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Small Business, Big Impact: Immigrant-Owned Business

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As our Sackville community continues to grow, we welcome all sorts of businesses and owners from different backgrounds with varying experiences. Sackville is home to many immigrant-owned businesses, and though they may be considered small business, these entrepreneurs are making a big impact in our community.

Sackville’s got its very own power couple in Eunha Kim, owner of Jazz Lash & Mellossy Nail, and her husband, Yeongbeom Park, who both emigrated from South Korea. Kim has been interested in beauty since she was a teenager, particularly in nails and lashes. She took her passion and skills from south Korea to Australia eventually winding up right here in Lower Sackville.

Euhna
Euhna Kim, owner of Jazz Lash & Mellossy Nail

 

While Kim brings the hands-on beauty skills, her husband is working hard behind the scenes with his Canadian business degree focusing on the strategy and big picture plans for Jazz Lash & Mellossy Nails. Kim is making a big impact with her customers especially during the pandemic. She explains, people want their eyes to look their best as only your eyes are visible when wearing these mandatory masks! When asked about her choice to be here and experience the community, Kim answers, “We live in Sackville, and we like it here. It’s close to everything, like a small downtown.” She says, “We both find Canadians are more welcoming to other cultures. It is more like a mixed pot. People are nicer and friendly and willing to help.” 

Talk about a big impact, local business EurekaTec and owner Mohammed Issa are making waves in the Maritimes as the only manufacturer of PLA, the raw material used for 3D printing projects. Issa immigrated with his family from Jordan when he was only 10 years old. His entrepreneurial spirit was passed down from his father, also having been a local business owner. 

I kind of knew where 3D printing was going, or at least I kind of felt there is going to be something more behind the story.

Mohammed Issa
Mohammed Issa, owner of EurekaTec

 

Issa has an NSCC diploma in electronic engineering and started running his business, EurekaTec, out of his basement while attending Saint Mary’s University’s business school. Because of the lack of suppliers, Mohammed was able to make big connections and move into a warehouse in Burnside. He explains the risks and questions from others saying, “A lot of people would have seen the idea of my business at that time being just a hobby and not really a full business, but I kind of knew where 3D printing was going, or at least I kind of felt there is going to be something more behind the story.”

With his dedication and success, Issa was able to move his operations into his current location here in Lower Sackville. Part of that success comes from his desire to always provide the customer with exactly what they're looking for. “When someone comes to me and asks me to get something done, it’s very rare I say I can’t or I won’t or I don’t know how.” He says, “The answer will be ‘I will get back to you’, and then I explore how that thing can be done and either buy a machine to do it or try and use the tools I have to make it work.” Issa loves employing locals, growing the business in this community, and explains he wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for his work team or his family.

Issa is a husband and a father of three children, one of whom just got their very own 3D printer to use at home. He is also the recipient of My East Coast Experience’s Most Inspiring Immigrant Award. He says, “Just being awarded like this says the community is behind us and supporting us, and people are seeing what we are doing.”