Azintropa

Starting business in the USA is one of the main goals of many immigrants moving to the USA in search of a better life. At the same time, the possibility to start business, being formally equal, often depends on individual capabilities, financial resources and experience as well as entrepreneurial inclinations. Nevertheless, it is always more difficult for an immigrant to start business in the USA than for a native-born American. The reason is quite obvious – Americans grew up in the local culture and are familiar with the mentality of local people, local traditions and social norms as well as peculiarities of business in the USA. However, immigrants can be quite successful in their business and the experience of Ludmila Genkin is a perfect example how an immigrant can start the business in the USA and achieve a considerable success.
In fact, Ludmila Genkin moved to the USA in 2003 and settled in the New York City, New York together with her husband, Sergey Genkin, whom she met in Russia. Probably the choice of the new home city was not occasional because there is a large Russian Diaspora in New York. Initially, the position of Ludmila Genkin was quite good to start the business because she always worked in a beauty salon. Therefore, she had a considerable experience of work in the field of beauty and cosmetics. In fact, today, a professional experience can be a determinant factor which defines the success of a new business because amateurs can hardly compete in the USA with experienced professionals. Under the condition of fair competition, the quality of products and services is crucial for the overall success of the business.
In the case of Ludmila Genkin her personal experience was not the only condition which allowed her to start her business successfully. Obviously, she had a concept and vision of her beauty salon, which she opened in 2008 and named “Azintropa”, but to have an idea is not enough to start business. Any business starts with investments which can raise a firm and allow it to maintain a stable performance during first months or even years until the moment when revenues of the firm will be stable and cover original investments. In this respect, the financial support of the husband of Ludmila Genkin proved to be particularly significant because it was the least costly way of receiving the start-up capital. Otherwise, Ludmila Genkin would need to take a loan in a bank or use the assistance of another investors, such as a venture fund, but all these ways of borrowing money are expansive and do not allow a business person to raise the company fast.
In such a way, using her experience of work in the beauty salon and the financial support of her husband, Ludmila Genkin started her business in 310 Brighton Beach Ave, Brooklyn in September 2008. The location of her beauty salon “Azintropa” was selected by Ludmila Genkin on purpose because in this area she can rely on the stable clientele of Russian origin. Moreover, it proves to be beyond a doubt that Russian immigrants would readily go to an experienced Russian immigrant than to an American specialist in another beauty salon. In addition, Ludmila Genkin could offer its Russian customers another advantage American beauty salons could not really offer – she could use Russian, which was her native language. Therefore, she could easily develop positive interpersonal relationships with its customers of Russian origin and, what is even more important, her Russian background could contribute to the formation of the customer loyalty to her beauty salon among Russian immigrants. At the same time, she could work successfully with representatives of other ethnic groups because she had an extensive experience in her business and could speak English fluently.
Furthermore, Ludmila Genkin have managed to equip her beauty salon with the most essential equipment and instruments she needed in her business. Consequently, she could offer to her customers a wide range of services, including laser hair removal, body wrap, massage, microdermabrassion, chemical peeling, nails, etc. At the same time, to be able to work in her beauty salon, Ludmila Genkin got her cosmetology license in 2006 and took lease for three years. However, she decided to share her lease with a dentist that facilitated the development of her business because it eased the financial pressure on her business when it was just started.
Finally, Ludmila Genkin paid a lot of attention to the promotion of her beauty salon “Azintropa” in the local community in order to draw the attention of potential customers. In terms of her advertising campaign she has got commercials her salon in a local movie theater in Brooklyn, which was amply supported by the advertisement in Russian magazines “Tonus” and “Sova”, which were very popular in the Russian community.
Even though she does not have a profit yet, her business apparently has good prospects and grows steadily. She has loyal customer who confident in the quality of her services that creates favorable conditions for the further development of her business.