Pursuing Entrepreneurship with A&H as a Woman of Color
PARTNER BRAND SPOTLIGHT
In celebration of Women's Entrepreneurship Day, WOC is amplifying A & H Co. and Corner Nook, partner brands who have so generously extended WOC members exclusive offers.
Josefina Nidea, Founder, A&H Co.
A&H Co. is the brainchild of Josefina and Franco Nidea, both of whom were inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit. For Josefina, it started with her own family and after having a corporate career, she, with Franco, turned her sights to starting her own business.
Thus, A & H Co. was born, providing custom office supplies to an array of brands. From there, Corner Nook, an office furniture, launched. We sat down with Josefina to learn more about her early beginnings and her business insights.
WOC: What inspired you and Franco to start A&H Co, as well as the new office line Corner Nook?
Josefina: I came from a family with an entrepreneurial spirit, that started with my grandfather who owned a few commercial properties. But I also consider my mother as the ultimate entrepreneur. She helped my Dad provide for a large family of 11 children. We grew up in a rented 3-storey building in Manila, whose ground floor, she made into a restaurant and whose 2nd floor she transformed into a dorm for students coming from a nearby university, and used the 3rd floor as the family living room and bedrooms.
“I believe I got my inspiration to do business in New York from what I saw in my mother growing up in the Philippines, moving from Manila to a provincial city in the southern part of the country.”
I believe I got my inspiration to do business in New York from what I saw in my mother growing up in the Philippines, moving from Manila to a provincial city in the southern part of the country. I remember her to be always busy engaging in mini business undertakings like the trading of dry goods and stuff and starting an enterprise of her own. Using only 3 sewing machines, she started making babies clothes as a home industry. Within 2 years’ time she turned the simple undertaking into a full enterprise that had her supplying children and women’s garments locally and then grew the business to such a big operation as to export her products internationally like the USA, Europe, Australia and Japan.
My Mom was my role model in raising my own children and in doing business. Before Franco and I ran A & H Co., I was a working mother in a government bank, first as an Appraiser and later as the Head of the Mortgage Department. But I seemed to have a calling to run my own business enterprise so that after more than a decade in my banking job, I put up my own design-build company in Manila. When I moved to the U.S.A., in 2006, I worked briefly with a Mortgage company but when the mortgage industry collapsed, I knew that self-employment was the way to go for me.
In January of 2016, the opportunity came when I was offered to assume ownership of a small trading company whose owner was retiring. I consulted my family about it, and Franco who had been wanting to run a business for himself jumped in on the idea. So our family pooled our resources together and with the additional help of a personal bank loan, we acquired the business. We registered the company as the Asian & Hispanic Trading and Consulting, Inc. dba A&H Co.
In 2 years in the business of providing office supplies, equipment, and office furniture, we observed that a sizable portion of our sales came from office furniture. The profit margins were better too. Naturally, we pushed for more furniture sales which gave us the idea to create Corner Nook as the furniture division of the company.
WOC: What has been the most rewarding part of being CEO and President of A&H?
Josefina: The most rewarding part of being the President and CEO of A&H Co. is realizing that by keeping our operations lean, simple and basic, I was able to identify and narrow down what products the company needs to build on. It helped me determine to which direction our efforts should be channeled so that utilization of the company’s resources is maximized at the least cost in our operations.
I also realized that having fully prepared our company at the start of our takeover of the business, by obtaining the mandatory requirements and certifications from the government agencies of the city and state of New York. A&H Co. was well equipped to ably undertake the business. The result of this was our ability to sail through the past months when businesses in so many parts of the country are floundering due to the extraordinarily hard effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately for us, we have been able to keep on going while numerous small and big businesses can no longer hold on and sadly, must completely close.
WOC: Do you have any advice or words of inspiration for budding women of color entrepreneurs?
Josefina: Just being a woman, is a hurdle by itself to pursue a business. How much more a woman of color and coming from another country? Those are 3 counterpoints right off the bat. My advice is to all women of color is educate, educate more, and educate yourself! If by this time, you have missed formal education, take pains to catch up. If you have been fortunate, to have acquired the basic college degree, take more business courses to upgrade. If you have your fill of courses and trainings, there is much more education you can get in the pursuit itself of your business operation. It is by learning from experiences of your peers, colleagues in the business and from leaders in your industry.
For immigrants, it is a great advantage if
you have completed your bachelor’s degree from your country of origin;
you have proficiency in the English language. If you are not English proficient, help yourself with courses available online; and
doing your own research about the industry you seek to do business in and the laws, rules and regulations pertaining to your industry and business.
And for all women of color entrepreneurs, it is a must to attend seminars and workshops conducted by the NYC Small Business Services and the Small Business Administration. All or most of them are free where you can learn much about Entrepreneurship, how to Develop a Business Plan which will be your road map in pursuing your business in the next 3 to 5 years.
And lastly, learn more about the Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) programs of the city and state of New York* and aim to be certified as MWBE after a year of operations. Being certified as MWBE will open opportunities for you and your company such as Request for Quote (RFQ) Request for Information (RFI) and Discretionary Purchases from the city and state agencies and private and not for profit agencies and organizations.
*Note from WOC: if you do not live in NY, several other states have similar programs. You can find them by searching "MBE" or "MWBE" Certification and your state.
