-
Emerging tech companies get jump-start at Queens College
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso talk to Ying Zhou, the executive director of Queens College’s tech incubator on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
-
Gowzon App Tells You ‘What’s Going On’
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
On this WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank, Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso talk to Gowzon of Connecticut founder Andrea Caldwell about their new location-based app that displays local events and establishments.
-
Local Manufacturing Still Strong for Westchester’s Ball Chain 85 Years Later
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — When the COVID-19 pandemic hit three years ago, local manufacturing became a critical need in the national emergency. But, there are few companies manufacturing all of their products in the United States.
Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc. is the only U.S. supplier of ball chains remaining and the largest in the world. That type of chain is used for ceiling fans, hand bags and dog tags. Ball Chain is the exclusive supplier of dog tags to the U.S. military.
The secret to Ball Chain’s longevity: innovation and automation.
“Prior, when people could easily purchase chains overseas, we automated as much as we possibly can,” said president Bill Taubner on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
The Mount Vernon-based manufacturer can make more than 100,000 pieces and connect the chain without human labor.
“By adding that automation, that’s enabled us to really stay competitive throughout the industry,” said Taubner.
The company was founded by his great-grandfather Frank and his father Val out of their garage in the Bronx in 1938. Bill Taubner is the fourth-generation leader. Today, Bill works alongside his two brothers on daily operations while his father remains chairman.
Ball Chain Manufacturing has added services through the years, including painting the chains after they acquired a client and hired their employees. They have a product line called Shimmer Screen that are used as curtains and partitions at corporate headquarters such as LinkedIn, Crate & Barrel and Logan Airport in Boston.
It was also one of the manufacturers that stepped up during the pandemic. They created a whole new business by distributing masks for hospital workers.
“We quickly found out that the mask industry was full of nefarious people – a lot of people who were bringing counterfeit masks to markets,” Taubner said. “We never purchased from any middlemen, agents, third parties, intermediaries. And we put people could count on us for authentic masks that met standards.”
Ball Chain’s Bona Fide Masks now has more than a million customers worldwide.
See how Ball Chain Manufacturing continues to grow and spot the right business opportunities on the Small Business Spotlight video above.
-
Despite Uncertainty and Tech Layoffs, City Small Businesses are Growing Again
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — It appears small and midsize business owners are optimistic about their growth prospects for the rest of this year despite recession fears on Wall Street.
“They see more opportunities for growth, for bringing in revenue,” said Cory Schouten, editor-in-chief of Crain’s New York Business on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
“The catch there is that small and midsized businesses are seeing their costs increase, substantially, including their labor costs,” he added.
Crain’s recently surveyed the leaders of small and midsize businesses and found two-thirds of them expect their revenue to increase this year, but the same amount are seeing their costs rising. Half of those businesses expect to maintain staffing levels and, in fact, some report that they are hiring.
“A lot of companies are seeing this as an opportunity to go hire some tech talent that has been really impossible to hire, has been outside of their budget, but with some of the cutbacks in tech, other companies are snapping those people up,” said Schouten.
Some of those companies are raising capital and have even turned profitable.
Manhattan is an outlier in the city’s pandemic recovery, which has been more robust in the outer boroughs due to remote and hybrid work. Jobs have still not reached pre-pandemic levels.
“Office owners are updating their properties, so they’re very modern, they’re very adaptable for a flexible hybrid work environment. And, also, those owners of older office buildings in the city are looking at residential conversions,” Schouten said.
The Partnership for New York City reports office occupancy might remain at 56 percent for the foreseeable future, which is leaving the city with excess office space and few housing options until office buildings are converted. That continues to make Manhattan unaffordable for many employees.
“Right now there’s an office glut, but there’s not enough housing in the city. So, those two things can work together and kind of give us all a path forward,” said the Crain’s editor-in-chief.
Watch the WCBS Small Business Spotlight video above to see how local businesses are finding ways to grow.
You can read Crain’s New York Business’ economic outlook for 2023, available for free to WCBS 880 listeners, here.
-
Trailblazing Woman Breaks Down Barriers in Construction and Renewable Energy
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — There are few women in construction, electricity and renewable energy. But, Ellen Aschendorf has broken down barriers in each of these industries.
Aschendorf started a construction-related business more than 30 years ago. Today, she’s on the leading edge again with her company Egg Electric, Inc., which specializes in commercial electricity and renewable energy projects.
“People didn’t just accept me,” Aschendorf said on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
Her mentality: “I was going to finish the job, do everything correctly, and give excellence.”
Aschendorf said her superior work spoke for itself and became the only sales apparatus she needed when men in her industry would hang up the phone after finding out a woman led her company. Egg Electric relies on referrals and repeat clients, including Facebook, NYU Langone Health and Hudson Yards.
“We did two buildings for the business school for Columbia University,” she said, continuing, “We’re working for mostly the big corporate world as in right now we have projects going on for Facebook at 50 Hudson Yards, for Amazon at 424 Fifth Avenue, we’re doing a DDC (Department of Design and Construction) garage project in Queens, which has the EV, we’re doing the hospital for a long client NYU Medical.”
Many of Aschendorf’s clients have been with Egg Electric for decades. In fact, one of their early clients was the New York Mets. Electricians from Egg Electric were present at every home game at Shea Stadium to operate the scoreboard in right field. Company electricians still work with the Mets at Citi Field.
The company started building cell phone towers in the 1980s.
“So we started doing, right from the beginning, different work. And traditionally people were either, you did hospitals, schools, commercial, residential. You did one of those, but I didn’t know any better. So I started going wherever the jobs were.”
That ability to be nimble allows Egg Electric to follow sales in a changing industry. Today, they’re one of the companies building New York City’s electric vehicle infrastructure.
“(DDC) had us put a tremendous amount of infrastructure for phase two, like putting in empty pipes for future EV charters. That tells me that the city is already thinking about the future and they were expecting this to increase more and more,” said Aschendorf.
Watch the WCBS Small Business Spotlight video above.
Technology
Social Feeds
VIDEO: How to Win at Business featuring Mark Cuban
VIDEO: Why You Should Carry TickWise in Your Stores
VIDEO: Finding Your Voice with Patsy Rodenburg
VIDEO: Coney Island Set to Welcome Visitors for Memorial Day Weekend
VIDEO: Decision Makers: Lands' End CEO Jerome Griffith on Modernizing a 60 Year Old Brand