While it may take a village to raise a child, it takes retail business to raise the village.  At least, that is the aim of Terry Donohue, president of Habitat for Neighborhood Business (Habitat), a nonprofit organization that develops retail and service business centers in economically distressed neighborhoods. 

“The mission of Habitat is to provide an economic spark to folks in the North St. Louis community,” says Donohue.  “By incubating new retail businesses, we will bring in additional jobs.  More importantly, we want to help provide additional role models for the people in the communities.  The young folks and others that are employed will learn lessons in what it means to own a business and be a part of the community.” 

Habitat, which has partnered with Saint Louis University’s John Cook School of Business, purchased retail space in the Ville neighborhood and is right now working to fill the space with entrepreneurs from the neighborhood.

“A lot of people in that neighborhood feel like they have to leave to open a business,” says Donohue.  “The entrepreneurial people are there.  The biggest hurdle for them is just getting over the idea that they can’t do it.  It is an educational process.”

Entrepreneurial business lessons are something that Donohue learned in his years as a vice-president of business management at Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

“I was with Enterprise for 20 years,” says Donohue.  “It runs as close to a model of entrepreneurship as you can for a large corporation.  When Enterprise opened in new cities, we gave the general manager support and coaching, but he was autonomous in most decisions.  He was responsible for helping his own territory to grow.  So, we trained the managers on being entrepreneurs within the community.”

In 2006, Donohue had planned to retire from Enterprise and take some down time, but a cohort of his from the company, Doug Brown, had other ideas.

After only a little arm twisting, Donohue was on board and today, sees the support Habitat offers to potential entrepreneurs as being very similar to the work he did with Enterprise. 

Habitat offers entrepreneurs nourishment in the form of assistance with a business plan, location of capital, store design and below market rents.  The opportunity for coaching and mentoring is open to anyone in the neighborhood, and unlike most incubator business models, Donohue and his colleagues want to keep their clients in the space.  To do this, they build relationships built on more than just good advice.

“I am honest with people about where they are at, and, if I do give advice, it is working advice,” says Donohue.  “So, if they look puzzled by something, I make sure I make everything clear before we move on.”

By working arm-in-arm with the local entrepreneurial base, Donohue is making a legacy impact on the lives of the North St. Louis community.