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Small Business Spotlight: Retired Giant Tiki Barber Extends His run with Key Business Pivots
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Retired running back Tiki Barker is elusive and quick on the gridiron and in the boardroom.
Barber played ten seasons in the NFL with the New York Football Giants. Since retiring, he has followed his passion for business in which he earned his degree from the University of Virginia.
“What I learned, obviously from my football career but also my early business career, is that relationships are invaluable,” he told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight.
When the market crashed in 2008, the three-time Pro Bowler had to get out of an affordable housing partnership he entered with billionaire real estate developer Stephen Ross after he retired from the league in 2006. But, the relationship he formed and maintained with The Related Companies chairman and Miami Dolphins owner led to an opportunity years down the road when Ross invested in Thuzio – the events company Barber co-founded in 2012.
“How you manage those relationships are of paramount importance for things down stream,” Barber explained.
He finds it liberating to find new ways of doing business. That realization came when Thuzio was forced to make a halftime adjustment amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It moved online and hosted private virtual business talks with celebrity speakers, including “Shark Tank” star and FUBU founder Daymond John, retired New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott and executive chef Josh Capon. Barber and his partners later changed the business model to make all virtual events free because their presenting sponsors were willing to pay a premium for more viewers.
“More importantly, you want qualified eyes,” he said, adding, “You want to know who your audience is.”
The “Tiki & Tierney” co-host told WCBS 880 they create events for their sponsors to target specific business executives and groups who are likely potential clients. For example, sports betting operator DraftKings sponsored a Thuzio virtual talk with Barber and retired New York Mets captain David Wright.
“We have this aggregation of business executives who you specifically want to talk to and we’re bringing them together over a shared passion for sports or food or wine or business information,” Barber said of Thuzio’s appeal to sponsors.
The company hosts about 35 virtual events a month, which he said would be near impossible for them to pull off in-person. Thuzio grew from eight employees to 15 in the pandemic amid rising demand for content.
Barber’s business mindset has been shaped by his mentors and experiences in the NFL. The Giants great told Connolly and Carousso he was inspired by Jon Gruden’s motivational tactics. Gruden was the head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where his twin brother Ronde Barber played cornerback and won a Super Bowl in 2002.
“We all have things that disrupt our lives,” Tiki said, noting the hardships suffered in the pandemic. “Sometimes, you have to get up and fight for yourself and fight forward for your country and as an individual. And, that’s essentially what (Gruden) was saying.”
Barber tries to portray positivity and enthusiasm among his employees, because, as Barber recalled Gruden’s message, “It’s not just for you, it’s for people who are around you.”
Football is a team sport and the ex-Giant used it as an analogy in business throughout the Small Business Spotlight conversation. Giving the play-by-play of his Giants team record 95-yard touchdown run against the Oakland Raiders on December 31, 2005, he emphasized the blocking by his teammates that catapulted him into the end zone that Saturday night.
“Understanding that it takes everyone even those who don’t show up on the big screen in order to be successful” is the mantra that guides Barber’s post-football career.
Watch Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso’s conversation with Tiki Barber on the Small Business Spotlight video above.
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‘I’m a little bit biased:’ Tiki Barber playing favorites for Super Bowl LV
By Neil A. Carousso and Joe Connolly
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Tiki Barber, who played ten seasons for the New York Football Giants, is playing favorites ahead of the big game.
The three-time Pro Bowl running back opened up to WCBS 880’s Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso after recording a Small Business Spotlight interview about his events company Thuzio, which is set to publish on Wednesday.
“I’m a little bit biased,” Barber admitted, revealing, “Bruce Arians, who is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was roommates with my father at Virginia Tech and so I’ve known him since I was born, basically.”
The “Tiki and Tierney” co-host on CBS Sports Radio and CBS Sports Network said he grew up with Arians who started as a quarterback for the Hokies and won two Super Bowls as the wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005 and 2008.
“The thing that I look for, that I’m looking for, is how these two teams are coached and how are they prepared to take on these extraordinarily amazing challenges in competition.”
Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid coached against Barber’s Giants as the long-time leader of their NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles. Reid won his first Super Bowl as a head coach last year when the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20.
“We have two amazing stories at the head coaching position whether it’s Bruce’s long journey or Andy Reid who is now in the top four, five of all time because of how successful he’s been,” Barber said. “I think that story besides all the great ones with the players that’s the one that I look to and it gives me the most interest mainly because I have a personal connection.”
Barber has another connection to this year’s Super Bowl: His twin brother, Ronde, was the star cornerback for the 2002 Bucs championship team. That was Tampa Bay’s only Super Bowl appearance until this season.
“That was the last time they won a playoff game was back in 2002 as crazy as that sounds,” said Barber.
While the 2002 Buccaneers were known for their impermeable defense, the 2020 Bucs are riding on their high-flying offense orchestrated by their 43 year old quarterback, Tom Brady, who has won six Super Bowl titles in his nine appearances in the big game as a member of the New England Patriots.
Brady’s first of three Super Bowl losses came at the hands of Eli Manning and the Giants – one-year after Barber retired, which he humorously brought up with Connolly and Carousso.
“Tom Brady’s two years younger than me. I’m retired for 14 years; he’s still playing,” Barber said, laughing. “It’s unreal how successful he’s been.”
In fact, this week, when Brady was asked if he’d be up for playing past age 45 he said, “I would definitely consider that.”
Tiki told WCBS 880 he never thought any team was just “one player away,” noting the team sport. “That’s never true until this year.”
Watch Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso’s conversation with Tiki Barber about Super Bowl LV above.
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Small Business Spotlight: Brooklyn Startup Puts Local Stores Online
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A Brooklyn startup has made shopping local in the pandemic easier and it is helping connect small retailers with customers online.
ShopIN.nyc is “the everything store,” as founder and CEO Maya Komerov describes it, for a variety of hometown products.
“People really want to shop local, but the truth is it’s not convenient,” Komerov told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight.
When the pandemic hit, she saw small businesses struggling and large e-commerce companies like Amazon were thriving. Boasting the slogan “Shop Brooklyn Not Bezo$” on its merchandise, Komerov told WCBS 880 she doesn’t like to think of ShopIN.nyc as in competition with Amazon, but they are making it easier and cheaper for small businesses to sell online.
“A single store cannot provide that,” she said of e-commerce. “That’s a fact and that’s something that we need to change immediately and that’s the technology that we built to make that change.”
It is free for businesses to join and the startup pays owners within 24 hours for sales on its website.
Komerov has a background in technology. She sold her first company, Blat Lapidot Business Applications – a Salesforce partner in Israel – in 2017 before moving to New York. She went to the drawing board for ShopIN.nyc in April and launched in July. They currently support 70 stores on the site and house their products in its Brooklyn warehouse for delivery. Thirty New York City stores are waiting for approval.
“They don’t need to go and bring stuff from a warehouse in New Jersey and have all those trucks,” said Komerov, explaining ShopIN.nyc’s appeal. “We build technology to allow the stores to work in a decentralized warehouse to serve the neighbors.”
ShopIN.nyc delivers products the same day an order is placed in one box with the stores’ branding on the package. They pay delivery workers $25 an hour – higher than the $15 minimum wage in New York City.
The e-commerce startup separates itself from other online sites in that it invests in communities throughout New York, including supporting schools.
“Online shopping should be part of the community just by connecting all the stores that are already part of the community together,” said Komerov. “We build more and more tools to allow the money to come back.”
By achieving this, ShopIN.nyc is localizing e-commerce and bringing the neighborhood to the customer.
See how ShopIN.nyc is helping local businesses connect with customers on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight video above.
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Small Business Spotlight: Making the Right Hire for Your Job Opening
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Hiring workers can be challenging, especially for business owners with limited resources in the pandemic.
Companies that are fortunate to be in the position of hiring have a vast talent pool to choose from as remote work has become commonplace.
“Emphasize what’s most important,” WCBS 880 “Your Next Job” host Steven Greenberg told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the Small Business Spotlight.
Greenberg’s career highlights include leading a human resources team for a major toy manufacturer, founding a staffing firm and operating a job board for jobseekers over 40 years old. He stresses owners must refine and focus their job descriptions to get the most qualified applicants.
“You want to send up a flag: ‘We’re seeking the person who’s the best at making outbound sales calls for our company. We want a killer person who could sit at home and make 100 calls all day and has a close rate of 20 percent,'” he said. “Everything else is sort of gravy.”
Greenberg told Connolly and Carousso that employers should look for résumés that are specifically tailored to that job description. He noted people with generic résumés are often sending applications for numerous open jobs, and likely, will not be a good fit for a company’s specific needs.
“A generic résumé tells the company, really, if you’re really looking at it carefully, I’m not that interested in working for you. I’m just sending out this résumé to 20 companies and I’m just hoping to get lucky,” he explained, adding it’s like “playing the lottery.”
The “Your Next Job” host suggested employers implement a practical test in the hiring process to gage if a candidate is right for the position. An example he gave on the Small Business Spotlight is having a sales applicant make some calls to see how much they know about the company during their pitch.
Candidates who do not face a practical test that would allow them to demonstrate their skills and qualifications, Greenberg said, should take the initiative to prove themselves.
“Why don’t you say… ‘I did some more research on it and I saw that you’re working on these three potential clients and let me tell you about how I can add value to that effort,'” he advised. “That’s an email that gets read, that gets noticed and I think should generate more interviews.”
Greenberg suspects his pet peeve about follow-up emails is shared among employers; he strongly encourages applicants to avoid using the phrase “I’m just following up” because it diminishes one’s application.
The HR consultant told WCBS 880 it sometimes takes creativity to stand out from the pack of applicants, especially with high unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic. He shared one of his favorite stories from an unnamed, well-known college basketball coach who gets flooded with emails from people who write it’s their dream job to work for him.
“He said, ‘Steven, you know what happens after those emails? Nothing. I’m not going to hire somebody then who doesn’t want to act on their dreams. I make my dreams come true. I don’t wait for other people to come true for me,'” Greenberg recalled. “One day, somebody sent him that email, and then, when he came home from a road trip at midnight, that person was waiting for them with their resume printed on a basketball.”
The coach hired him for backing up his words with actions.
Greenberg also told Connolly and Carousso about an unemployed chef he advised to write part of his resume in icing on top of a cake. That person got the job.
See more examples and hiring advice on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight video above.
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Small Business Spotlight: Entrepreneur Magazine’s Editor-In-Chief Shares What Owners Can Do Now to Survive
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated a seismic shift in consumer behavior that has induced stress on business owners.
Jason Feifer, editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine, told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso that business owners must incorporate technology infrastructure for long-term sustainability and listen to their customers to try to anticipate future needs.
“You need to be in touch with them regularly – surveying them – so that you can start getting data back on what it is that they’re looking for, what’s resonating with them and what’s holding them back on being your best advocate,” he said.
Feifer advises business owners to create an email newsletter to communicate with their customers rather than relying on social media.
“If you think that being in touch with your customer by Facebook is good, it’s not,” he said, explaining, “You’re losing people to the Facebook algorithm and you don’t own that audience.”
The Entrepreneur Magazine chief said customers will point owners in the right direction, and oftentimes, it can be a little change that can make all the difference in surviving the pandemic.
Feifer told Connolly and Carousso it is important that business owners look within themselves.
“Ask the simple question of ‘Is this company doing what it needs to do to survive for the next five years?’ Ask yourself that every single quarter and at some point you’re going to start to say, ‘Oh you know what, actually, I’ve noticed that our consumer is wanting this and this and I don’t know if the thing that we’re doing right now is going to last five years,'” he said, noting that type of honest assessment help owners make the appropriate adjustments.
Feifer is an impassioned entrepreneur, himself, running a production company in which he also hosts three podcasts, serves as a keynote speaker, and has co-authored a novel.
“I stopped watching basketball,” he quipped about how he finds the time for his professional endeavors.
But, it’s that entrepreneurial spirit that has been reignited as millions of Americans work remotely and others are starting businesses as a way to reenter a battered labor market.
Feifer told WCBS 880 many Entrepreneur Magazine subscribers are starting a “side hustle.” Starting any business, especially now, he said, requires a keen focus on one’s business plan and market.
“The number one way that people get stuck is that they have 10 ideas and they can’t decide which one and they start to kind of noodle on them all and they get nowhere,” Feifer said. “You got to just start somewhere.”
Creating a valuable service or product right now can be a win-win for the entrepreneur and their current employer.
See examples, actionable advice and new business ideas on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight video above.
