After the 2008 recession hit, Colombian immigrants Angelica and Roman Rivera lost their home and had to rely on outside help in order to feed their three children. They moved to New Orleans to take advantage of the housing boom in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and started a construction company on their own. Today, the Riveras employ 18 workers and bring in more than four-million dollars of construction revenue a year. They built their own dream house for their family and now marvel at how far they have come from their impoverished life in Colombia.
After graduating from college with a degree in finance, Ericka Lassiar landed a well-paying job in Dallas at Daimler Chrysler. Although the job provided her with a good salary, excellent benefits, and job security, Ericka’s entrepreneurial spirit prompted her to return to her hometown of New Orleans and start her own business. With her passion for cooking, Ericka opened a gourmet hot dog restaurant called Diva Dawg, offering a diverse range of flavors from Kobe Beef dogs to New Orleans-inspired Jambalaya dogs. Ericka poured all of her savings into Diva Dawg, but, like many new restaurant owners, was forced to close. Nevertheless, she hasn’t given up hope and vows to reinvent the restaurant as a food cart.
The DC Central Kitchen is much more than a food pantry. It is a nationally renowned anti-poverty program that not only feeds the needy, but provides a range of innovative programs to combat poverty itself. Their vans bring social service referrals and job applications in addition to hot meals for the homeless. Their commercial kitchen, which prepares food for dozens of local pantries and soup kitchens, employs and trains former prisoners in the culinary arts. Hundreds of their cooking school graduates have found work in the food service industry. William Farrell, a former inmate, is a kitchen supervisor; James Weeks, a formerly homeless client, is now DC Central Kitchen’s Outreach Manager; and Mike Curtin is DC Central Kitchen’s CEO.
Fast Facts about Entrepreneurialism:
- The U.S. is ranked in the top 10 countries in the world for “ease of doing business,” but only 46th for starting a new business.[i] About half of all new businesses survive five years or more and about one-third survive 10 years or more.[ii]
- After the Great Recession of 2008, more business owners are minorities, older, homeowners, college educated, and located in metropolitan areas.[iii]
- Small businesses make up 99.7 of U.S. employer firms, but the definition of a small business is an independent business having fewer than 500 employees.[iv]
- Social entrepreneurs adopt a mission to create and sustain social, not just private, value for their communities, and are committed to finding new opportunities to achieve that mission.[v]
Discussions Questions about Entrepreneurialism:
- Angelica and Roman Rivera came to the U.S. as poor Colombian immigrants and, despite struggling through the Great Recession, managed to create a thriving business. Is their story the typical narrative for most immigrants? Why do immigrants continue to come in search of the American Dream?
- Ericka Lassiar left a stable job with excellent benefits to pursue a passion. Ericka’s parents are committed to seeing their daughter succeed and have returned to the workforce to support Diva Dawg. Would you feel comfortable taking this kind of risk in today’s economy? Could a lack of family and community support be an impediment to the entrepreneurial spirit?
- DC Central Kitchen has trained 1,300 people for culinary jobs and feeds thousands every day. How is this model for feeding and employing the homeless and formerly incarcerated funded? How can it be replicated in other cities?
- John Fugelsang worries that some politicians might use the success of the private, nonprofit model of DC Central Kitchen as an excuse to further cut the government safety net. Do successful nonprofits like DC Central Kitchen serve as an argument to reduce government spending and services? Can the nonprofit sector replace government services?
- Social entrepreneurs seek to generate social value for their work in addition to private profit. If the primary purpose of corporations is by law to generate shareholder value, how can corporations be encouraged to contribute to needy communities?
[i] https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/06/11/chart-week-what-it-takes-start-business-america
[ii] https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/06/11/chart-week-what-it-takes-start-business-america
[iii]https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Issue Brief 2, Business Owner Demographics.pdf
[iv] https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/FAQ_March_2014_0.pdf
[v] https://entrepreneurship.duke.edu/news-item/the-meaning-of-social-entrepreneurship/