Town Biz 101
Ventura, CA
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Michael Racine
Talisman From Interspace
Studio 1
Now Located In Oxnard, CA
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FOR DOMINO'S FRANCHISEE
By Bill Lascher - Staff Writer
Pacific Coast Business Times
Successful enterprises can often tout a team of well-balanced leaders among their assets. For the owners of the chain of Domino's Pizza, it just happens that the leaders are related. Established in 1989, Hishmeh Enterprise Inc. has grown from a team of two brothers operating the pizza giant struggling Santa Paula outfit to 15 locations in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Along the way, the brother, Sam and Wael Hishmeh, have enlisted the talents of their siblings and parents to grow the business and plant strong roots in the communities in which they operate. They also now count 250 employees who have helped the company earn more than $11 million in sales. "With our size, we're very fortunate to have each other because every one of my family members brings something different to the table," Sam Hishmeh, the company's president, said. "We're all college-educated with different backgrounds."
Sam began as a delivery driver for Domino's after he came to the Los Angeles area from the family's native country Jordan to attend ITT Technical Institute.
A year after Sam arrived, Wael - now the Hishmeh's vice president of operations for the Santa Barbara market - came to the United States to study and also started delivering pizza. Eventually Sam became store manager. Shortly, thereafter, the two had the opportunity to buy the Santa Paula store. The two rotated responsibilities: one drove, the other managed the store and then the next day they reversed the roles.
Right about that time another brother - Husam - came to the States. His brothers quickly brought Husam to work for them. The decision to bring him in as partner was "automatic," Sam said. Husam is now Vice President for the Ojai and Ventura store.
It was also an automatic decision for the brothers to enlist their parents at their growing business. Their second location was an Ojai Domino's purchased in 1991.
"My books were at the time in a total mess," Sam Hishmeh said. "Naturally, my dad started establishing some kind of bookkeeping for us."
Nick, the eldest Hishmeh son, came to the United States about a decade ago and join as the final partner. He now serves as Hishmeh Enterprise's chief information officer.
Their mother also helps do some of the books, and Sam's wife, Lena, runs the company's human resources department.
Meanwhile, the youngest Hishmeh children - Ghada and Tareq - have found their own niches at the company. Gahda earned her marketing degree from California State University, Northridge and is now vice president of operations for the family's owned Oxnard, Fillmore and Santa Paula stores. Tarequ, a 2004 graduate of Loyola Law School, is now the company's legal counsel in addition to his work with the Ventura-based law firm of Hathaway, Perrett.
Together, the family works together to make a connection between their community in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and the nationwide Domino's brand.
"The owners of your local Domino's pizza store are part of this community," Sam Hishmeh said. "They go to school here; they shop here; and they spend their money here." Hishmeh said, "that's the only way he and his family were able to survive as a business was to become involved with the community." He advises other businesses to do likewise.
"That's where your money is," he said. "You can do all the advertising that you want in the world and that can only take you so far. If you want to reach the next level of success you have to go out and reach out to the local non-profits and organizations. You have to belong to the community."
"The involvement has to be sincere," he said, "and Hishmeh Enterprises has become involved with organizations the family has been touched by." They include the Boys & Girls Club, the Make a Wish Foundation, Pleasant Valley Neighborhood Learning, the Rotary Club, Foodshare and St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
The family also has supported a number of private and public schools in the Tri-Counties.
"They are short on funds," Sam Hishmeh said. "Many teachers are looking into their own pockets."
The commitment to education is clear in the family's own practices. Despite the involvement of so many family members in Hishmeh's business, none of the 13 children that make up the next generation of the family will be pressured into joining the company.
"Every one of them fully understands that his focus has to continue to be on higher education," Sam Hishmeh said. "They can study or major in whatever they choose to. They don't have to join the family business. I'm sure a few of them will."
Dominos @ Town Biz 101
| RALPH HOLT'S MEMOIRS
RALPH'S COMIC CORNER
In the late 1970s, as a young man, Ralph Holt joined up with a friend of his and opened up the Andromeda Bookshop - a store specializing in science fiction books and comic books located in Santa Barbara, CA.
After a couple of years, Ralph decided to venture out on his own. He made his way about 35-plus miles south down the coast to Ventura, CA; and, in May of 1980, he opened up the very first incarnation of Ralph's Comic Corner. This store was originally located in the back of a thrift store where it literally was just a corner.
After four years, Ralph moved down the road to a larger location with his very own storefront. In 1990, after ten years of being in business for himself, Ralph moved the shop across the street to an even larger store. In 1997, that store doubled its size which brings us to the present where Ralph's now houses an inventory of over a 100,000 plus comic books.
There, you will also find comics dating from the 1930s to the present day...current. Ralph's Comic Corner is very heavy in Silver Age DC. As far as new comics go, the store carries a full line of currently published comics, including everything from best-selling Marvel, DC, and Image comics, to the occasionally hard to find Gladstone and Archie comics, to the usually difficult-to-find small press titles.
Today, you can find Ralph and his comic book crew located at 2379 E. Main Street, Ventura, CA 93003. (805) 653-2732 or if your an Internet shopper or located somewhere else on the planet, shop on line at: www.ralphscomiccorner.com
www.rtown.biz/rcc.html
MICHAEL RACINE
MAN OF THE COMMUNITY
As an ambition personality with a genius-creative mind Racine aims to please. He possesses excellent abilities to design, coordinate, produce and complete projects' extraordinaire. Racine who has been enmeshed as a successful nine-year entrepreneur in Ventura's business climate and a friend to the community is looking to reopen his Ventura store in an all-new location. Meantime, he is taking a breather and operating out of his other location, Studio 1, in Oxnard.
Over the past three decades, Michael Racine established, marketed and maintained the day-to-day business operations of various professional endeavors including jewelry and sculpture boutiques and galleries in both present location and others.
This operating scholar of design of custom jewelry is also a mastermind of sculpture works for both the public and private sector. In addition, Michael offers ingenious services as a retailer plus has completed special-projects including architect of building, i.e.: restaurants, houses, and buildings. Most recently he added to his architect resume the design of an unique auditorium design.
This Renaissance multi-creative mind is, also, the inventor of sophisticated electronic devices beneficial to the professional industry. Racine continues as a multi-task-multi-talented professional who obtains the highest level of standards as a jeweler, sculpture and other designs including: goldsmith, precious metal casting, large sand cast bronzes, high-grade plating (chrome, copper and nickel), oils and art expression, stained glass and mirror madding, textiles, weaving, batik, sculpture, woods, potter, mosaic tile making, aluminum casting (impregnated sand and core) forged iron, bronze shell casting, mold making, house building and photography. Michael Racine is a license sports massage therapist.
Racine attended University of California - Riverside and Claremont College where he majored in mathematics and science plus minored in the arts. As a countryman, he served in the United States Air Force.
Dancing, everything from ballroom to western to jazz, is one of the real loves of this high-energy professional's life.
www.rtown.biz/talisman.html
Rewrites by: J. F. Robinson
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