.....If You Succeed is the story of one black entrepreneur’s struggle to save his business and his marriage. Where others only see a burned-out block with no future, Christian Dennery sees an opportunity to expand his restaurant holdings and help rebuild a community. If You Succeed follows Christian for over two years, documenting the creation of a new business from the earliest stages of planning and financing.
.....Barely making ends meet at his first restaurant, Christian risks everything he has to open a new café called Bodegas on a troubled Brooklyn block. He hopes this gamble will pay off by increasing his purchasing power while decreasing waste and labor costs, enabling him to finally make a profit. Together with his business partner and estranged wife, Dolores Lagdameo, Christian raises and runs out of money, survives construction nightmares, builds his reputation in the community, and finally succeeds in both opening Bodegas and saving his marriage.
.....If You Succeed is a suspenseful story about what one very driven man will do and say to succeed, but it also embodies a story that’s being played out across the country as the number of small businesses skyrockets despite the personal and financial risks for entrepreneurs. Changing the face of America’s cities one storefront at a time, these small-scale urban visionaries are breathing new life into neighborhoods long left for dead.