I opened my own repair shop after being told my accent scared customers

Dear Delyara, I repaired phones and laptops for a large electronics store after moving to Canada. My work was good, but my manager kept me in the back room because he said customers struggled with my accent. I began taking repair jobs at home for neighbors. I saved every extra dollar, completed a small-business course, and rented a narrow shop beside a laundromat. The first month, I had seven customers. I nearly closed. Then local immigrant families began recommending me because I could explain technical problems patiently in three languages. Today marks two years. I hired my first employee last month. This afternoon, the same former manager came in with a damaged laptop. He did not recognize me immediately. When he did, he looked embarrassed and asked whether I owned the place. I said yes and gave him the standard estimate. I did not need to humiliate him. The sign above the counter already said enough. The voice he once kept away from customers now answers every phone call under my own business name.