Ganesan Sugumar has followed his own path to business since immigrating to Ontario from Sri Lanka in 1992. He describes two major principles that have worked for him.

First, think of yourself as an employee to your own business. "Pay yourself a salary. Then you can provide capital for your business in the good times and have enough to tide you over during the difficult periods.

Secondly, "Keep the employees happy. Treat your employees with the consideration you would give to friends and relatives."

"There are so many avenues that allow business immigrants to succeed in Canada."

Mr. Sugumar operates four businesses in the downtown section of Toronto, Canada's largest city. He has four retail stores employing about 20 people and his goal is to expand to the point where he is providing employment for 100 people.

Unrest in Sri Lanka prompted Mr. Sugumar to leave his native country in 1992 despite the fact that he was a successful business entrepreneur with interests in the financial and travel businesses. He and his wife Sheila, an accountant, decided they wanted a new environment in which to start a family. Their two children were both born in Canada.

"The reasons I chose Canada were that the people were nice, the crime rate was low and because of its multinational nature," he says. "Nowhere in the world can you see so many people from all over the globe. Choosing to live in Ontario was the best decision for me. I have no regrets."

Mr. Sugumar had visited family in Canada prior to immigrating but had never stayed for more than a couple of weeks. He says his arrival in 1992 coincided with a business recession but he was undeterred because of his confidence in his own ability to succeed. "You must have confidence," he says. "There are so many avenues that allow business immigrants to succeed in Canada. We are surrounded by a very rich nation."

Before starting his business operations, he conducted his own research into the business possibilities. "it took me six months to do my own survey," says Mr. Sugumar. I talked to people, including officials in the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. It helped me to decide on a business path." His retail businesses, in the heart of Toronto, sell everything from tourist souvenirs, clothing, to food staples. He realized that by diversifying, everyone who comes to my stores will be interested in something." Mr. Sugumar also realized that catering to the cosmopolitan nature of the community as well as the hordes of tourists in downtown Toronto was also key to successful operations. He estimates his stores cater to people from at least 50 nations and his own staff comes from 10 different countries.

That is another observation he's happy to pass on to potential business immigrants. "They can look beyond their own particular ethnic communities and do business with people from all over," he explains. "If I had stuck to my own community, I don't think I would have been as successful."