lots of times it's not a real loan that you pay back with interest. There's no schedule. It's an equity loan. People are helping each other out, pooling their money so one person in the family can succeed." Without that support system, she adds, it is difficult to start a business.

A native of Iran, Sepi Asefnia came to the US in 1978 without her parents to finish high school. After the revolution in Iran in 1979, she decided to stay. Later, with two BS degrees in engineering, she worked at the North Carolina Department of Transportation for 11 years. After four years in the private sector, she started her own firm, Sepi Engineering, using the equity in her house as start-up capital. She employs 45 people.

"Part of being an entrepreneur is being brave," says Ms. Asefnia, of Raleigh, N.C. "You're so excited about your idea, your vision, that the obstacles are not the main things you focus on. Looking back, if I had known what I know now, I would be a lot more hesitant and conservative about starting a business with the small capital I had."

Although it was more difficult to start from scratch, she says, "I look at everything as a challenge, and don't assume everything is going to be easy."

She remembers seeing entrepreneurs when she was younger and assuming they were not scared. "I thought, they have some amazing ability, some magic about them," she says. "Now I realize they had sleepless nights too, worrying about payroll, worrying about finances. It's not that I never had any nervousness. Everybody has that. You just have to get over it."

Other challenges include language barriers and ethnic bias. These women must also learn about rules, regulations, and licenses, Ms. Pearce says.

Whatever the business, hard work is a keystone. "Immigrants coming here want to succeed so badly, " Wong says. "They spend incredible hours working. Their motivation is incredible."

As Torrado's catering business outgrew her home, she obtained a small loan with help from her husband. She moved first to a small storefront, and later to her current location in a once- abandoned building, which houses her bakery and restaurant. Her workday begins at 8 a.m. and stretches to 11 p.m. or even midnight. "I do not feel tired because I love my job," Torrado says. Her four children also help.

That dedication is paying off. Soon Torrado plans to open a second-floor function room for parties, wedding receptions, and meetings, primarily for the Hispanic community.

Some women bring business skills with them from their own country. Before Winnie Lung immigrated to New York in 1985, she learned about the apparel business in Hong Kong. By day she worked for a manufacturer; in the evening she studied at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In 1998 in New York, she started her own business, Icicle, wholesaling women's sportswear. She has eight employees, all Asians, and does $5 million worth of business a year.

"Being an Asian woman, it was pretty tough to start," Ms. Lung recalls. "But since I've been doing this a while, you realize what is your advantage: the skill we have. There are a lot of challenges, but a lot of the time you feel a lot of satisfaction, too. Especially if you know the goods are doing well, you think, whatever I did is going to a lot of women consumers. That's encouraging for us."

For women with limited English and inadequate funding, a cooperative can be a path out of poverty. In Boston, Cooperative Economics for Women has helped dozens of low-income women start their own businesses based on cooperative ownership. These include child-care services, catering, and cleaning.

"From the immigrant point of view, this is an amazing country," Asefnia says. "The opportunities are fabulous. There should be more done for women, encouraging them to get out there in leadership roles and be entrepreneurs."

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