Episode 13
Original Cablecast: December 11, 2007
- Cake and Ice Cream: A look at two new companies in the sweet-tooth business. Krumbs, a bakery on Vanderbilt Avenue, deals with what it takes to get up and running. Blue Marble, an ice cream parlor on Atlantic Avenue, is as green as it is delicious.
- You Want to Start a Business: Okay, but what kind? We’re not talking product or service, but structure: sole proprietorship versus C-corp, for example. Host Michael Burke gets some guidance from Carlos Russell of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
- On the Rise in Cypress Hills: When the retail district at Fulton Street & Jerome Avenue was in trouble, with businesses starting to close, the Concepcion family – owners of a local furniture store – took the lead. Things are looking better now – how’d they do it?
- Special Needs, Special Nannies: Samantha Fillian took her experience as a nanny and created a company called Niche Nannies. Some of her young clients have special needs, and we get to see a Niche Nanny in action.
Episode 12
Original Cablecast: November 13, 2007
- A Big Home for Small Manufacturers: Furniture-makers, metal-spinners, fabric-crimpers(!): just part of our visit to Greenpoint Manufacturing & Design Center. But GMDC keeps growing, and we get an inside look at how it’s restoring its fifth building!
- Making Myrtle Avenue Shine: What’s this Business Improvement District up to? For one thing, a storefront improvement program is restoring some beautiful old buildings (with an eye toward historic accuracy) while helping to attract quite a few brand new businesses.
- Why Hotels Bloom in Brooklyn: Host Michael Burke talks to Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Carl Hum & the Robert Gaeta of the new Hotel Le Bleu about the current (explosive) expansion of the hospitality industry now underway in Brooklyn.
- A Family Business: Meet Gil Cygler, whose All Car Rent a Car was started 30 years ago by his father. Learn the family secrets for longevity, and for expanding to eight different NYC locations.
Episode 11
Original Cablecast: October 9, 2007
- The Bread: You’re gonna make a sandwich, you gotta start with the bread, right? Settepani, in Williamsburg, sells its bread all over the city…find out what it takes to get the bread into the oven and keep the business cooking.
- The Tomato: In Greenpoint, the juicy story of how Lucky Lee’s family found itself, almost by accident, in the tomato business.
- Food Manufacturing in Brooklyn: Host Michael Burke talks food economics with Leticia Theodore-Greene, V.P. of Communications & Gov’t Affairs at the Bklyn Chamber of Commerce, along with Kathrine Gregory, a food start-up incubator.
- The Cheese: For decades out in Bergen Beach, Landi’s has been making mozzarella fresh every day. The success is in the process – and that goes for the business, too.
- The Meat & The Sandwich:At Esposito’s in Carroll Gardens, brothers George and John share the spotlight as they make soppresatta the old-fashioned way – and finally build that sandwich.
Episode 10
Original Cablecast: September 11, 2007
- Benny & Mikhail: Two men who left Russia to find their fortunes doing business in Brooklyn...
- Dr. Alerte: A former obstetrician gives life to a new business in Bed-Stuy, one that helps bring better health to those at home.
- Studio Guest - Dr. Roy Hastick: Host Michael Burke talks about immigrants in the business community with the head of the Caribbean-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI).
- A Polish Empire in Greenpoint: Chris Drzewiekci is young, but in a neighborhood filled with his fellow Poles, he already owns three establishments. How has he done it?
Episode 9
Original Cablecast: July 10, 2007
- What does it mean to a small business when a big-box retailer moves into the neighborhood? How do you keep from getting crushed? The story of three stores...
- Congestion pricing: A lot of people want it, especially Mayor Bloomberg, but others don’t think it will work. Host Michael Burke asks Mark Kessler of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce how the members of his organization feel about it.
- When an area is just starting to get developed, somebody has to be first into the pool. The pioneering tale of a bistro in Bushwick.
- Is the sport fishing industry based in Sheepshead Bay staying afloat? Come for an evening cruise with Captains Tony and John.
Episode 8
Original Cablecast: June 12, 2007
- Keeping up with Karen Auster, Event Planner: What’s it take to throw a really big party? Ride the whirlwind as one of Brooklyn’s leading event planners oversees the final preparations for this year’s Brooklyn Designs trade show.
- Tucker Reed, DUMBO Improvement District: Where factories and warehouses once dominated, a neighborhood becomes hipper - and pricier. The head of the local improvement district tells Host Michael Burke about how his organization is helping during the transition.
- The Chip Shop: How Chris Sell Cooked It Up: The owner and chef of two fish-and-chips restaurants describes what it took to get up to speed -- and it wasn’t just his fried-and-true recipe.
- Power Up! A Local Business Competition: We introduce you to one of Brooklyn’s best programs aimed at helping hopeful entrepreneurs. You’ll meet the three winners from 2006, and hear what they got out of the experience.
Episode 7
Original Cablecast: May 11, 2007
- Want a Job? Just Add Water: At Kingsborough Community College, the Maritime Technology program trains future captains and crew for everything from barges to private yachts. We’re there for a training exercise that includes a boat manned by students and a Coast Guard rescue helicopter.
- Interview with Colvin Grannum: Host Michael Burke talks to the president of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corp., which provides many business-related services to its community. This is the non-profit organization’s 40th Anniversary.
- Talent is Just the Start: Michael Ayoub has created a series of successful Brooklyn restaurants, and his latest is the Williamsburg pizzeria, Fornino. He shows us his kitchen, his garden, and the light fixtures he makes himself - and gives some advice that any aspiring restaurant-owner will want to hear.
- Creative Financing: Daniel Fisher of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce offers tips on how to become more imaginative when looking for business financing.
- Say It With Flowers: At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, you can just stop and smell the flowers – or you can take classes that will get you certified in Landscape Design and Floral Design. We sat in on a class in Wedding Arrangements.
Episode 6
Original Cablecast: April 10, 2007
- BEDC Entrepreneurial Training: Brooklyn Economic Development Corp. helps people with disabilities learn how to operate a business, including William, a blind music producer, and Chris, a woodworker with a history of mental illness.
- Jobs for Brooklyn: New York’s City Council and the United Way have jointly created NYC Works to in turn create more training and job opportunities. Its Director of Workforce Initiatives, Tim Johnson, tells host Michael Burke how it’s helping.
- A Non-Profit Just for Kicks: Can martial arts do anything for underserved kids? Come with us to Sunset Park, where a new non-profit karate school is doing great things -- for free!
- Anyone for Pie?: Started in a studio apartment, delivered in an old Ford truck, and now a thriving business: the sweet and tart story of Steve’s Key Lime Pies, a Red Hook institution.
Episode 5
Original Cablecast: March 13, 2007
- Searching for Space: Where’s the best location for a bath-and-body product shop? Go on the hunt with a retailer and two young brokers from Massey Knakal Real Estate.
- Fast-food Fish Franchise: Could owning a franchise be the business model for you? Nemos Seafood is opening its first Brooklyn restaurant, and we go behind the scenes to learn the ins and outs of franchising.
- Business Loan Tips: Looking for capital to get you started? Tune in as host Michael Burke gets the lowdown on small business loans from George Andreozzi, Brooklyn Regional Vice President at Commerce Bank.
- Rules of Engagement: Look ‘em straight in the eye and give a firm handshake. Hey, it’s a start, but there’s a lot more to the art of networking. Management consultant Leigh Beckett demonstrates his rules for meeting and greeting.
Episode 4
Original Cablecast: February 13, 2007
- The Business Outreach Center (BOC): What is the Business Outreach Center, and how has it helped two local entrepreneurs -- a fashion designer and a shiatsu massage therapist?
- Talking Commercial Real Estate: Guest host Joan Bartolomeo, President of the Brooklyn Economic Development Corp., talks to Tim King of Massey Knakal Realty Services, one of the borough’s major commercial real estate brokers. He offers advice on finding the right commercial space, and what to look out for when signing a lease.
- What Business Consultants Offer: One company sells nuts and bolts, the other helps bring babies into the world. Find out how they’ve both benefited by working with private business consultants.
- Business Basics for Filing Taxes: Daniel Fisher, Director of Financial Services at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, gives his tips on filing tax returns if you’re a small business owner.
- Scrapile...Turning the Tables on Trash : In Williamsburg, Scrapile goes green for profit by turning scrap lumber into sleek new furniture.
Episode 3
Original Cablecast: January 9, 2007
- Selma Jackson’s Business Incubator: At Fort Greene’s 4W Circle of Art & Enterprise, artisans who have been working out of the home get a chance to establish a retail presence.
- Interview: Host Michael Burke talks to Bill Howell, Chairman, Downtown Bklyn Advisory & Oversight Cmte., a prominent proponent of minority and women-owned businesses in Brooklyn.
- The Mentors at SCORE: Retired business executives with decades of experience are ready and willing to help you with your entrepreneurial efforts - and their services are absolutely free.
- Business Basics: Nancy Carin, Exec. Director of the North Bklyn Business Outreach Center Network, gives advice on how to raise your credit score to improve your chances of getting a business loan.
- Local Development Corp of East New York: A kids’ play space, a pasta maker, and a lighting manufacturer: all part of what makes the LDCENY - and the neighborhood it’s helped to rejuvenate -- so vibrant.
Episode 2
Original Cablecast: December 26, 2006
- What’s 7th grade got to do with starting a business? Find out when we take a class with the future of Brooklyn’s business, part of a program run by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Shhhh, not too loud.... If you need advice on how to run a business, the Brooklyn Business Library is a wealth of information. We explore this local resource and then grab a cup of coffee at one of their latest success stories. We also learn what’s enabled Martin Greenfield Clothiers to keep making fine suits in Williamsburg for well over a century.
Episode 1
Original Cablecast: November 14, 2006
- We premiere our new show on the business of Brooklyn with a look at the Business Solutions Center and how it can improve your management, marketing, finances, staffing and more, with an inside look at one company they've helped; a visit to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which some 200 businesses call home; and a conversation between host Michael Burke and Kenneth Adams, outgoing president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.