Biz Talks

On this week’s episode, Tammie Jackson, the city’s director of safety and permits, says more investigators and new software will improve enforcement of short-term rental rules.

The healthcare industry represents $1.5 billion of the gross regional product on the Northshore and a new pilot program started this past May aims to boost that number even further. In this week's episode, Chris Masingill, CEO of St. Tammany Corporation, shares the details behind Northshore Healthscape, including how it will help address the industry’s workforce shortage.

This week’s episode features native New Orleanian Curtis Doucette, a real estate developer and CEO of Iris Development. A former banker, Doucette bought his first property — a duplex in New Orleans East — in 2002. Twenty years later, he’s celebrating the grand opening of the $20 million BonVi apartment complex, a mixed-use project developed in partnership with Green Coast Enterprises that’s celebrating its grand opening on June 16.

In the wake of the amended homebuilding moratorium, what is the next step in addressing the Northshore’s growth challenges? Jules Guidry, CEO of Highland Homes and a former leader of the Northshore Home Builders Association, talks about the new committee he’s a part of that’s dedicated to finding “Simple Solutions,” and shares his thoughts on the future when it comes to supply chain and interest rate changes.

This week’s guest, energy industry veteran Al Petrie, has organized not one but two major industry gatherings this week in New Orleans. On the podcast, he talks about how the pandemic, the global focus on clean energy and the war in Ukraine are creating opportunities for Louisiana.

A NOLA native and mother of seven, Mignon Francois took the last $5 she had for dinner one week and made cupcakes. A decade and a half later, her shop, the Cupcake Collection is ranked in the top 10 cupcake shops in the country and has two successful locations — one in Nashville, Tennessee and one in New Orleans. In this week’s episode, Mignon shares her secrets for success and advice for budding entrepreneurs.

Small business owners in Louisiana and nationwide are reporting that inflation is hurting their bottom line and adversely impacting their ability to hire and retain workers, according to new survey data from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices. This week’s podcast features Joe Wall, the organization’s national director. He discusses the new report and what he hopes will be done to help.

Morgan Dixon is a nail artist, entrepreneur and social media star whose incredible creations have made her studio, MAD Nails, (named for her initials) THE top nail salon in the region and even grabbed the attention of Hollywood. On this week’s podcast, Dixon shares the details on her company and an exciting new expansion.

This week’s podcast features Carmelo Turillo. Turillo is an educator and entrepreneur who is a professor of practice at Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and the co-owner of Francofonte Catering, which has operated a gelato tent at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival for more than a decade. Turillo talks about what it takes to serve high-quality food to thousands of people at the fest each year and how his role as a professor informs his entrepreneurial pursuits.

On Wednesday, April 27, 2022, NOLA MusicTech will host its first in-person conference at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center on North Rampart Street. The conference is focused on providing more money and opportunities to New Orleans musicians. In this episode, the event’s two producers Melissa O'Brien and Christine Auten explain what music technology looks like and how our region can benefit from more of it.