The Power of One Entrepreneur
Not the drivers and owners of commuter vans—an industry he kept afloat in New York City by overcoming entrenched political opposition and harassment by enforcement agencies.
Not the 40,000 or more passengers who get to and from work each day using the commuter vans he helped organize in Queens and New York City’s other four boroughs.
Not the owners of businesses like the Visiting Nurse Service of Staten Island or Hybrid Advertising in Crown Heights, Brooklyn,that could not operate without the van service that brings workers to clients or creates a market for advertisers to promote their own enterprise.
Not the owners and employees of businesses that took root and thrived in the protective shadow of the van business, businesses that serve ethnic groups on their journey to prosperity that is the story of New York City.
When people speak of Hector Ricketts, it’s always Mr. Ricketts—not in deference to some great power or control he has that raises his status above them, but because they simply want to reflect the respect with which he has treated them, their hard work and their dreams.
Hector Ricketts is the most practical of dreamers. He is an entrepreneur: someone who saw a need, turned it into an opportunity, applied his own hard work, intelligence and personality, and shared his success with others—all the while facing down a bureaucracy full of barriers to build more opportunity and more success for himself and for many others….
Related Cases

Economic Liberty | Fresh Start
Maryland small business owner files federal lawsuit against USDA over policy of permanent punishment for crime for which he already served his time
When the government judges someone’s integrity, it should do so based on who they are today—not who they were 20 years ago. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), however, imposes a permanent ban from…

Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Private Property | Vending
Small business owners sue to strike down Jacksonville regulations effectively banning food trucks from city
Jacksonville, North Carolina effectively bans food trucks from operating in 96 percent of the city. That's why a group of small business owners has teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a lawsuit…

Woman challenges Arizona city's ban on feeding people for "charitable purposes"
Norma Thornton was arrested for feeding the hungry in Bullhead City Community Park. Now, Norma has teamed up with IJ to fight back against Bullhead's law criminalizing charitable sharing in federal court.
In The News
Liberty & Law Article
IJ Clinic Client Demonstrates the Power of One Entrepreneur
Liberty & Law Article
Series of IJ Publications Document the Power of One Entrepreneur
Liberty & Law Article