Airport program helps business dreams become reality

When the pressure to sell cigarettes at her convenience store at East Colfax Avenue and Monaco Parkway reached a tipping point, Muluye Hailemariam listened to her conscience.

“It was a hard decision because it would be good money, but I decided not to sell cigarettes,” Hailemariam said. “Making money isn’t everything. I have to help the next generation to be healthy.”

An immigrant without a college degree, Hailemariam pushed ahead on her principles and willpower, closing her store and starting a custom Ethiopian jewelry business.

A serendipitous encounter with the commercial team from Denver International Airport then shifted her entrepreneurial focus.

The team was combing the community to recruit businesses for the Federal Aviation Administration‘s Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, and Hailemariam fit the description perfectly. Read more