Newcomer Business finds home at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery
Newcomer-owned ‘Daily Espresso’ opens its doors at Fredericton’s Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
The ‘Daily Espresso’ is a cafe owned by a Colombian couple, Nicolas and Paola Laverde-Marquez, and their business partner and fellow Colombian, Andres Hernandez. The business partners came to Canada to improve their quality of life and expand their career opportunities.
With dreams of starting their own business, the Marquez’s and Hernandez applied for the Impact Loan – a low-interest loan that helps small businesses in Atlantic Canada develop by funding their start-up costs. Oriana Cordido, Business Start-up Specialist for Ignite, coached the newcomers through the whole process by aiding them in their business plan, cash flow, and pitching presentation. The Impact Loan Board was impressed with their plan and granted them a $25K loan.
“Andres and Nicolas were wonderful to work with and have a big passion for business. I am very excited to see where they are now since I started working with them,” said Cordido.
The Marquez’s and Hernandez sought to participate in a contest held by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery to find a new in-house café operator. They won the gallery’s competition due to their community approach, by collaborating with local food vendors in Fredericton to get their ingredients supplied.
“They [Beaverbrook Art Gallery] weren’t looking for another business just trying to earn money, they were looking for people who took care of themselves but [of] other people also,” said Hernandez
Paola Laverde-Marquez is the face of the ‘Daily Espresso’, as she currently manages the café and tends to customers. Laverde-Marquez attended Ignite’s entrepreneurial program – the Economic Empowerment Program (EEP) for Immigrant Women– where she built a support system that encouraged her to be confident in her abilities and open herself to new opportunities, despite the language barriers.
“[The program] encouraged us to open our minds, and not feel small," said Laverde-Marquez. “We are bigger.”
The EEP is a ten-week program that targets immigrant women with diverse cultural, economic, and social backgrounds that are interested in learning and building the soft skills necessary for owning a business, or simply pursuing a new career path in Canada.
The program is managed by Doyin Somorin, the Manager of Integration and Retention at Ignite. Somorin curated the program to exacerbate the potential in immigrant women.
“[Newcomer women] are terrific assets to our community,” said Somorin. “The program has had a great impact on our participants since its inception and I have heard from participants how it helped build their confidence, networks and sense of possibility in their new home.”
Hernandez and the Marquez’s are grateful for the opportunities that led them to their business. They recognize that the support from Ignite and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery was an important pillar of their success. Nonetheless, they emphasize that this has been a bigger journey. As immigrants, Hernandez and the Marquez’s had to start from zero, working in jobs that they were overqualified for, but they decided to not get discouraged by their situation at the time. They suggest other newcomers adopt this mindset as well.
“Postpone reward.” said Nicolas Marquez. “Wait, don’t get desperate and just let the life coin [decide]. In that sense, people [will] start getting what they want, but you cannot pretend to come here and just have everything, because you need to start again.”
Be sure to visit ‘Daily Espresso’ Café and enjoy delicious coffee and tasty pastries this weekend. For more information and menu items, check their social media; on Instagram as @dailyespressonb and on Facebook ‘Daily Espresso’.