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Trailblazing Home Inspector Explains What to Look Out for When Buying a House in Red-Hot Real Estate Market
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Home inspections are one of the most important steps in buying a house.
Jacqueline Gathers familiarized herself with common plumbing and heating issues in her 30 years working for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). When her husband died of cancer in 2017, she took over the franchise for Pillar to Post, which he had purchased a year earlier.
“I was very, very nervous because the home inspection industry is a white male-dominated industry. So, I had concerns about how I would get business,” she said on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
Gathers became the city’s first licensed Black female home inspector.
“Once I started and I kept at it and I’m really good at what I do, I know what I’m talking about, people just kind of disregarded the fact that I was a female and an African American, and they started to give me business based on my expertise,” said Gathers.
She began pitching her services to realtors by going door-to-door to introduce herself and offering free inspections.
“I know all the realtors had a guy that they used, but I just wanted them to give me an opportunity to do business with me.”
Gathers would produce home inspection reports within the same day, which she called a “game changer” for her business.
She told WCBS 880 she and her three full-time home inspectors are busy, sometimes, with multiple inspections per client because cash buyers are gobbling up homes so quickly. She says people are eager to buy in New York City and stresses the value of home inspections for co-ops and condos even in new buildings.
“What we look for in co-ops and condos is moisture in places that’s not visible to the eye,” said Gathers. “We check the outlets, particularly the kitchen and bathrooms, to make sure they’re properly GFI so if water gets in them, it won’t spark and cause a fire.”
Foundation issues are the primary reason why clients may walk away from a deal, but Gathers said that only happens in about one percent of cases at Pillar to Post.
“When we look at houses, we always like to let our buyers know that the cosmetic stuff we’re not concerned about. It’s the main arteries of the house like the roof, the foundation, the electrical, the plumbing, the heating and cooling systems – those are issues that will cost you money down the road and that’s what we really kind of focus on.”
See more home buying tips on the Small Business Spotlight video above.
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Tracy McGrady Launches Ones Basketball League in Brooklyn
Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
Brooklyn, NY — NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady debuted his Ones Basketball League (OBL) at Major R. Owens Community Center in Brooklyn where athletes ages 18 and over competed in a one-on-one hoops competition for $10,000.
Aliyah Funschelle and Tyler Tierno cover for NY2C’s On The Call, executive produced by Carousso Enterprises.
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Former ABC President Launches MOJO Sports App to Return Fun to Youth Athletics
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — MOJO Sports is on a mission to keep youth sports fun.
The company was founded by Ben Sherwood, former Disney-ABC Television Group and ABC News president, who witnessed first-hand how youth sports can be stressful for both kids and parents. For 14 years, he was the soccer coach for his two sons. He often took calls on the practice field from then-Disney CEO Bob Iger while trying to organize drills.
“I had a PDF from 1994 for a soccer team and a book called ‘Soccer for Dummies’ that I bought at Barnes & Noble – when there used to be these bookstores where you could buy a book – and I did the best I could. And Lord knows I probably messed up a bunch of soccer careers, because I really didn’t have any idea what I was doing,” said Sherwood on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
He started MOJO Sports to put the fun back in youth sports, citing research that roughly 70 percent of kids dropout of organized athletics by the age of 13 because it wasn’t enjoyable anymore.
“We set out with MOJO to make sports more fun for kids, easier for coaches and stress-free for parents,” said Sherwood. “And so if you can take the stress and the pressure of all that out of the equation, you have more chance(s) of families participating and kids considering the play.”
He told WCBS 880 the app already has 100,000 monthly active users since its launch in February 2021. It provides training resources and short videos of practice drills.
“Our machine generates a practice for you that fits the exact amount of time you’ve got, it tells you exactly the equipment you’re going to need, and then, gives you high-quality videos that are about a minute to a minute and a half long that show you the activities that you’re going to do in the order you’re going to do them with coaching tips and coaching points,” he said.
“All of these activities are age appropriate, developmentally appropriate for your team, and they’ve been vetted and approved by the best organizations in sports.”
MOJO Sports has partnered with Major League Baseball, NFL Flag Football and Jr. NBA to develop the curriculum. Sherwood told the WCBS Small Business Spotlight that the professional sports leagues recognize the connection between fandom and playing the sport growing up. It is also their talent pipeline.
The MOJO Sports app, available on iOS and Android, is free for coaches and youth sports teams, but parents can buy additional resources with a subscription.
“There’s additional content that families can purchase for a subscription fee of about five bucks a month or about 60 bucks a year,” said Sherwood, continuing, “With that additional subscription fee, you get access to additional content that you can work on at home with your kids if you want to give your kids additional benefits and additional video and additional content to help them get better at sports.”
See how the MOJO Sports app works to keep kids engaged and take the pressure off parent coaches on the Small Business Spotlight video above.
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LI Kosher Meat Business Tames Inflation with Made in USA Products
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
GREAT NECK, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — Food prices, including meat, have skyrocketed in recent months due to global supply chain disruptions and increased labor costs. A Great Neck-based kosher meat company has been able to keep food prices at bay with a unique direct-to-consumer business that sources its prime cuts in the United States.
“In our clientele, the main thing they care about is having the supply at that consistent level,” said Elliot Moscowitz of Prairie Street Prime, which caters to the luxury kosher meat market.
“We have a USDA Prime program, which is graded. We have lamb, we have veal, we have dry age and fish,” said Moscowitz on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
When inflation started to spike earlier this year, Prairie Street Prime began to flash freeze their meats at 20 degrees below zero to ramp up supply. That decision in anticipation of rising food prices paid dividends for the Long Island company.
“A kosher market is a very small market compared to the non-kosher and we’re working in only the highest-end of those kosher markets. So, one of the ways to accomplish that is to make sure that you have adequate inventory in all the product groups,” Moscowitz said.
Prairie Street Prime has warehouses throughout the United States that enables them to offer next-day delivery.
Moscowitz wasn’t always in the kosher meat business. He had a long and successful career on Wall Street as a commodities and foreign exchange trader.
He started Prairie Street Prime first as a club in Brussels where he lived for a time while his wife was on assignment for the United Nations assisting with the Syrian refugee crisis. He imported kosher meats monthly from France and quickly realized there were few direct-to-consumer options for the top 5 percent of the market.
“I didn’t want to be one of those people that spent their whole time thinking about something and never doing it and regretting it later,” said Moscowitz. “So, I’ve spent three years devoting my life to understanding this and building this platform.”
Prairie Street Prime has invested heavily in video production. Their digital library of cooking videos introduces new customers to the brand.
“We’re not only disrupting the kosher e-commerce platform space, but we’re also disrupting the kosher education space. And, I didn’t believe it would be a direct correlation to necessarily providing videos to sales, but we’re building a community, a global community.”
The company uploads new educational videos on kosher lifestyle every Sunday. It is also exploring a B2B model by collaborating with private chefs to showcase their talents on video.
Watch the Small Business Spotlight video above for more on this story.
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3 Ways to Transform Your Toxic Workplace into a Healthy and Heart Centered Organization
Hear from a world leading psychologist on how we can change leadership one heart at a time.
By Ana Reed, Founder and CEO of Newmanity, Inc.
Produced and edited by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
As seen in
The great resignation is teaching us that toxic workplaces will no longer be tolerated. As companies struggle to manage and retain talent, a greater microscope is needed towards creating healthier and more meaningful workplace cultures while ensuring behaviors are aligned to more wholesome ways of working.
Dr. George Simon, a world-renowned psychologist with expertise in personality and character development, rightfully claims that “behavior doesn’t change until hearts change.” These are wise and important words for companies that must now focus less on creating corporate cultural initiatives and more on role modeling and demonstrating leadership behaviors that are authentic, meaningful, and reaching the hearts of people.
After speaking to Dr Simon, we discovered many simple but important lessons for leaders looking to rid their organization of toxicity, and create a culture that is meaningful and heart-connected. Here are 3 ways that leaders can learn to transform their cultures:
Create a purpose that connects to the heart of the organization
Dr. Simon states in his first commandment, “We are not the center of the universe. Everything is connected and we are all part of something much bigger than you can possibly imagine, so be mindful of how you, your yearnings, and aspirations and most especially, your behavior, impact everyone and everything else that exists.” For far too long, we have seen major corporations and their executives make their personal desires, aspirations and yearnings central to the ways of working within the company. We have reached a point where this is no longer being tolerated, and organizations must find genuine and authentic ways to create a purpose that is meaningful. When creating a company purpose, it needs to be less of a head exercise, and more of meaningful heart exercise, and most importantly, it needs to connect to the heart of the company.
Build “loving” mindsets and behaviors
Dr. Simon believes that there is a dynamic relationship between culture and character and with impaired character populations eroding norms and traditions designed to foster character. This has resulted in what he refers to as “sick” cultures, which consequently produce more character disturbing behaviors. He also makes it clear that “love” is an action word, so it is with hearts and loving behavior that we can fix toxic culture. If leaders can exhibit mindful, loving behavior – even in small amounts – this can gradually change a heart and inspire and reinforce all positive behaviors. It’s a positive and energizing cycle and the perfect antidote to the negative culture character vicious cycle that’s been churning for so long in organizations everywhere.
Leading from an open and humbled heart
There is a a Sioux Indian saying that says, “The longest journey you will make in your life is from your head to your heart.” All too often, people in positions of leadership hide behind their expertise and strong opinions, often, failing to reveal themselves and the values they stand for. According to Dr Simon, leading from the heart is easier said than done. So many hearts today are hardened, jaded and full of unresolved emotions. It takes an awakened leader to truly lead from the heart humbly, thoroughly explored and therefore intimately connected and dedicated to a higher and noble purpose. If organizations are to be truly authentic and connected, leaders must be willing to embark on the long and sometimes painful journey of not always leading from their heads, but being courageous enough to lead from their open and humbled hearts.
If your company is serious about creating a thriving culture, free from negativity and toxicity, then there needs to be an invitation for leaders to genuinely express their truth, lead from their hearts and learn to build loving behaviors and mindsets that will create a generative and energizing force within the organization towards greater meaning and impact.
Ana Reed is the CEO and Founder of Newmanity, a leadership consultancy focused on building human centered companies. Together with New York City-based production company Carousso Enterprises, LLC., which is owned and operated by award-winning journalist Neil A. Carousso, Ana is engaged in creating content around leadership, human performance and CEO best practice. To receive insider access to Newmanity’s exclusive content, email hello@newmanity.co.
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