KH in the News: Hudson Reporter

November 7, 2010

Shopping local, thinking global
Global Entrepreneurship Week in Jersey City spotlights businesses and economic growth

By Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter Staff Writer Hudson Reporter

Global Entrepreneurship Week is coming back to Jersey City for another year to acknowledge local enterprise in a tough economy. Over 100 countries will hold more than 40,000 events and bring out 10 million people during the week of November 15-21. And in Jersey City, a host of events will take place featuring a variety of local businesses, and government and community leaders.

Sponsoring the event is Rising Tide Capital, a local non-profit organization that provides training and coaching to entrepreneurs, along with the City of Jersey City and others.

City Hall, 280 Grove St. will be the site of two events during the week – the kickoff event/fair on Monday, Nov. 15 at 10 a.m., and the city’s Green Fair/Third Annual Sustainable Cities Conference from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20.

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“I think it is a very important week for our clients, as it gives them something to aspire to.” – Catherine Tansey
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Rising Tide, the brainchild of downtown Jersey City residents Alfa Demmellash and Alex Forrester, will hold an orientation for their Community Business Academy, an 11-week course in basic business management and planning, on Wednesday, Nov. 17 from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Hall, 440 Hoboken Ave.

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is an international initiative that emerged in 2008 through the joint efforts of Enterprise UK and Entrepreneurship Week USA 2007 as a way to foster entrepreneurship amongst young people.

Getting down to business

Kanibal Home is a store on Montgomery Street specializing in lifestyle items, home décor and apparel, or, as its founder and owner Kristen Scalia puts it, “a little bit of everything.”

Kanibal is also one of the participants in the Global Entrepreneurship Week with an event on social media at its location on Nov. 20 from 6 to 10 p.m., although Scalia said the public is welcome to come into the store throughout the day if they have any questions about social media networking.

And there is a good chance that Scalia will have some answers. She can cite her experience in building her business from two years online until opening her store over a year ago.

“It is an opportunity to tell business owners that haven’t ventured into Facebook or Twitter about what they should be sharing online and not sharing about their business,” Scalia said. “And most of all, using social media that is advantageous to them building their businesses.

Catherine Tansey also looks forward to Global Entrepreneurship Week as the executive director of the Immigrant Institute of New Jersey, which is located at 1Journal Square Plaza.

Since 1918, the institute has helped immigrants and refugees adjust to American society through a number of programs, ranging from helping them learn English to finding a job. The institute is also holding two events during the week – “Global Entrepreneurship and Immigration” (Nov. 15, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. at the institute office) and “IINJ Celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week” (Nov. 17, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. at Loew’s Jersey Theatre, 54 Journal Sq.)

Tansey said the Nov. 15 event will focus on immigrant entrepreneurs, with speakers including Hoboken restaurateur Maricel Presilla, a native of Cuba who owns the Spanish restaurants Zafra and Cucharamama, and Adenah Bayoh, a Liberian immigrant who owns International House of Pancakes in Irvington and some other real estate in Newark.

“I think it is a very important week for our clients, as it gives them something to aspire to,” Tansey said. “And while not all our clients may be thinking about entrepreneurship, it is encouraging for them to see this activity.”

To learn more about Global Entrepreneurship Week, visit http://www.gewjc.org or www.risingtidecapital.org

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com