Everything Personal, Just Business

David Dey can see him through curtains of the restaurant windows across the street; a tall, thin man who probably is wondering what this new place before him is doing in the middle of his neighborhood; on his drug turf in Rochester's 19th Ward.

"That business just falls on them," Dey says. "They grow up, Dad's no where to be found; maybe Mom is, maybe not. Someone different's taking care of them all the time and then, when they grow up and it's time to need money, the business is just there for them. It's what they know, and it's easy."

Dey believes that one day soon, the man will cross that street and at least ask "what's goin' on?" When he does, Dey says he'll strike up a conversation with him when he does, and invite him in for some Louisianna-style food at The French Quarter, one of the businesses now up and running inside what is a first-of-its kind place in the United States.

The restaurant, a coffee shop, a document center and a small retail space all are doing business out of the corner space of a 100-year old block property on Arnett Boulevard. It's called Risego. It's Dey's vision for ending the cycle that's turned once-robust urban neighborhoods into declining, violent, crime-riddled 'hoods.

At the heart of it is what appears to be an altruistic economic development strategy called social entrepeneurship. Strategic Business Intelligence Group (SBIG ) defines it as an emerging business paradigm spanning non profit and for profit business models with principles that've defined what entrepreneurs do. A PBS special on social entrepeneurs called those who pursue it "The New Heroes."

For Dey, it means teaching people, mostly young people, who've never considered before just how they can be entrepeneurs. Dey worked a stint in the city of Rochester's economic development operation. He knows why things don't work in neighborhoods, what resources are needed. More importantly, he knows how and why things..really work .. in the at-risk parts of the city. After launching an institute for sustainability at Roberts Wesleyan College (with funding from Rochester billionaire Tom Golisano), Dey struck out on his own to respond to what he called his mid-life crisis.

On the sidewalk in front of Risego, he redefines working the street. Handsome, friendly and quick to smile, Dey will spend a few minutes when he can greeting passersby. When he can, he'll invite them in to learn more about what's happening; a one-man grassroots campaign.

Among those who come to Risego to learn are participants in Rochester City Court's Drug Court, where mostly young people convicted of crimes involving illegal drugs are expected to be clean for a year, complete a chemical dependency program, have a high school degree, a GED or higher education, and be employed full time or be in college full time. Some are now being guided to Risego.

"John" arrived from drug court in late May, the kind of young person who needs to learn the fundamentals. As he shows him around the place, Dey coaches him on how to confidently greet a stranger, how to engage in a conversation, how to listen, why it's important to show up for work on time and how to do it.

Bigger ideas are weeks, maybe months away, if "John" stays with it. Between now and then, Dey will help "John" explore what he likes to do; where his talents lie. Yet, when asked for his outlook on life, "John" says: "good guys finish last."

"It's all he's known," Dey says. "Rome wasn't built in a day. Will he make it? It will be up to him."

Drug court participants may arrive from city court, but it's about all the help Risego gets from government. No grants here. Risego is a private venture. Dey left his career and bought the Arnett property with his family's money (he thanks his parents every day.) There have been bountiful donations of time and money , from friends, community members... and those who believe in his entrepeneurial vision. Golisano provided seed money. Dey asked another prominent Rochester businessman, John "Dutch" Summers, to help him finance the construction of the kitchen for Risego's restaurant space. Dey and his network of contacts put in the sweat equity to bring the building to life. All of this without drawing a paycheck.

"This has not been comfortable for us, but we; my wife, my family, we believe in this," Dey says.

So does the 19th Ward family that opened its first family business in Risego's copier center. And a retired suburban couple. They drive half an hour in each day from Monroe County's west side to sell quality handmade goods from third world countries made by women receiving a fair wage. They had no plan for a brick and mortar operation, until they met Dey and his plan to demonstrate entrepeneurship in a place in desperate need of it.

Oil paintings of Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and Sonny Rollins hang on the wall in The French Quarter and play off its Big Easy riff. They're the work of a man working to put the life that led him to prison farther and farther behind him. And most days, Dey holds education sessions at Risego's conference room just off the main space. Sometimes, it's one-on-ones with people like "John." Other times, he hosts groups like math teachers from the Rochester school district, interested in curriculum options that would get kids thinking business other than what's available on the streets.

Is Risego a miracle, or just another well-intentioned idea? It's Dey's plan to grow more Risego's in other sections of Rochester and eventually, across the country. Can anyone be a business person? Can shining the light of financial independence for those who most need it be enough?

Dey sees the answer through the window of the French Quarter as he takes another look across the street at the drug dealer scouting out his turf. "You know, if it were me, I'd be doing it too. It's so easy. But that's our job here. To show them there's more. A lot more."


http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/whatis/resources.html