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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1998)
I - O c to b e r 7 ,1 9 9 8 * G 14 ¿The |Icirtlan b (Dbeeruer’e ínoRít¿y E a s in e s s QUEEN ©F SHEBA: THE ;THI@FIAH AMERICAN J@B by ‘ J .. i . * ' * •.* '» . J > ■ '. ■ . .<•.• ••• . . ? *»/. i M C M L ee P eri by man Alem G ebrehew ot is trying to live the E thiopian version o f the American Dream in northeast Port land. Five years ago he opened the Queen o f Sheba as a small market at 2 4 13 NE M artin Luther King Boulevard. A year later he changed the place into a restaurant. He has since doubled the size o f the es tablishm ent by expanding into the storefront next door. M eanwhile he is converting a former church at 3 11 N. Ivy into an Ethiopian Center, a place tor ethnic celebrations and classes in the cooking o f traditional foods. He is doing all this as his first- ever venture as ow ner or m anager o f a business, w ith no public or private assistance, introducing a new kind o f dining into a once- depressed part o f tow n w here en terprises with m uch deeper p ock ets still fear to come. The Queen o f Sheba is building up a clientele by the oldest method k n o w n - w o rd o f m o u th . G ebrehew ot says he draw s cus tomers from throughout Oregon and W ashington. There is a ready made clientele close by. T here are about l ,000 Ethiopians in O regon, m ost o f them live in Portland, and the highest concentration is in in ner north and northeast. The Eliot neighborhood, w here Q ueen o f Sheba is located, boasts two other E thiopian-run establishm ents, the San Rafael Cafe at 415 NE. San Rafael St., and the Rendezvous Cafe at 8 16 N. Russell St. F o r n e ig h b o r h o o d n a tiv e s , Queen o f S heba’s food and dining style is a new experience. Two f- < i ' • * . M ‘A A , s i \ y < zzzz/zz///^ » ; • * \Ne have been marrying couples for over 20 years and felt it was the time to open a small place of our own. *•? e . »•/:.< • *'.i ' ■ • ,.f - .•»/el "• S « ‘Í ^ - Y Z .Y 'Í ✓ ’ * **.r * >» », lp { *<»•'»- '.’'C - Ì C ontinued F rom C8 ? (a wedding for every budget) 203NEW eidier Portland, Oregon97232 (503)281-5275 > .-.*•■ ,A • k he needed by w orking a second job. Aside from getting the money, he d id n ’t have much trouble start ing up, although he says, “ Doing anything for the first time is a prob lem .” Most difficulties had to do with the area. “The neighborhood was depressed, not much was hap pening, and not many people w ere com ing here,” he says. That situ a tion has gradually im proved. “The biggest problem is parking,” he says. The restaurant is open from NOON to 10 PM, Tuesday through Saturday. For sale to go are im ported beers and w ines, p u blica tions, spices, music tapes and au thentic dresses. Gebrehewot would not call him se lf a success, if your standard is Bill G ates. “ It’s difficult to run a business, but I ’m surviving,” he says. “The global econom y is kind o f scary. I ’m ju st hopeful things d o n ’t get any w orse.” Diane McClelland o f the M cClelland C om pany Expanding your business interna tionally requires a team o f advisors who will help you determine the readi ness o f your business to go global and the ramifications to your bottom line! Often times, businesses may error in one o f two ways: either by underestimating the company’s abil ity to explore exporting as avenue for increasing Counter-cyclical sales; or ignoring the complexities o f global expansion. Neithercase is advisable! Companies who have built strong management teams, solid cash-flows and equity, and have developed an excellent product, may be missing an important opportunity to increase sales to a new niche of customers by ignoring the chance to expand glo bally. Conversely, some companies make the mistake o f thinking that selling products abroad is the same as selling products in their own re gion, state or country and approach their international venture utilizing the same techniques. This can be very disastrous! Here is an example. In the early seventies, a major Fortune 500 com pany began to launch one o f their new products and chose to use the same slogans in their advertising promotions in Europe. The results were disappointing to say the least for the American company. The slo gan used in the American press was wellreceivedand understood! How ever, when it was translated into the European country’s language, it was conveyed as insulting and discour teous! This move created damage to the international sales o f their product! It was disastrous! The re sults would have been different if the company had researched the language and cultural differences and had adapted the necessary changes to be more sensitive to the citizens in that country they were trying to reach! This is only one example o f what can happen in busi ness, if the proper steps are not taken in understanding o f the differ ences in the buying criteria for po tential customers in the foreign coun tries. Some o f the primary points to consider when exploring the pos sible global expansion o f your com pany is the following areas: * Company resources - Person nel, capital, materials, equipment, management. ♦ Political environment - Gov ernmental structure, stability, poli cies toward foreign firms. ♦ Market entry conditions - Tar iffs, quotas, other non-tariff barri ers, legal environment. * Marketing environment - Avail ■ s- .’. ? •». Portland. z ///z .< ■ • Are you looking for new custom ers? Do you want to locate new avenues to distribute your products and services? If you answer yes to these questions, you may want to consider expanding your business by developing a specific global marketing plan for your company! You may be saying to yourself, That sounds good, but where do I go from here? How do I get started? Who can help me? Is my company ready for global expansion? What is the difference between marketing domestically and internationally?” These are all-important questions to consider before embarking on your export plan. However in ap proaching the next steps in develop ing an export marketing plan for your company, you should first ex amine the current structure and foun dation o f your business. Can you manage the current cash flow o f your business? Do you have a strong management team? Do you have a quality control system in place for your products? Have you chosen a team o f advisors for your business that can help you launch your com pany internationally? Are you cur rently working with a banker, ac countant, lawyer or management consultant that has knowledge o f international business? What is the best way to ship my products? How do I get paid? These are only a few o f the questions that need to be answered. The good news is this could be the best avenue for your company and there are many resources avail able to you! Let’s examine a few other impor tant items. Alem Grebrehewot, owner o f Q ueen o f S h eb a restaurant in NE. w om en seeking chicken and rice w ere told it isn ’t served there (“ Rice isn ’t an authentic E thio pian food,” G ebrehew ot says) and w ere put o ff by way the food is eaten. Featured are spicy beef, chicken or lamb served w ith a spongy bread. As is true through out N orth A frica, the bread and fingers o f the right hand are used in place o f silverw are. “ M ost people who come know w hat to expect,” Gebrehewot says. He cam e to this country 15 years ago as a refugee from political strife at home. He studied tood services technology in New York and continued his studies at O r egon State before com ing to Port land. He w orked various jobs in the food industry before deciding to set up on his own. W hat financing or help did he receive from public or private sources? “None w hatsoever,” he says: he came up with the funding D iane M c C lelland i »¿-v. 1 s ** > ■ ■ ■ > . Global Marketing: Preparedness Is Critical For Success i)z». •. • f. Salutes (iMtnartttJ ^Business Week As a Community Affair -Sz/z- 7 /U /^ 3%,^ offers a small and intimate setting in our totally restored turn of the century home. You can even bring your own food, or have a pot luck. Or let us professionally cater your reception. And, the minister is included with every wedding. ■'•>’ itl-ilMBÎ’.. « C o m e C e J e b R a te ogir O p e n H o a s e TbciRsdcuy O c to b e R 2 2 , 1 9 9 8 2 : 0 0 - 1 0 : 0 0 PM. Line M a s ic * ChíJóRen E n te R ta in m e n t * A R tís a n FaÍR e * C e le b R Ítí/ A ia m n í V is it * O p e n H is to R í/ F o R arn * M a g ic ia n s * JaggleRS * B a llo o n G a ^ K e n n e d y ’s FÍRSt A n n ío e R s a R í/ B a s h If you need a minister to perform your ceremony at another location. We are available for a $150.00 fee. Just give us a call at 281-5275 McMenamins Kennedy School 5736 NE 33rd • Portland, Oregon • (503) 249-3983 www.mcmenamins.com Rev. James M. Mclnis Rev. Kathleen Wyatt Mclnis ix#., t * .c \ »•• • W * Jl* * - ’- - , . •• „ ' ; < / . «. FT t •• « « s ', * ; . $♦ S , . '5 ^ < V ■ • I '- .Z .' ............ .. .. .
