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GRIEGO: Reinvention in times of transition

By Tina Griego, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 1, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Something my daughter said has me thinking about transition. One thing giving way to another. Moments of change playing out, constant, simultaneous, on stages intimate and panoramic.

The city looks back at 150 years of its history. A group of people seeking reinvention gather in these economically troubled times. My daughter celebrates a birthday and looks ahead. In my mind these moments align, past, present, future, like nesting cups.

Of course, too, there is the weather. Snow, finally. The declaration that winter is upon us. In Prospect Park, fallen leaves pad the footpaths, layer upon layer, springy and fragrant underfoot. When the afternoon light hits them, the trails gleam, and from a distance they look like damp cobblestones leading to some magical, mythical village of stone houses and roaring fireplaces beyond the trees.

My daughter turned 10. Her birthday was Friday, but this is not, in and of itself, the point here.

She announced on the eve of her birthday that she has mixed feelings about "entering the double digits."

"It means I'm growing up," she said. "It means I will never be a single digit again. I'll be a double digit the rest of my life - unless I make it to the triple digits."

"Change and continuity," Phil Goodstein says, sipping his hot chocolate, summing up my random thoughts as I tell him the story.

If I witness individual acts of metamorphosis, he, a historian, sees the larger tableau against which they are set.

I enjoy talking to Goodstein, no stranger to random thoughts. He tends to take a contrarian view, which is a counterbalance to my own idealism. Or naivete.

Call it what you wish. I envy his encyclopedic knowledge of Denver history. It would be easy to say he has forgotten more than I will ever learn, but I am not convinced he has forgotten anything. His powers of recall are astonishing. It is he who informed me the building permit for my home was pulled on Nov. 1, 1922, and that it was occupied by a KKK man who sat on the City Council from 1925 to 1927.

I imagine ghosts accompany Goodstein wherever he goes, that what he sees is not only what is, but was, a city layered upon itself.

We talk about reinvention, Goodstein and I, about moments of redefinition in a city constantly redefining itself. He gives me the rundown:

Denver as gold mining camp. Denver as trading capital. Denver as industrial city and health mecca.

I stop him. Industrial city and health mecca? Yes, he says, at the same time. Ever notice the names of so many neighborhoods, he asks. Park Hill, Ruby Hill, Highland, Enterprise Hill, Hilltop. Marketing, he says, a place above the smog line, above the rabble of the city.

He goes on: Denver as cow town. Denver as "little Washington," a hub for federal jobs. Denver as tech center. Denver as the city that loves and hates itself. Denver as the accidental city, an inevitability born of combined geographic blessings. Denver as a city brought to life by ambition and hard work.

Goodstein is of the mind that the constant throughout this is that Denver's elite were faithful adherents of the notion that however many fools actually occupied this city, bigger fools were to be found elsewhere.

These bigger fools could be lured or otherwise finagled into taking on ventures that not only would make both carpetbagger and corporate masters wealthy, but also grow the town, thus making them wealthier.

It always seemed to me that Denver has been as much shaped by the mountains, which speak to aspiration, as by the plains, which demand, if nothing else, a good dose of common sense.

Denver, like most cities, is as much a quest as it is an escape. Both a place of refuge and opportunity.

Which returns me to the present day. While my husband and kids are browsing at a bookstore on Friday, I slip away to a weekly meeting of the IDEA Cafe, which is dedicated - apropos of our theme today - to the proposition of reinvention.

We are not in the worst of times in Colorado, as Goodstein will tell you. Try 1893 on for size - double-digit unemployment, ethnic riots. But we are not in the peak of economic health, either, and what is historically true is that bad times open doors to good ideas.

Desperation leads to innovation. Courage is found when complacency is no longer an option.

This makes the IDEA Cafe a perfect place for the present day. It is the search for, the grabbing of that "aha! moment" that lead John Wren, a business consultant and adult educator, to start the cafe more than a decade ago. It is neither a networking nor advice-dispensing meeting. It is a free gathering, largely of entrepreneurs, but also of people who "are just stuck."

The group brainstorms business or project ideas, and Wren invites speakers, usually those who have successfully started their own businesses, to talk about their experiences.

"This is a gathering of people who have made that transition meeting with those who seek to," he says.

Since it's the day after Thanksgiving, only four people show up. One, a first-timer, says he lost his entrepreneurial spirit when he started working for a large company "and I'd like to get it back."

Two others have already taken the plunge, "moved past paralysis," as one put it, and launched micro-businesses. The ventures aren't making them rich. But they are happy. The fourth is self-publishing a book and wonders how he should market it.

It's philosophy, he says, and complicated. It will have a narrow audience, he says.

Undaunted, they throw out ideas, one after another, and the author scribbles furiously.

They are still brainstorming when I leave to rejoin my family for a midafternoon meal.

My daughter remains pensive. She says she thinks of each of her previous nine years as a little sister. Nine little sisters, she says, and "I feel like I'm saying goodbye to all of them."

You could look at it that way, my husband says, or you could think of the older sisters who are waiting for you.

Oh, yeah, our daughter says, her face brightening, and finishes her pizza.

Comments

  • December 1, 2008

    9:12 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    JohnSWren writes:

    Thanks for attending the Denver IDEA Cafe Friday, Tina, hope you'll come back and share about how you started your career in journalism. More info and RSVP on http://ideacafe.meetup.com/1

  • December 1, 2008

    10:16 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    LauraBrandau writes:

    Thanks for sharing your story, Tina. I attended the IDEA Cafe a few months ago when just barely starting a new business. The group brainstormed a ton of great ideas for how to promote my business and engage small business owners. A few weeks later, I realized that part of my struggle with finding a niche in small businesses as customers was that it was not the right niche for me to start with initially. I really credit the group for giving me the ideas to start down that path of discovery. I credit John helping Denver maintain a creative edge and open dynamism with this group.

    Best,
    Laura Brandau
    http://www.bridging-the-gap.com

  • December 1, 2008

    11:20 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    lunderbakke writes:

    The Idea Cafe is a great springboard for new or established business to explore/develop/enhance various marketing programs. Lou Underbakke

  • December 1, 2008

    6:10 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    PeopleFud writes:

    I have attended the Idea Café a dozen times in as many years. I never fail to find some inspiration whether I am driving a personal business or working for a company but needing to get the creative juices flowing.

    Entrepreneurialism, whether American or Coloradan, doesn’t look at the market forces in general. It has to be driven by the idea, the passion and the understanding of the possible market for the product or service they believe is unique, better or priced better. Anyone looking to get rich overnight as an entrepreneur is not being realistic. But starting a business in a down market may be the best time to venture forth.

    In answering people that question the launch of my company just last month, PeopleFüd (www.peoplefud.com), a high end pet food, in a down market, I answer it may be the best time. We know there are people that put wholesome food at the top of their budget, more often for themselves, but also for pets, which are often the primary companion for people and families.

    Opportunity is rife in a down market. Few entrepreneurs are able to get to market; large competitors cut back on innovation and change at times like these. The market will come back, and by building a business during the downturn puts you months, perhaps years ahead of what would be your immediate competitors when money is cheap to borrow, or people with cash are looking to diversify into a new business.

    And when I need a little help, I can depend on the Idea Café to give me a little help. The best thing about it is the fact we don’t evaluate at the meetings. We throw out dozens of ideas that give you a springboard to move ahead on a barrier or obstacle you are looking to overcome.

    If you’re thinking about a business, or have an issue you need to approach from “out of the box”, you won’t find a better venue than the Idea Café.

    Davyd Smith
    PeopleFüd “Cause Every Dog Loves People Food”
    http://www.peoplefud.com

  • December 1, 2008

    11:18 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Doug12345678 writes:

    All of us are smarter than any of us. John's Idea Cafe allows one to explore their ideas, and benefit from the thoughts and ideas of other people. When putting together my business, I found that a visit to the Idea Cafe was like a breath of fresh air, allowing me to get new ideas, or to find tune the ideas that I already had. Thanks, John, for providing such a great venue for small business idea people.
    Doug Root
    JungleQuest
    Doug@JungleQuest.net

  • December 1, 2008

    11:49 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    StrongSpiritUnlimited writes:

    "Desperation leads to innovation. Courage is found when complacency is no longer an option." How true.

    Tina pegged exactly what spurs on so many of us who transform ourselves in life, and especially those of us who are entrepreneurs. We can relate.

    I know I can. My "rather bleak life" (as one of my audience members described my life and times) provided the desperation that spurred me to begin my journey. That journey led me to my purpose in life, unexpectedly transforming me. I now fulfill my place in the world as an inspirational keynote speaker and writer. This role, as an entrepreneur, gives me the opportunity to encourage others in these rather bleak times.

    The IDEA Cafe does the same for entrepreneurs, in good times and not so good. I felt honored to be invited by John Wren to be a panelist at the IDEA Cafe recently. What a terrific opportunity to give back to the entrepreneurial world. John provides an incredible service to the Denver community through his dedicated work.

    Thank you, John. Thank you, Tina. We need your encouragement, especially in these trying times.

    Kris Harty
    Strong Spirit Unlimited
    www.strongspiritunlimited.com