Lee Brice: Garth Brooks is my hero | Kurt's Country
Neil A. Carousso produces NewsNation original “Kurt’s Country” – a celebration of country music and a slice of Americana with host Kurt Bardella.
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Checking Out the Most Realistic Wax Figures at Madame Tussauds
Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
New York, NY — Tourist destination Madame Tussauds features wax figures like Serena Williams, Eli Manning, Kendall Jenner and Bruno Mars.
Rachel Fisch takes you inside the The World’s Greatest Wax Museum on NY2C’s On The Call.
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Pro Dancer Launches ‘Unconventional’ Dance Studio for Underserved New Yorkers
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A new type of dance studio is coming to New York City.
Busola George is an accomplished dancer who started SoL-I Movement Center to improve access to dance rehearsal spaces in Manhattan that are more affordable. Rehearsal spaces in the borough, she says, can cost dancers upwards of $40 an hour, which can add up quickly given the time needed to perfect the craft.
“The need I saw was at the foundation, the access to affordable rehearsal space, as well as the need for a community,” said George on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
“SoL-I Movement Center is a studio that uses an unconventional shared space model to offer affordable rehearsal space to aspiring professional dance and theater performers as well as offer career advancing services, wellness classes, and professional training.”
Career guidance, mentorship and networking is what separates the center from other dance studios. George’s classes also add socialization and wellness techniques, including meditation.
“I’ve pivoted in the sense of adding kind of more services, more nuanced services, and also really zoning in on who my target market is,” she said. “I was able to realize how much community is needed for dancers and how they don’t really have that. That’s why some of the services that we have are going to induce a collaborative environment for dancers.”
George recently won the grand prize of $20,000 at the Brooklyn Public Library’s PowerUP! business plan competition.
Watch the Small Business Spotlight video above.
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Islanders Greats Defeat Former Rangers Rivals in Alumni Classic
Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
East Meadow, NY — Old rivals laced their skates once again in the 2023 Alumni Classic at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow.
Islanders legends defeated their former Rangers counterparts 11-9 in a charity game to raise money for Northwell Health Foundation.
Justin Joseph reports for NY2C’s On The Call.
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Islanders Legends Celebrate Team’s 50th Anniversary at Brooklyn Dinner
Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
Brooklyn, NY — Islanders greats from the past 50 years gathered at The River Café to reminisce.
Michelle Rabinovich caught up with Isles alumni at the dinner and reports for NY2C’s On The Call.
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Small DIY Home Furniture Business Turns to Organic Social Media Content to Elevate Engagement
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Digital advertisements were a slam dunk for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, but recent changes to Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms have made it difficult to break through and expensive to generate sales. A Brooklyn home furniture company found a strategy that works for their business.
Hoek Home creates modular, quick assembly desks, tables and stools from their factory in Brooklyn. Brian Chu and Conor Coghlan started the business after hearing from family and friends about how difficult it was to set up and move furniture.
“It’s not really about an aesthetic for us. It’s more about a system and simplifying people’s lives,” said Coghlan on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
Coghlan and Chu met while studying architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. They reconnected years later to start their own design and fabrication firm, A05 Studio and later Hoek Home.
Initially, Hoek Home got a sales boost by promoting their home office videos on Facebook and Instagram. Within the last few months, their customer acquisition costs have skyrocketed. Now, they rely on user-generated content.
“We would ask our customers to send videos of themselves assembling the desk and share it on their story. So essentially what we’re trying to do is advertise through word-of-mouth,” Chu said.
They’ve also partnered with micro-influencers to promote their furniture on social media.
“We’ve gained quite a following through some partners that we work with, some advisors that have really helped us out,” said Chu.
Hoek’s Home Office Desk sells for $495 on their website and accounts for 60-70% of their sales.
“It really offers a huge amount of value to have your desk set up during the week, and then, say you’re having friends over for dinner, you’re having a party on the weekend, and you just need that extra space, you just click it back together. You can hang it on the wall, you can slide it under your bed,” Coghlan said.
Coghlan and Chu say listening to customers’ feedback has helped them grow. They even have a whiteboard in their factory with a list of what they call “expanded ideas.”
“We actually have outreach to our customers to hear what their experiences are with the furniture that they have so we can take their comments and really try to fine-tune and tweak certain portions of our design to to come up with a new product or a new feature or just make the product better,” said Chu.
See growth ideas on the Small Business Spotlight video above.
