The Somali Community: Stagnation or Lack of Ingenuity?

[Macalin]

Are we less imaginative and more of imitators than Most other ppl?

 

I have been in the Twin cities area for quite a while now,and i visited our beloved somali Malls and what i see is shop after shop with an array of similar clothes,items and goodies.

One somali starts a business and 1000 similar ones pop out in a week.

 

Then we have the Music scene where our new talented Musicians Just never seem to come up with New Material---they Just follow the old guards

While i commend the business community in eastablishing a place for somalis to call speacial places,what is that makes Us just to follow others and do what others have already suceeded in rather than come with new ideas?

 

So i ask you my fellow Learned concerned citizens: Is it that we Just like to go the easy way and avoid risks into new businesses/talents or we just like to immitate/and or is it 'XIN'(jealousy) that makes us follow the others??

 

Over to the learned folks now

[Liqaye]

So i ask you my fellow Learned concerned citizens: Is it that we Just like to go the easy way and avoid risks into new businesses/talents or we just like to immitate/and or is it 'XIN'(jealousy) that makes us follow the others??

 

Would it disapoint you if i said all three are a major cause of the present dillema?

 

First of all to somalis who have only a finite supply of money to invest in a bussiness, the prospect of starting a completely new sort of bussiness line can be daunting .

So indeed they choose line for instance clothing that Ina hebel hebel seems to have profited from.

 

Equally imitation as they say is the scincerest form of flattery and the imitation of several succesfull somali run bussinesses is a reflection of somali's adulation of anyone who succeds.

 

According to Jelousy, i have actualy heardof and seen people who have setup shops just because that qabil or hebel has opened up one :eek:

To me it doesnt make sense although it must make sense to those who would do such things.

 

But the more people see that the more original and new a persons bussiness is the more profitable it will be , but until this positive connection is made, i am afraid get ready to see more mobile and clothes shop selling the same damn thing

[miles-militis]

Cynicism in communal endeavours and disapproval of its methods of realising its potential is inherent in Liqaye’s analysis of the Somali community’s procedural strife towards self enhancement which I must admit I share NOT.

 

If it the customary self-denigration to which I subscribe not, it is of different matter. However, to gain an insight into the predicament spoken of herein, one only has to observe other communities including Indians (sub-continent) in Southall, Jews in Harlem, NY primarily in the 40s and 50s when the Jews were not allowed to travel to Manhattan, which they currently dominate, let alone secure employment, Oriental (predominantly of the pacific rim) community in the San Francisco bay, Latin community in Miami, FL and Somalis in the twin cities (MN) which sports close to 5 shopping centres by Somalis, and unfortunately for Somalis whereas others cater for the wider community. What do all these communities have in common? Ingenuity and instinct for survival in an aggressive, rather edgy entrepreneurial environment! It has to be noted that a meaningful analysis of how Somalis would fare could only be studied relative to other communities after we had sustained unremitting presence in North America or Europe for no less than a century, thus any immediate analysis will have proved premature.

 

Moreover, what is observed in the twin cities, or in Streatham in London with shops marketing almost identical wares stall after another (the white chapel, East End style if you will) is no different from the .com vibrant economic boom of cross selling services of the nineties most of which mind you had gone under with the economic slump, or the Gold rush at the turn of the last century in the Americas – the impetus motivating entrepreneurs of all is netting that hattrick in the first half – nothing wrong there.

 

You could not isolate the case of the Somalis as it is not unique as observed. And to do so is a demonstration of one’s lack of broad comprehension of societal and economic evolution from primate stalls selling tomatoes and potatoes on the high street (perhaps shalamad and dirac in the Somali case) to a corner shop catering for the immediate locals to a store attracting wider customer base to a department or chain store. Therefore it is all in the mix. Perhaps a read of the story “as the crow flies” might be of help for stealthier grasp of the essence of the matter.

 

And Somalis being so preoccupied with themselves oblivion as to how others view them, perhaps this might be of assistance - recently while visiting a Somali business in DenHag with an American friend of mine (I was infuriated by the poor customer service mind you), I inquired of his perception of Somalis – gracious, intuitive, willing to test the waters, and shrewd business minded – came his reply. What does that tell you?

 

Nonetheless, we are a growing and potentially vibrant community with vast talent, ingenuity and with limited resources. Celebration I reckon is in order. Perhaps my colleagues in social studies could argue the case for the Somalis further afield.

 

Ramadan Karim to all,

Cheers.

[Macalin]

Brother Warrior,I have to say i Didnt get an iota of what you wrote above.

 

However from the little i understood from,you saying we have ingenuity and shrewd business mind,Right? and that you are comparing to us the likes of old immigrants.

 

True we are shrewd business ppl, and i absolutly understand...but stall after stall after stall selling the same ol thing,in my opinion is not being a smart business man,it has saturated and thus no market for them....the mothers who own the place are just sitting there idly .

 

The whole point of the topic is,Why does the business community always follow what others have succedeed in?

 

Is it because its easy?..since heblow did it?

Is it because its jealosy?-if heblay made so and so dollars-surely i can make it?

 

Whatever the case,you veered of the course of the topic.

 

Afur wanagsan

[Khayr]

Salaamz,

Yes, Its easy to follow what has been done already,the risk of failure is minimalized.

 

Yes, it has a bit to do with jealousy too.

 

Somali businesses and this can extend to most muslim business are so terribly at operating the business itself

and they run very low on CUSTOMER SERVICE

that its embarassing to go these places

especially with nonmuslim/nonsomali guests.

 

Whenever I see a somali business open up,

its like they put into that business

the LEAST AMOUNT of MONEY into it

and expect to make a PROFIT and a LIVING

out of it. :rolleyes:

 

Sometimes u wonder if all these Qurbo Somalis

are only good for sitting at Coffee Shops

and collecting Welfare. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[wind talker]

LAKKAD -

 

lol I'm still laughing at the quote: "Siyaasadaan waa Bolitical" - Siciid Faarax

 

Anyways, I think it's mostly XIN. Here in Seattle, we have this big highway, Pacific Highway. And there's Maqaayad after Maqaayad, all within blocks of each other. They offer the same menu, same slow service, and want you to pay $8 for a half-full stomach!

 

And about the new musicians, that's clear: NO CREATIVITY! They make their money from one Aroos to the next, and chew khat whatever little $$$ they make!

 

<--- Ferry ferry angry at those folks!

[LuCkY]

Lakkad after you gather enough info on this topic maybe you can write a book on how to become a better businessmen/women...give tips here and there...the big NO NOs such as opening the same business as your neighbor and even if thats the case they shouLdnt park right next to them.Looking into various deparments besides cLothes and restuarants-expand your horizons-Think Outside of The Box for a Change.How to organize the pLace-approperiate setting so that it isnt embrassing when nonmusLIms/nonsomaLis(to borrow khayrs words)-you know make it Look and feeL Like a business pLace rather than a LittLe shed that you throw the products upon expecting to make it.And Like wind.taLker said Better Service peopLe Better Service and different options on the menu(maqayada)and having speciaLs every now and then wouLd benefit them greatLy.

 

ALL right i apoLogize for steering off course here.

[Macalin]

Anyways, I think it's mostly XIN. Here in Seattle, we have this big highway, Pacific Highway. And there's Maqaayad after Maqaayad, all within blocks of each other. They offer the same menu, same slow service, and want you to pay $8 for a half-full stomach!

---

 

Windtalker,brother i have been to the seatown,and the pachighway99 is such a mess(its in Tukwilia right?),they all ugly and such a filthy place...i must admit tho,Salaama is indeed better than the rest.

 

However,we just dont have ingenuity,am wondering how these ppl make money?...is it by the old system of 'family'?thing going on.I hope they will realise soon that they need to move and go with the times...watever the case its just appalling to see the mess

 

Lucky,lol...am Hoping to bring in some ideas to this stagnant community but you expect somalis to attend one of my seminars?,we will see

 

And oh WindTalker,That phrase came from an uncle of mine in NFD who was campaigning for a council seat once and we asked him how the campaign was going,and he responded with that phrase-hes been serving that borough for almost 10yrs now.

[wind talker]

lol

 

Hey man, I'ma inform you that Salaama used to be the hotspot and I liked their cleanliness but not their food. However, nowadays its become Cab-Driver Central, especially since there is a little coffee shop opened right next to it.

 

So, next time you come to the Emerald City, you gotta find a new spot!

 

Me? I hit up Ethiopian restaurants. Burn my brains out with bisbaas.

[Somali_Patriot]

Dear brothers/sisters,

 

most ppl start new buisness because they're jealous of other qabills. They think just because this clan started a buisness and makes a lot of money they can make a better one because they're superior then they are. Somalis need to invest their buisness if they want to make a lot of money instead of having little stores for ever. they should stop spending every dime they get and start new stores. then they should use a different name and put a person of another more common qabil then there own so they get more buisness which equalls more $$.

[Coloow]

salaama, my two cents:

 

Imitation is not a bad thing to do in terms of business endeavours. Most of the products and methods firms use are a result of benchmarking competitors.

 

Somali owned businesses as you mentioned are very similar and I think this depends on several factors;

 

1. The customers are mainly somalis who have common preferences

 

2: Most of those who start a business lack the basic skills that are neccessary in the western world (business plan, financsing, taxation laws, accounting).

 

3. We are newcomers to doing business in world cities

 

What we are witnessing saaxibiyaal is business dynamics whose bearers are entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs make the synthesis of business. Businesses could fail or blossom for several reasons including institutional, microeconomic reasons etc.

 

It is true that several cities have somali malls. Many are flattered by the notion of somali owned malls- and once you enter them you would find the same product, the same kind of people, hear the same kind of music etc... But could this be sustainable???

 

The answer is probably no because industrial dynamics is about birth and death of businesses.

 

View the somali businesses as a learning process in which actors learn from mistakes- one of being the notion of selling the same brand !

[miles-militis]

Lakad – for those of us in the business world, embracing the crude approach in studying such matters is not an option, thus let me try it in layman’s terms – it is because they are at that nascent stage where one has to learn to walk before one could run. If one does not observe what other communities in similar position, economically or hierarchically in the communal order have done, one could not fully understand the “whats” and “whys” so as to gauge relatively meaningful analysis.

 

Did you observe how similar the wares on display in White Chapel or Portobello open markets are? Did you ask yourself why? Did you look back on how the Hmong community (arrived in the 60 and 70s now numbering in the 100 thous) in the Twin Cities compare with the Somalis who had only been there in less than a decade? Here lie the answers to your query. Does that help old boy?

 

Competition, healthy if interpreted correctly, might be one of the least factors if one at all, and not “reer hebel” syndrome being a compelling reason as some seem to have suggested. Survival I thought was the primary cause as it is a natural business progression to go from start-up to noticeable to competitive to robust – one could not jump to contrast the cycle. Interesting odd how almost everything including business in the Somali context has to always have something to do with “qabiil” yet no one indicates the willingness to examine its ramifications hoping it would just disappear – I trust this to be misreading of prevalent conditions where business is concerned. Then again, who I am to question the virtuoso Somalis?

 

Entrepreneur –you have got it mate. Add to that through trial and error out of 100 start-up businesses, you end up with a few well-managed, brilliantly run ones. What happens to the other 90+, they diversify in other areas. Look at the “Hawala” businesses – out of the countless names, dahabShiil, Dalsan, and Amal are the remnants. Others I bet you are in the property, communications or freight industry - not wasted resources, funds and time after all.

 

Cheers.

[Sophist]

Interesting thoughts, or perhaps not. My knowledge of business is rather confined to bakhaar Baasto iyo Bariis gadaya along with Shiidaal

[nuune]

LOL Sophist,then u have khibrad aad u ween dhanka ganacsiga,baasto,bariis and shidaal is the biggest ganacsi in Somalia and of course everywhere else like Pakistan where they pop u up with som many Basmati bariis

[NGONGE]

Lakkad, in regards to business, I do agree with everything Samouri Warrior said. I see no point in adding anything new here.

I however get the feeling that your questions were not only limited to business and the way it works. You already touched on the music side and the lack of creativity. The thing is, is there a lack of creativity in the Somali world? Lets carry on with the Music line for a bit, are there no new songs being written and sung? I’m sure there are dozens of new songs, singers and writers being born everyday. The fact that you and I might not see them or hear of them is because many of them don’t have the facilities or help to reach us all. Then there are those songs that while being brand new sound as if they were written in the forties and fifties. The talent and ability is there, it has always been there but the correct environment and conditions are not. Just like a business only survives through the interest of its customers, artists grow and develop because of the interest of their audiences. If your audience is not into Somali Rock & Roll, you’re not going to make a name for yourself there and might be better off singing Qaraami songs (with slight undertones of Rock & Roll to please yourself). Anyway, all this imitation only goes to prove that good ideas are popular.

 

 

We are nothing special, we’re not better or worse than any other nation, brother. We have been created with the same brains, and the same body parts. The image you painted above reminds me of a group of lost sheep; maybe what we need is a SHEPEARD!

 

 

Ok. I promise not to go trawling through the old threads anymore.