By Paul Thompson
Northeast News

The Northeast Chamber of Commerce is already making good use of its new headquarters on Independence Avenue.

In its space next door at 2659 Independence Ave. – which was once a dentist’s office – the Chamber has launched The Egg Business Incubator, a space designed to help local entrepreneurs turn their ideas into a full-fledged, brick and mortar business. In addition to providing a temporary space at The Egg, the Northeast Chamber will also provide the resources necessary to get a burgeoning business off of the ground.
“We hope to be hatching new businesses to do business in the Historic Northeast area,” said Bobbi Baker-Hughes of the Northeast Chamber of Commerce.

Married couple Abdiqadir Abdirahman and Rahma Suleiman are the first temporary tenants at The Egg, and they are about to begin their third month operating their clothing and accessories store – dubbed All Nations Fashion Store – out of the site.

“We saw this place empty, and we came in here,” Suleiman said. “It’s a good place for business.”
Initially, Baker-Hughes said, the couple had hoped to turn The Egg into a permanent home. The Chamber, however, doesn’t intend for the space to serve as competition for existing businesses in the Historic Northeast.
“We started talking to the community about The Egg, and they approached us to rent the building,” Baker-Hughes said. “We don’t want to rent the building – we don’t want to compete with other property owners and other spaces that could potentially be available – what we want to do is to hatch new businesses.”

That’s exactly what happened with the couple. The Northeast Chamber began the partnership by introducing the potential business owners to KC BizCare, the City of Kansas City, Missouri’s Business Customer Service Center. KC BizCare helped them get the proper licenses and permits for their business, and before long, All Nations Fashion Store, LLC was born. Suleiman said that the partnership with the Chamber was a big help in getting her business off the ground.

“I had a vision, but no experience or anything like that,” Suleiman said of her business’s origin. “They’re really helping a lot; I really appreciate that. You always need extra help, you know? I feel much more confident now.”
Baker-Hughes told the Northeast News that the couple is already doing strong business at The Egg.
“We’ve started talking about what their next steps should be, as far as looking for a larger space where they can really dig in,” Baker-Hughes said. “They’ve started to develop a clientele that will follow them.”

At the time of the interview, Suleiman was getting ready to travel internationally to Dubai in order to find more products for the store. When she advertises to all nations, in other words, she means it.
“It’s from a lot of different places,” Suleiman said. “Some of them are from China, some are from Dubai, some are from Pakistan, some are from Indonesia; that’s why we’re called All Nations Fashion Store.”

Baker-Hughes hopes that The Egg will eventually host up to four businesses at any one time. To that end, the Northeast Chamber has planned a two-day pop-up business showcase on August 18 and 19 at the space.
“All Nation Fashion Store, LLC will be in it, a lady that does Henna will be there, and a really neat little boutique called Amelia’s Bloomers will be there. It’s kind of a very intentional collision of a couple of different nations all in that space. It’s going to be a great pop-up.”

The Chamber views All Nations Fashion Store, LLC as a test of The Egg’s greater model, which is to develop dozens of businesses that will move into spaces throughout the Historic Northeast. With any luck, All Nations Fashion Store will making that transition sooner rather than later.

“All Nations is our pilot project; they’re ready to move in to a bigger space,” Baker-Hughes said. “They’re about ready to hatch.”

Baker-Hughes added that there is still additional space for prospective businesses hoping to receive a helping hand with their launch. The best way to see if The Egg is right for you is to call (816) 231-3312 to make an appointment with the Northeast Chamber of Commerce.