How a New Yorker turned a part-time job into a million dollar business

Corey William Schneider had a crisis. Like many young New Yorkers, he spent most of his time doing monotonous marketing work that did not really concern him, and spent his free time in his "comfort zone" of familiar restaurants and bars with friends, but he did not feel the fullness of life. How he managed to turn an ordinary part-time job into millions of business, the publication told Entrepreneur.

“I realized that this is the greatest city in the world, but I did not know anything about it. I was embarrassed about it,” he says. I felt that I was not interesting. I wanted to be an expert in New York."

So he made a pact with himself. Every weekend he explored the city, heading to a new cultural or historical location off the beaten track. But there was one problem: none of his friends wanted to join him.

“The idea of ​​going to Flushing Queens at 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday didn’t really inspire them,” says Schneider.

He created a group of like-minded people on Facebook and announced that he would organize a tour, book a private tour and even tickets for a minibus. However, he was worried that he would waste the money if no one came.

“I thought two or three people would join,” he recalls. “But a hundred strangers joined the group asking how to buy tickets.”

In a panic, Schneider asked Google how to sell tickets online. Google recommended Eventbrite, an event management and ticketing platform that allows users to view, create, and promote local events.

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This was back in 2013. Schneider, now 34, couldn't understand it then, but he had just planted the seeds of what would become a hugely popular travel business called the New York Adventure Club, which raised more than $2022 million in 1.

From food trips to art tours

Schneider is currently the CEO and founder of the New York Adventure Club, an in-person and virtual travel and event management company focused on locals.

Two years after organizing events, he realized that he had to quit his main job and devote himself entirely to a side job.

The New York Adventure Club sells tickets to over 20 events each week, from virtual webinars such as an introduction to New York's famous Gilded Age to in-person events. The club also organizes social events and puzzle tours.

What sets the New York Adventure Club apart from hundreds of other travel companies is that it caters to a specific clientele - locals like Schneider who want to get to know the city they love better.

“There are many organizations that work with first-time visitors to New York. But when you've been to New York more than once and are looking for something else, we fill that niche,” says Schneider.

The 50 Eventbrite subscribers at the New York Adventure Club likely won't find the usual tours of the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building, but they will find a backstage romp through New York's Red Light District or a loft tour in Tribeca.

Secrets of success

Schneider points to several factors that helped him accelerate the development of the tourism business.

Passion

“Organizing events comes with a lot of baggage and a lot of challenges, from logistics to customers. In the end, you have to make sure you do what you love,” says Schneider.

For him, this meant planning events that he would like to attend himself. Schneider considers himself his company's best customer and uses his passion for New York and its history to make informed decisions about routes and partners.

Organization

The logistics of running a company that hosts more than 20 events a week can be challenging. Schneider recommends partnering with third-party platforms that help take some of the organizational burden off the business.

With Eventbrite, he can use the existing infrastructure to promote his events and sell tickets. Schneider is also part of their Collective, a program that offers educational resources. He wrote a blog post last month about how he manages to stay organized with such a small team.

“If I was just starting out, I would have jumped at all these articles about what an event organizer does and the different components of organizing an event,” he says. "It's not rocket science, but there are a lot of details, so having those resources is very important."