Neil A. Carousso produces and co-hosts WCBS Newsradio 880’s Small Business Spotlight series with Joe Connolly. Click here to watch the weekly video segments featuring advice for business owners on survival, recovery and growth opportunities.
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Neil A. Carousso Joins Growing NewsNation Network
By Carousso Enterprises, LLC New year, new digs for Carousso Enterprises founder Neil A. Carousso. After leaving WCBS 880 at the end of 2023, Carousso has joined NewsNation – America’s fastest growing cable news network – where he is producing “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” anchored by the former ABC “20/20” anchor. “It’s a perfect fit for... Read more
Neil A. Carousso Departing WCBS 880
Carousso Enterprises founder Neil A. Carousso is leaving WCBS-AM New York at the end of the year to pursue a new opportunity that will be announced at the start of 2024. Barrett News Media covered Carousso’s career announcement here. After six years, Neil A. Carousso is departing WCBS 880 in New York. Carousso has worked the news... Read more
Art Business Founded by Former Foster Child Speaks to the Human Experience
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso On the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank, Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso talk to Emicia Parker, the founder of Empress by Emicia, who is inspiring customers through the art of her personal story. Read more
1010 WINS Small Business $10K Challenge: Small Business Owners Make their Pitch for $10,000
Edited by Carousso Enterprises, LLC Watch to see which business will take home $10,000 when five finalists make their elevator pitches to a panel of judges on the latest 1010 WINS Small Business $10K Challenge, sponsored by Dime Community Bank. Read more
NYC’s Élan Flowers Evolves into Blooming Subscription and Corporate Services
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso On the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank, Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso talk to Patrick Hall, the owner of Élan Flowers, based in Tribeca. Read more
Creating an Authentic Retail Experience Online
By Neil A. Carousso and Joe Connolly Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso talk to the founder of the eponymous John Derian Company on the 300th episode of the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank. Read more
WCBS Business Breakfast: Growth in the Hybrid Workplace
Presented by Dime Community Bank By Neil A. Carousso and Joe Connolly NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The flagship WCBS Business Business Breakfast returns with an in-studio audience for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Join Neil A. Carousso and guest co-host Rob Walsh from our sister station 1010 WINS for an inspirational hour focused on the... Read more
Creating a Small Business Growth Strategy
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso On the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank, Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso talk to Jimmy Newson, founder of Moving Forward Small Business. Read more
Long Island City’s Growing Business District
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso look at the growth of businesses in Long Island City on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank. Read more
SuperQuickQuestion Creates Short and Sweet Interactions with Pro Athletes and their Fans
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso On the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank, Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso talk to Dave Benson, the man behind the innovative event platform SuperQuickQuestion that connects pro athletes with their fans for memorable interactions. Read more
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NYC Tech Startup Credits Fast Recovery, Growth To Sales Ops Change
By Neil A. Carousso
Learn how you can spot and take advantage of sales opportunities to recover and grow at the WCBS BNB Bank Virtual Business Breakfast with Joe Connolly on October 15. See the program and how to participate here.
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Don White, co-founder and chief executive officer, of Satisfi Labs, Inc. was not sure his Artificial Intelligence company would survive the coronavirus pandemic, but since March he made several quick pivots that has led to his sales doubling year-over-year.
“We’ve transitioned from a regional sales team to a vertical sales team,” White told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank.
His sales team had previously focused on national clients by location, which allowed account executives to schedule a number of in-person meetings with clients and leads to maximize business trips. When the pandemic halted non-essential travel, White, along with many other business owners and individuals, saw the value and efficiency in video conferencing platforms.
“We give your customers expertise, someone that knows ski resorts in-and-out, someone that knows the museum industry in-and-out, baseball in-and-out,” he explained. “That’s a pretty big shift for us.”
White believes it is a viable, long-term shift with promising early results.
Satisfi Labs’ clients are in sports, entertainment, hospitality and retail – all of which had been shut down and severely impacted financially by the coronavirus pandemic. His most notable clients include Major League Baseball teams such as the New York Mets, the National Football League, Hilton hotels, Universal Orlando Resort, Macy’s and more. The startup provides automated customer services through its proprietary A.I. platform that allows its clients to swiftly and accurately communicate with customers while enhancing customers’ tangible experience with the brand.
When gatherings were banned due to the pandemic, Satisfi Labs’ monthly revenue plummeted 85 percent.
“Now, someone who covers the Georgia Aquarium can now cover an aquarium in California and have the same relationship,” White said, continuing, “We originally felt that at least one or two face-to-face meetings a year were required for relationships, but I think now the world has adopted that digital relationships are just fine and video calls have replaced the fly in.”
In addition to making a key structural change, Satsifi Labs launched “COVID Assistance” in the early weeks of the pandemic as a way to help other businesses communicate with their customers about their pandemic responses and business changes. White said they are offering the product for free as a way to attract new leads.
“That’s a way that I think we twisted it to say, ‘Look, let’s help you first, let’s not come at you with a pitch right away, but let’s do something to help you get out of this. And when you come out of this, hopefully, you’ll remember us,'” White said.
He told Connolly and Carousso launching an adjacent service at the outset is a proactive approach other businesses can learn from in responding to a crisis.
“It’s just a unique way to build relationships that we hadn’t done in the past,” he said.
He is hopeful those leads will convert to clients who may want to streamline their customer experiences post-pandemic when it’s clear what market changes and consumer demands have taken shape.
“Our talent pool has so much increased by having remote has a non-issue,” he said, telling WCBS 880 he is starting to restore salaries before rehiring employees this fall.
“The workplace of the future, you’re going to see more diversity, which I think is a big focus of a lot of companies,” said White, adding, “And now, you’re going to see all these talent pools that are not typically in your recruiters’ network just open up. I think it’s going to be better for business overall.”
He noted that mothers who want to return to the workforce, but are raising children, now have an opportunity to work from home and be a productive employee, as it has proven to be efficient for many companies and industries over the past four months.
“You’re going to see people come back, have families and be able to work more easily,” White said.
The savvy tech founder and new-age employer evolved in his belief about how A.I. will disrupt the workforce. He told Connolly on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight in December 2018 that Artificial Intelligence would not destroy jobs, rather, it would add an efficiency to compliment skilled laborers. As a result of the pandemic with more than 30 million Americans receiving unemployment benefits, White now tells WCBS 880 it will “replace some roles,” meaning A.I. will replace menial tasks like emails while creating new, advanced jobs.
Listen to the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or on the media player above for creative sales methods that could be viable for your company and to hear about Don White’s personal battle with COVID-19 and how he and his family have recovered since they fell ill in March.
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I’m Listening: Family finds mission in NY doctor’s death
Shining the spotlight on mental health needs of health care workers
This interview is part of Entercom’s “I’m Listening” Campaign for Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention. If you are in a crisis or have a family member or friend who needs help, you are not alone: Call 800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741 for immediate help.
According to Jennifer Feist, her sister, Dr. Lorna Breen was in the middle of “a firestorm of illness” in March and early April dealing with COVID-19 at her Manhattan hospital and simply “couldn’t do it anymore.”
Dr. Breen’s suicide in late April grabbed headlines in The New York Times, shining a spotlight on the crisis of physician suicide, a crisis her sister said she never knew existed. As a result, Feist, a Charlottesville, Virginia attorney co-founded (with her husband Corey Feist) the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, dedicated to protecting the well-being of physicians and health care professionals.
The foundations website says Dr. Breen spent her career in practice at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan and became the director of the emergency room at the Allen Hospital in 2008. It was in that same emergency room, early in 2020 that the COVID pandemic hit hard. Dr. Breen’s father, also a physician, told the Times how his daughter described for him “an onslaught of patients who were dying before they could even be taken out of ambulances.”
Feist sat down for an interview with us for the Entercom “I’m Listening” program, aimed at removing the stigma of asking for mental health help. Dr. Breen’s family had no idea she was struggling so badly early in the year. They knew the pandemic was beginning to arrive and they knew Lorna was working almost nonstop. Dr. Breen had no medical history of mental issues, no challenges that anyone knew of with anxiety and depression. Her risk factor for suicide was “she was a physician.”
Feist said it was the perfect storm.
“She was an emergency room physician in a global pandemic in the worst place in the world to be doing the worst job,” Feist said. In the middle of her work, Dr. Breen even contracted COVID-19, but was back at work within days of having been cleared to return. The spiral seemed to continue for Dr. Breen. She took a leave of absence and traveled to Virginia to seek help there. She died by suicide in late April.
Today, Feist and her husband are advocates for mental health care for front line medical professionals.
Related:
- Suicide Prevention Awareness Month: Resources for Those in Need
- Listen To the 2020 Edition of ‘I’m Listening’ – Talk Has the Power To Save Lives
- I’m Listening: How To Deal With Mental Health When Your Parents Don’t Understand
- I’m Listening: Falcons’ Hayden Hurst Recounts Isolation and Pain During College
- I’m Listening: Asking for help is not a weakness
- ‘America’s psychologist’ Jeffrey Gardere and Pastor Rasool Berry talk racial justice, mental health
“This is a real crisis and I didn’t know about it until my sister died,” Feist said.
“Physician suicide is at a crisis point in this country as is nurse suicide,” Feist added, pointing out that the rate of burnout anxiety and depression self-reported are “off the charts.”
The Feists’ are working with Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine on a bi-partisan bill in the U.S. Senate called the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. A companion bill for the House is also in the works. Both bills are aimed at preventing physician burnout, suicide in the medical profession, and providing mental health care for professionals who need it in the health care industry.
Feist said, “I believe there is a culture stigma in the community that says ‘you have to be tough, you can’t be a snowflake to get in here. Don’t say you need help. Don’t say you are scared. Don’t say you are worried.’ That’s got to change.”
The foundation is also focused on reforming the culture in medicine, including the licensing and credentialing process for doctors and residents.
“There is no shame. This is part of life,” says Feist. “It’s important what we learn and what we do about it.”
We asked what we all could do to help our health care providers. Feist said it could be as simple as reaching out to your own doctor or health professional to ask them how they may be doing in this stressful time. She says she often wondered what would have happened if someone would have asked that of Dr. Lorna Breen when they noticed she was struggling.
Feist says you can also help by supporting the foundation at www.DrLornaBreen.org and use the #StandWithLorna hashtag on social media.
https://omny.fm/shows/880-weekly-rewind/how-talk-has-the-power-to-save-lives
“I’d like to see health care organizations; I’d like to see hospitals; I’d like to see the hospital where my sister worked; others like that to provide mental health support, not just when there is a crisis and the house is on fire, but before there is a crisis,” Feist said. “Let’s provide the support for these people that they need.”
Neil A. Carousso executive produced Entercom New York’s video content for “I’m Listening LIVE,” which aired and was published across the digital platforms of WCBS-AM, WFAN-AM & FM, WCBS-FM, WNSH-FM, WNEW-FM, WNYL-FM and WINS-AM.
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Retailers Find Pandemic Success In Livestreaming E-Commerce
In Best Of, Entertainment, Featured, Guest, Interview, Latest, News Stories, Technology, The World, Top NewsBy Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Livestreaming e-commerce is the new hot trend that is changing the way retailers sell now and it’s leading to profitability for some business owners who had been struggling to survive.
“They can sort of take consumers inside their brand,” said NTWRK president Moksha Fitzgibbons on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank.
He told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso that his video app became a marketplace for retailers small and large to become what “Shark Tank” investor and FUBU founder Daymond John called a virtual “events space” on WCBS 880.
“NTWRK became, really emerged, as that place that consumers can go every day to be entertained, to be educated and get access to that highly desired product,” Fitzgibbons said.
The startup doubled its sales from March to April and he expects growth of 600-700 percent year-over-year after seeing the value of connecting brands with willing buyers that purchase products on the NTWRK app as they watch and interact with owners and influencers live.
NTWRK was founded in 2018. Fitzgibbons joined the company in October 2019 after a couple stints at Complex Networks where he served as chief revenue officer before moving to Valence Media as CRO where he played an integral role in the merger of Media Rights Capital, Dick Clark Productions, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard.
“Millennials have the most wealth of any generation before them, they aren’t embracing more expensive responsibilities like home ownership and things of that nature, so they’re spending on consumer products, and we’re connecting with them in a medium that’s endemic to them,” said Fitzgibbons.
It’s not only a pandemic pivot, but also a way to grow a retail business – an industry that’s been battered by the growing convenience of e-commerce, the health crisis and recession.
Fitzgibbons, who will lend his expertise to business owners of various industries on the WCBS BNB Bank Virtual Business Breakfast on Thursday, October 15, told Connolly and Carousso about how one Manhattan designer, Jeff Staple, has benefited from using NTWRK the past six months.
“What we offer him is an opportunity for him to reach a massive audience outside of New York City, which is his core, and introduce the brand to new consumers and ultimately drive new revenues for him,” he said.
This speaks to customer behavior over the past decade that’s been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic and its related retail shutdowns. Fitzgibbons told WCBS 880 he saw engagement with younger customers, who are willing to spend, increase since March. He believes that could be credited to how customers have been trained subconsciously to buy necessities on e-commerce websites like Amazon for convenience rather than go to the store.
“The same will be true with NTWRK, although, we will be curated and have a point of view and sort of be that Barneys/Dover Street-type of experience for this demographic,” he said.
Business owners are encouraged to make their own video content out of their home or store, but NTWRK also offers a video production team and a studio where they collaborate with social media influencers and celebrities to endorse products on a livestream that is watched by prospective customers whom the video app service finds for the retailer.
Moksha Fitzgibbons will share how any business owner can earn a substantial return on investment through livestream e-commerce at the WCBS BNB Bank Virtual Business Breakfast on Thursday, October 15 at 9 AM. Share your questions for Moksha, Joe Connolly and the panel by leaving a message on our listener line at (877) 987-WCBS, and follow the prompts, and we may use your question during the event.
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WCBS BNB Bank Virtual Business Breakfast: How sales has changed in the COVID-19 era
Thursday, October 15, 2020 – 9 AM
Call-in your question for Joe Connolly and the panel and we may use it on the program!
(877) 987-WCBSNEW YORK (WCBS 880) – The resilient business owners who are recovering from the coronavirus pandemic have pivoted and changed the way they sell. We will introduce you to three entrepreneurs who will share ways to get sales going again and grow even in this tough economic climate with low consumer confidence.
Business reporter Joe Connolly will host the WCBS BNB Bank Virtual Business Breakfast, which will stream on WCBS880.com on Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 9 AM.
Each panelist was forced to adjust when businesses were shut down in March and even completely changed their operations to stay afloat. Not only did they survive, but they are now succeeding amid the unprecedented health crisis and recession. Our guests include Moksha Fitzgibbons of NTWRK, Don White of Satisfi Labs and Jennifer Decker of 3 Moms Organics.
Livestream shopping is the hot trend in e-commerce that is accelerating recovery and growth for companies. NTWRK is a video application that provides a platform for retailers to become a virtual events space while collaborating with brands and influencers to reach eager and willing buyers. Fitzgibbons will share how anyone – millennial or Baby Boomer – can earn a substantial return on investment through easy-to-make creative content done from your home or store.
Satisfi Labs is an Artificial Intelligence firm in Manhattan that partners with high-end clients such as Major League Baseball, the National Football League, Universal Orlando Resort, Macy’s and others in retail and hospitality. When all of his clients were forced to close at the outset of the pandemic, White’s sales plummeted. He and his wife also suffered a bout of COVID-19 and fully recovered. That was precursor to Satisfi Labs’ recovery, which started with a key change to its sales operations.
By directing his sales staff to focus on areas of expertise rather than location, since business travel was halted, the A.I. company saw promising results that slashed travel expenses and increased productivity. As his revenue doubled, White told WCBS 880 it would be a long-term shift. They also developed and launched a “COVID Assistance” product and offered it to leads for free to forge relationships that may last well beyond the public health emergency. He also tapped into a widened talent pool by adjusting to remote work.
3 Moms Organics is truly an organic success story. The small business was started by two Long Island mothers who developed a DEET-free product to tackle tick borne illnesses in their families. Jennifer Decker and Lisa-Jae Eggert had been going store-to-store to demonstrate how their product TickWise repels ticks, mosquitos and other insects. They are in about 80 stores – many seasonal on the East End – all of which closed in March.
The moms cracked the code on how to convert sales from low-priced Facebook advertisements – accelerating digital sales 6,000 percent. Selling direct-to-consumer on their website is now their focus as opposed to traditional retail. Decker and Eggert began making content that translated to sales and leaned on their customers to be their most influential marketers. They will share how you can make the pivot to digital and find the right target audience online.
We’d love to hear from you. Share your most pressing business operations and sales questions with Joe and our panel by calling our listener line and we may include your question on the program. The number is (877) 987-WCBS (9227); Follow the prompts to leave your message.
MORE ABOUT OUR PANELISTS:
Moksha Fitzgibbons, President of NTWRKMoksha Fitzgibbons has more than 15 years of experience in management, sales, marketing, retail, music and entertainment.He joined NTWRK in October 2019 after a couple of stints at Complex Networks where he served as chief revenue officer before moving to Valence Media as CRO where he played an integral role in the merger of Media Rights Capital, Dick Clark Productions, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard.
Fitzgibbons led content teams throughout his career, which he takes to NTWRK to match business owners and entrepreneurs with influential entertainers to creatively market and grow brands.
He has worked with celebrities and brands, including Jimmy Iovine, Drake, Live Nation, Warner Brothers Entertainment and Footlocker.
Don White, Co-Founder and CEO of Satisfi Labs, Inc.Don White is a charismatic and enthusiastic entrepreneur and a salesman at heart.He spent more than a decade at Bloomberg where he was global head of sales for Bloomberg Tradebook, leading a corporate strategy project to restructure global sales operations that yielded $3 million in 2012 and $7 million in 2013 before he co-founded Satisfi Labs.
His firm is an interactive search company that utilizes proprietary Artificial Intelligence software to enhance the customer experience at retail stores, museums, aquariums and premiere events, including Major League Baseball and National Football League games.
Jennifer Decker, Co-Owner of 3 Moms Organics, LLCJennifer Decker and her partner Lisa-Jae Eggert created their DEET-free product TickWise when their families were hit hard with tick borne illnesses and rising populations of ticks and mosquitos on Long Island where they raised their children.Their story starts with a discussion over cup of tea about their problems finding a chemical free product that worked. They decided to create their own product, relying on their backgrounds in science.
Decker has many years of knowledge in the benefits of blending essential oils and using them for health-related issues to create a better, more natural lifestyle. She and her husband have three young and active children. Through her network of fellow mothers, she has learned the power of word-of-mouth and influencer marketing first-hand.
Eggert studied entomology, earth science and horticulture in college. For five years, she did field work for the Bronx Zoo studying turtles on the East End. This work exposed her to an abundance of ticks and their bites.
They personally manufacture TickWise, which is effective, has a pleasant smell, provides skin nourishment, and is vegan for those who suffer from Alpha-Gal or meat allergies. 3 Moms Organics ships TickWise across 48 states and Washington D.C., now that they are registered through the Environmental Protection Agency in all states except Maine and South Dakota. They just earned a certification to operate in the highly regulated state of California in September.
3 Moms Organics also used their time wisely in the first three months of the pandemic to apply and receive the Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise Certification (MWBE), which has opened new doors for additional revenue streams.
– Written by Neil A. Carousso
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Business Leaders Urge Officials To Clean Up NYC For Economic Recovery
By Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Business leaders say they need New York City’s quality of life to be improved and rent relief in order to recover and create new jobs.
“We have to have people on one page, feeling that the city is coming back (and) we’re not going back to the bad old ’70s,” said Kathryn S. Wylde, president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for New York City.
She spoke with Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank, after the nonprofit organization wrote a letter to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, copying New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and City Comptroller Scott Stringer, calling on them to improve “quality of life” in the Big Apple. More than 160 business leaders signed the letter, including the heads of the local Chambers of Commerce and executives from Citigroup, MasterCard, Nasdaq, Goldman Sachs and Macy’s.
“There is widespread anxiety over public safety, cleanliness and other quality of life issues that are contributing to deteriorating conditions in commercial districts and neighborhoods across the five boroughs,” the letter dated September 10, 2020 reads.
They say rising crime and anxiety over public health are fueling low consumer confidence and uncertainty. The business leaders say they need the government’s assistance to fix the issues that will encourage their workers that they can return safely.
“From a business community standpoint, we believe that’s the first step to economic recovery, because that’s the feedback we’re getting,” Wylde told WCBS 880.
The lifeblood of the city is mass transit, she said, emphasizing that workers will not return to the office until the MTA’s problems are solved. It is currently in a budget crisis, accelerated by record low ridership. MTA Chairman Pat Foye claims the agency needs $12 billion to fill the hole.
“The city will not come back to life, and this is all five boroughs, until trust in mass transit is restored and that’s going to take continued funding,” she said.
Among the Partnership for New York City’s priorities are improving mass transit and infrastructure. She has heard from commuters who are not confident in its cleanliness and reliability.
Only 26 percent of employees are believe they will return to the office by the end of the year, as of mid-August; that’s down from an expectation of 33 percent in May, according to the Partnership for New York City, which surveys workers.
But, some businesses will not return either. Commercial rent has consistently risen over the past decade of economic prosperity, but now, there are no businesses willing to take over a high rent lease.
“This was the crisis that we were facing for the last couple of years before the COVID, because of the inflated values and because of the very high real estate taxes in New York, which get passed along to tenants,” Wylde told Connolly and Carousso, noting, “A third of your rent is just to pay real estate taxes.”
She said costs must come down to spur growth and attract new businesses to the city as the jobs for the future are being developed now.
Hear about new job creation, resilient industries and New York City’s recovery plan from business leaders on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or on the media player above.
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