II Circle

A few young
Jews follow in
their ancestors'
entrepreneurial
footsteps.

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN STAFF WRITER

t may be a Jewish parent's instinct
to encourage kids toward careers in
Jaw or medicine. But in Detroit, it seems
that Jewish kids are more likely to fol-
low in their parents' footsteps
than listen to their sugges-
tions.
Judging from a handful of
young adults who have gone
into business for themselves,
the advice they got at home —
do what you love — guided
their career decisions.
Mindy Ruben, 30, who
is president of Marketing
etcetera, the advertising
and marketing company she
opened three years ago, says her
parents' advice to go to law school
held less weight than the exam-
ples they set.
Both proprietors of clothing
companies, Ms. Ruben's parents
pushed her toward law school "so
I wouldn't ever have to worry

about making my own way. Maybe it
would've been an easier path, but it wasn't
the path I wanted," she says.
But Ms. Ruben's parents stressed more
that they wanted their
daughter to do some-
thing she enjoyed. "If
I'm not going to have
fun, Pm not going to do
it," she says.
"I think the biggest
determining factor is
internal drive. ,Some
people are just better

Above: Ryan and Jay
Rosett: The key to a
successful business is a
great product.

Left: Rebecca Jasgur
gives special instruction
to Heather Kerwin, Lee
Reitelman, Carly
,2 Goldman and Stephen
Smith.

off being their own boss."
"I don't come across that many
people, young or otherwise, who
are starting their own business-
es," says Rhonda Brown, a na-
tionally certified career counselor
and coordinator of the career cen-
ter at Oakland Community Col-:
lege's Orchard Ridge campus.
"In the Jewish community, the
generation you're looking at just
may have to do different [from
their parents, as opposed to 'bet-
ter'] — the return to the entre-
preneurial person, self-made
person becomes a way for [mem-
bers of] this generation to distin-
guish themselves from their
parents, [have] different success-
es," says Ms. Brown.
A job as vice-president of mar-
keting at a Washington, D.C., real
estate firm "was the springboard"
that propelled Ms. Ruben toward
starting her own business.
Marketing etcetera does adver-
tising and marketing for retail,
real estate, medicine and law —
everything from large-scale ad
campaigns to brochures and in-
crease-sales programs.
Of her Michigan peers, Ms.
Ruben estimates'that about half
went to law school, 20 percent to
medical school and roughly 25 per-
cent went into business for them-
selves.
"I think even doctors and
lawyers always dream of doing
something" entrepreneurial, says
Rebecca Jasgur, who owns Joe
Cornell dance studio. Whoever
takes the plunge, though, must be
outgoing, ambitious and dedicated, she says.
"Willing to give up a lot to get a lot," says
her brother, Steve Jasgur, the other half of
the Joe Cornell leadership team. "It takes a
lot of time — years."
Ms. Ruben notes that more Jewish men
exhibit the entrepreneurial spirit than Jew-
ish women.
"The workplace was traditionally a male-
dominated environment. While things are
changing, it's going to be a while before it'll
be equal," says Ms. Ruben.
"In spite [of paying] lip service to gender
equity, and [believing] that our daughters
and sons can do equally as well, young
women become the primary caretakers of
their families," says Ms. Brown. "There isn't
a lot of support, both within the Jewish com-
munity and [outside of it], for the entrepre-
neurial woman."
The Michigan Jobs Commission has no
way of tracking how many businesses are
started by Jews or by young adults, accord-
ing to Cindy Douglas, customer representa-
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