In 2010, I was working in a Hotel and I got this idea of selling tee shirts, souvenirs and tours and I took my money out of my 401k to start this venture, I was working in the Hotel retail sector, I created the tee shirts and started selling them online and on street fairs, I created the tours in June 2011 and I knew due to it's past image the only way I could sell a positive Bronx Tour was to highlight our history, culture, landmarks and food, this is why my Tours include all four...
It was a learning experience since most of the world has a negative view of the Bronx, I can honestly say with all the people that I have met during my tours has been an eye opener, I love to meet people from all over the world because I realized we share similar dreams, hope and vision for our home residence...
Tours and Events: I have a lot of ideas and plans, I'm working on various unique events for the Borough, I have a Doo Wop dinner event and French music & Brunch event, so many ideas and plans in the mix I rather keep it undisclosed for now, one of my main goals is to bring business and money to the Bronx, having our unemployment rate go down, my tours help small business and cultural/national landmarks get exposure, we really need the financial rewards to help our ailing economy to help our residents...
Projects: I've have been working with the new Mall at Bay Plaza, helping them with their Marketing, this mall is the first one of it's kind to open in over 40 years, I'm also working Macy's in helping develop a plan for the new store, we are also working to create a special Tour for the Macy's buyers...
Challenges: The lack of support in the industry, Borough and NYC, I learned to build on my own merits - A lot of people have the crab mentality in business and it's difficult to overcome some of the barriers, I learned that not only you have to watch yourself constantly but also realize you have no support in the Business community, it seems that you come across layers of challenges, it takes a long time before you get to the root, I'm almost there...
Recent setback: I've had so many, the one that sticks out in my mind, I had Univision radio New York which is a Latino based station use me to mock my Borough and thought nothing of it or never publicly apologized for the incident, It was a real eye opener when I realized that the Latino community can also be conniving and non-supportive, a lot of people don't want to see you see you succeed and they will place obstacles in your path but you really grow from it, you learn the ropes...
One day I realized not only you are fighting the people outside the Borough to earn success and respect but also the ones inside the Borough as well, it's a dog eat dog world out there...
People in the Bronx: I think the Bronx has creative and talented people and unfortunately due to it's past stigma we are often overlooked and dismissed, hopefully that will change with time...
Vision for the Bronx: I will like to see more investment in the Borough, we have so much potential, the Bronx can be a home for the financial sector, advertising agencies, technology, movie industry, pharmaceutical, they need to visit and look at our neighborhoods, we need investors who have vision and a lot of funding, the Investors also need to keep in mind of our residents, we don't want our residents to be chased out of their homes because an area is getting demolished, we need to uplift our Communities as well this has to be a 50-50 deal...
Vision for me: Helping my Borough get to a status which no one will mock, ridicule or belittle us, I love to see our international visitors leave with a different mindset that's very fulfilling for me, I want to help bring pride into the Borough, eventually opening an office in the City, through these tough times I have made some terrific friends and connections in business and I'm going to help them get them to the next level, I will open the doors for them which is something that didn't happen for me, I'm going to show support and loyalty to the people in my Borough in any way I can, I will always remember the good people in my life and try to forget all the closed doors... I have been working very close with the President & CEO of NYC & Company, Fred Dixon and I'm happy to report he has vision for the Borough, one of the best opportunities for the Bronx to be highlighted on a international level, a great choice to have Mr. Fred Dixon and VP Marty Markowitz create momentum for the Bronx and other outer Boroughs for the years to come, I'm very happy to have them represent us...
For more info, see www.mcnytours.com or email mcnytours@yahoo.com
