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Corey William Schneider had his life on the line at a young age. Like many young New Yorkers, he spent most of his time doing tedious marketing jobs that didn’t interest him, and spent his free time with friends in his “comfort zone” of familiar restaurants and bars. I felt nothing. fulfilled.
“I realized this was the greatest city in the world, but I didn’t know anything about it. It was embarrassing,” he says. “I felt uninteresting. I wanted to be a New York expert.”
So he made a pact with himself. Every weekend he explored the city, venturing into new cultural or historical spots off the beaten path. But he had one problem. None of his friends wanted to join him. “The idea of going to Flushing Queens at 10am on Saturday was not a fun idea for them,” says Schneider.
He launched a Facebook group of like-minded travel geeks to organize excursions, booking private tours and even van tickets. However, he was worried that he would be in trouble because of the money he had to pay in advance.
“I expected two or three people to come,” he recalls. “But 100 strangers joined the group and asked how to buy tickets.”
Panicked, Schneider asked Google how to sell tickets online. Google recommended event brightan event management and ticketing platform that allows users to browse, create and promote local events.
This was in 2013. Little did Schneider, now 34, realize it at the time, but he had just planted the seeds of what would become a very popular tourism business. New York Adventure Clubto generate over $1 million in revenue in 2022.
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Photo: Corey William Schneider Courtesy: New York Adventure Club
From food tours to art tours
Schneider is currently CEO and founder of New York Adventure Club, an in-person and virtual tourism and events company for local residents.
After two years of planning events, he realized he had to quit his day job and turn his busy side hustle into a full-time job.
He’s steering a tight ship. The staff consists of him and virtual assistants, but he also contracts with hundreds of private vendors.
The New York Adventure Club sells tickets virtually every week for more than 20 events. Webinar likes to learn about New York’s famous Gilded Age For face-to-face events such as eating tours Chinatown’s ‘secret meal’. The club also organizes social events and puzzle tours.
What makes New York Adventure Club stand out from hundreds of other travel companies is that it caters to a specific clientele: locals, like Schneider, who want to learn more about the city they love.
“There are a lot of organizations that cater to first-time visitors, but if you’ve been to New York many times and are looking for something different, that’s our niche.” says Schneider.
The 50,000 New York Adventure Club Eventbrite subscribers won’t get a basic tour of the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building, but they will find some behind-the-scenes fun. Old New York Red Light District or tour Art Loft at TriBeCa.
secret of success
Schneider points to several factors that have helped accelerate tourism.
passion
“Hosting an event comes with a lot of baggage and a lot of challenges, from logistics to serving customers. So at the end of the day, I want to make sure I am doing something I am passionate about. ,” says Schneider.
For him, that meant planning events he wanted to attend. Schneider considers himself the company’s best customer and uses his passion for New York and its history to inform his itineraries and partner decisions.
organization
The logistics of running a company that hosts 20+ events a week can be a daunting task. Schneider recommends partnering with third-party platforms that ease the burden of organizing your business.
Eventbrite allows you to leverage your existing infrastructure to promote your event and sell tickets.Schneider is also one of them creator group, an Ambassador program that provides educational resources.Last month he wrote blog post About how he stays organized with such a small team.
“If I were a beginner, I would have a solid understanding of all the articles about the job of an event organizer and the different elements of running an event,” he says. “This isn’t rocket science, but there are a lot of details, and it’s very important for anyone who wants to get into space to have those resources.”
