January 5, 2025 • 58 mins
On today’s program, Jon Hurst president of the Massachusetts Retailers Association talks about holiday sales and the first quarter of 2025. The deputy editor of the State House News Service, Colin Young talks about the new legislative session. Doug Banks executive editor the Boston Business Journal brings us up to speed on the top business stories as we head into the new year. Mike Marshall of Marshall Wealth Management explains the “silver tsunami” as a massive number of people reach age 65. And finally Tracy Wheeler Noonan of Wicked Good Cupcakes fame shares news of her latest venture.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the New England Business Report with Joe short
Sleeve and Kim Carrigan, a weekly round up in discussion
of the top business news impacting our New England economy.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, everybody in Welcome to the New England Business Report,
and happy New Year to everyone. I'm Kim Kerrigan along
with Joe short Sleeve and here we are, Joe, our
first show of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I know it.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
I know it Sunday, January the fifth, and we are
going to march through January.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Just we march through December. You know.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
I know New Year's Eve seems like a long time
ago at this point, but I wanted to bring it up, Kim,
because I spent New Year's Eve down in Chatham, and
you know, we spent a good part of our show
in December talking about the Christmas tradition down on caim Cod,
whether we're talking to Gary Thulander we crossed, or Paul
Ned's Wiki at the Chamber. I was in Chatham on
New Year's Eve and that place was jammed. I really unbelievable.
(00:55):
They had like a parade and I mean there are
thousands and thousands of people in the street.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I'm looking around going what is going on here? But
it was. It was great fun.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
It was, oh I bet it was. And good for
them because it looks like they are successful in making
Cape Cod and most specifically that that far southern part
of Cape Cod a real destination for the holidays. So
that's really terrific. Well, I hope you had a great
holiday season. If you're like me, I'm ready to get
(01:23):
back into a routine.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
What is that? What is a routine?
Speaker 5 (01:28):
Right?
Speaker 6 (01:28):
Well?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
That so true, that's so true. I've washed so many
towels and so many dishes and I just feel like,
you know, But it was a good one, that's for sure.
And I hope it was great for everyone, and I
hope it is the beginning of a really terrific year.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
For first, here's got their magic wands. So I did
my job. Okay, there you go.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
They're just kind of mad that they're not really magic.
You know, they thought they would be, thought they would.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Let's take a look at today's show, because we've got
a good one on tap. We're going to get get
it started with John Hurst. Of course, he's a president
of the Retailers Association in Massachusetts. We wanted to talk
to John today specifically because we want to look back
at how this holiday season played out for retailers here
in the state. You know, nationwide, a number of reports
have come out and we consumers spent about four percent
(02:17):
more than we did last year. We're hoping that pays
off for our local retailers as well. I was a
little surprised by that number.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Five way.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
I was surprised too, because everybody was kind of predicting
gloom and doom. And I mean, you know, John Hurst
is a great guest because you know what, he's the
one who said that the retailers in Massachusetts are probably
in a recession.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So we'll have you know, it'll be a good conversation.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Absolutely, So John's coming up here in just a few minutes. Also,
of course, new year means new legislative session up there
on Beacon Hill.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Here we go.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
So we're going to be joined by the deputy editor
of State House News, Colin Young. He's an old friend
of ours and a guy who really knows what's going
on up there at the State House. As we know, Joe,
they ended the last session, you know, really with some
dangling participles, if you will, and.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
So they'm mad too. They're mad.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
They think that the press really beat up on them,
you know, I mean they say that the media was
unfair to them.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Oh, the media unfair.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
I mean, come now, and lawmakers who are whiny, Why
don't think they fairly? That can't be right. No, he's
going to preview what we can anticipate happening up there
on Beacon Hill.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
Yeah, never mind Mara Healy in our eleven percent pay
raise that slipped right through their well nobody, well, nobody's
looking right.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
They happen on a Saturday night during the middle of
the holiday season.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Oh boy. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Also coming along in the program today executive editor, good
friend of ours, Doug Banks. He'll be talking about, well,
the big business stories of twenty twenty five as we
had that way, and you know what happened with the
commercial real estate in downtown Boston. Really everybody's wondering. Okay, well,
we hope them for a rebound. We didn't get it,
and I we'll see what's one twenty five brings. And
then of course we're going to have Mike Marshall of
(04:04):
Martial Wealth Management's going to join us and talk a
little bit about the Silver tsunami.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
As they call it.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
It's eleven thousand, two hundred people a day in this
country turned sixty five. Yeah, eleven thousand people a day,
something like over four million a year. So this this
whole retirement thing going on, and Mike Marshall's right in
the middle of it, and that'd be a good conversation
with him. And finally, Kim, you arranged this Tracy Wheeler
(04:32):
noonan of Shark Tank fame and you know, wicked good cupcakes.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, yeah, I guess it was a wicked good cupcake.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
He's at the truth. You know, she was on Shark
Take Back in the I know, twenty fourteen, something like that, fifteen,
and you know, mister Wonderful paired up with her and
Alvin Olui says, he says that was the best deal
that he got involved in on Shark thank ever.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
It was one of the fastest growing small companies in
the country, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
It's just phenomenal. It's unbelievable. But she's subsequently sold, she
and her daughter, and she's moving on and she's got
a really interesting story to tell me. She's a woman
who knows about entrepreneurship.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
All right, Kim, Well, we've been talking about it without
further ado. What we want to do is bring in
a John Hurst. Now, he, of course is the president
of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, a job he's had
since nineteen ninety. They represent some four thousand members across
the state. And John is somebody we always turned to to,
(05:35):
you know, take the temperature of the economy.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
How are we doing right?
Speaker 4 (05:39):
So we obviously want to talk to him about sales
and the Christmas season and look ahead to the first
quarter of twenty twenty five. John, you know, Kim and
I were a little surprised when we started looking at
the numbers here. It's actually MasterCard had a report out
saying holidays sales are stronger than last year, stronger than
a lot of people thought they would be. Now you're
somebody who was, you know, perhaps a little skeptical about
(06:00):
the holiday season and how it was going to shape up.
So what say you, mister Hurst?
Speaker 7 (06:06):
Uh, Joe, Kim, I I think there's there's a story
of winners and losers here, right. I think I think
the consumers ended up being relatively positive and and you know,
spent more than more than on average. You know, an
average holiday season is about three percent, and uh, you know,
(06:27):
it's appearing that they spend a little bit more than
that on average across the country. Now, you know, the
the key question that though is they have we have
to ask ourselves is where were those dollars spent? And
increasingly it looks to me we won't. We don't have
our own internal numbers yet, but we will here within
a week. It appears to me a lot of the
(06:49):
increase was was to online uh, to major sellers, uh,
you know, on the internet. Now, you know that's that's
a great thing for those sellers, but not necessarily a
great thing for local mom and pops and local economy.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Are you aren't your members online? John?
Speaker 7 (07:09):
Well, you know, a good sixty percent of our members
are now online. That's that's way up before COVID, where
it was only about a quarter. They are online. But
you know, you know, for a small business, a good
proportion of online versus brick and mortars maybe fifteen percent
internet sales versus eighty five percent brick and mortar. Now
(07:32):
a large national chain, it may be closer to fifty
to fifty. You know, as far as the ratio of
online in store, small businesses have ways to go yet
to catch up with that kind of ratio.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Well, John, if that plays out the way that you
are sort of anticipating it might, what's the answer for
these small businesses? How you know, can they start to
profit more off of online or to take advantage of
that situation?
Speaker 7 (08:04):
Well, Kim, I think you know they're they're getting there slowly,
but surely they will. Related to the game, Like I said,
a lot of them weren't even online until they were
forced to with the shutdowns and restrictions under COVID. You know,
I think they need to more of them need to
also look at other options online. They may have a
(08:24):
standalone website. They ought to think a little bit about marketplaces.
Whether you know, there's of course Amazon Marketplace, but there's
other marketplaces as well as the Walmart and and several
others other ways to to uh get more exposure and
more sales. You need to look at a combination there.
(08:45):
And you know, it's a process. It's a process of
really integrating what you know your consumers are coming through
your front door and and and trying to establish multiple
ways from them to come back and do additional sales
for you, even from their smartphone when they aren't going
to come into your store, so you know it's getting there,
(09:07):
but I you know they've got a waste to go
to increase the sales. In the meantime, you know, from
our perspective, we're going to really focus on what we
can do to lower their costs. Because if your sales
are not rising, in some cases, they're dropping. The only
way you're going to keep your doors open is to
lower your costs. And that's really going to be a
major message from us to the leaders up and begin
(09:31):
Hill this year.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
All right, well how do we do that, John Hurst,
president of the Retailers Association, how do we lower the costs?
Speaker 7 (09:38):
Well, I think I think one of the things we've
got to we've got to look at state mandated costs.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (09:43):
So you know we need the politicians to look in
the mirror, you know, And it's not enough to say,
you look, our housing costs are real high without looking
at now, what does what's a proportion of property taxes
to that. It's not enough to say that, you know,
our small businesses are strugg going without also looking in
the mirror and saying, how does our health insurance laws
(10:06):
discriminate against a small business? And their workforces versus a
big business. That's a big one. Payroll taxes. January first,
we saw another UI Unemployment insurance tax increase. On average,
that's going to be about a thirty six percent increase,
a tax increase for employers in Massachusetts. And our unemployment
(10:28):
level is still you know, it's it's inched up a
little bit, but it's under four percent. What is causing
these huge tax increases. I think it's a It's probably
the worst UI system in the entire country. That's a
competitive problem. We need to start looking at at some
of these state mandated systems that you know, a small
(10:50):
business cannot cannot afford and cannot escape if they want
to operate in Massachusetts.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Well, John, you're talking about some of the things that
you're hoping to do obviously up on Beacon Hill in
twenty twenty five. What's the outlook for twenty twenty five
from your point of view?
Speaker 7 (11:07):
Well, you know, I think it's if from the consumer standpoint,
I think, you know, as long as we don't fall
into a recession, that's a good thing. They can keep
keep spending. And you know, if you know, of late
they're still spending. Maybe not quite you know, is it
sustainable because you know, incomes are not rising quite as
(11:31):
as fast as they did a couple of years ago.
We'll see what happens on that front. But it's you know,
what the consumer does is important because they represent seventy
percent of our economy and you know it. You know,
whether they are spending and whether they're positive and where
they are spending is very very important for our small
businesses here in Massachusetts. We we want them to spend
(11:55):
in Massachusetts, not necessarily a majority online or not necessarily
a majority up in New Hampshire. We've got to look
at public policy where it sometimes is counterproductive to those objectives.
And and you know, uh, I think we probably could
do go a little further than what we did this
(12:16):
past session as far as more money back in the
pockets of taxpayers who are also consumers. We didn't go
quite as far as we we probably should have as
far as state tax cuts, you know, on the heels
of the millionaires tax, you know, which is bringing in
more than anticipated. You know, are there ways that we
can put money back into the pockets of our our
(12:38):
consumers a little bit more to to help them, uh,
you know, be in the black each and every month
as they try to to work and raise a family,
and and and and and retire here in Massachusetts as
opposed to somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Well, John, you did it again. You brought up the
R word.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
Last time you were on this program, you talked about recession,
and this time you said, it's still an open question, right,
is that what you feel?
Speaker 7 (13:04):
I feel we're kind of we we are we are
on an edge where we could go either way. You know,
no question, there's some contraction as far as as job creation.
There's you know, consumers are still hanging in there, but
they can't hang in there if they don't have good
(13:25):
job opportunities and good wage increases. So it's it's going
to be how we how we do in this first
quarter in twenty twenty five will be very telling. You know.
Hopefully there's there's both a good strong consumer competence and
multo business confidence and we continue to grow. But if
we do fall into a recession, hopefully it's it's short
(13:48):
and very uh, you know, very shallow, and we can
bounce right back. You know, Let's let's face it, Economies
move in in cycles, and it's been a while since
we have out of recession. It's avoiding one is going
to be somewhat difficult, but not impossible.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
All right. He's a John Hurst.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
He's the president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. Thanks
for joining us on of New England Business Report this
Sunday morning. Up NeXT's going to go up to Beacon Hill. Yeah,
they're back in business up there. We'll talk to Colin Young,
deputed the enter of the State House News Service.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
That's coming up.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
You are listening to the New England Business Report on
the Voice of Boston WRKO six 't eighty. Joe and
Kim will be right back.
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Speaker 2 (16:42):
Well, new Year means new legislative session upon Beacon Hill.
This after the last session left a whole lot of
loose ends. Deputy editor of State House News Colin Young
joining us, and we're so glad to have Colin with
a season man who knows all when it comes to
Beacon Hill. Colin, first off, Happy New Year, Great to
have you along. And look, you bet it looks like
(17:04):
this session is going to start sort of like most
of them do, with lots of rule considerations. They go
through all the protocol first, right exactly.
Speaker 6 (17:12):
The legislative session always takes a little while to actually
get going. It usually isn't until towards the end of
February that committees are assigned and then bills will start
flowing into committees and hearings can get going, you know,
after March and into the springtime. But you're right, Before
they can start considering new legislation, the House and Senate
(17:37):
have to consider their own rules, the things that they're
going to abide by for the two year session. And
there's been a lot of talk that there's going to
be some changes. Usually from session to session there are
a few tweaks, but this year it looks like they're
going to be some more wholesale changes. The big one
that we're watching is whether the House and Senate will
(17:59):
do away with the July thirty first deadline. This is
the one that they sort of failed to live up
to this past year and c or that requires them
to wrap up work by July thirty first. They want
to maybe scrap that, maybe move that later in the year,
or just say, you know, the legislative session is two
(18:21):
years and they can pass any bills at any point
during those two year sessions. So that would be a
big change to the legislative.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
All these people have other jobs, though, I mean, so
I would guess that there might be a little pushback
up there.
Speaker 6 (18:34):
That's right, you know, and we already hear that of
lawmakers saying that they don't get enough of a heads
up on when big bills are going to come to
the floor, you know, so they can plan their own
work and their own lives, so there might be some
pushback from the rank and file.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
Yeah, I thought that the big story that sort of know,
they teach you in public relations, you know, if you
want to announce some news that you don't want people
to really hear, right, you do it? Well, let me
see you do it on July fourth, do it Thanksgiving morning?
Or are you do it on in this case New
Year's eve. Mara Healy eleven percent pay increase is pushed through.
(19:12):
I thought that was fascinating.
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Yeah, and this is one of these where, you know,
legislators set themselves up for this a few years ago
with a pay raise law that they passed that tied
their pay to changes in the state's economic conditions. So
that's how the governor got to eleven percent. Was looking
at these very specific economic indicators that the law calls
(19:40):
calls out and she says, well, you know, these indicators
say eleven percent, and the law says that the increased
legislators get. But of course, you know, I don't think
hardly anyone else's pay is increasing eleven percent on an
annual basis in Massachusetts, most people are lucky to get
a few percent points increase, so sort of another example
(20:03):
of the legislature being in some ways out of step
with everyday based stators.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Well, it's really interesting because if you remember, just a
couple of years ago, law stated that taxpayers got a
refund and they didn't like that too terribly much. So
it's interesting the laws they like to abide by exact
when we do start to get into full swing, which
is really interesting that they go to work in January
(20:30):
but don't get into full swing until late February. But
when they do, what are you anticipating, Colin, What are
going to be some of the big things we're going
to want to watch?
Speaker 6 (20:39):
I think the really big one shaping up for early
this year is transportation and transportation financing. This was something
that governor launched a task force on in twenty twenty four.
The group was supposed to come back with the report
and recommendations on how the state should finance public transportation
(20:59):
by the end of last year. They didn't meet that deadline,
so we're still waiting on that report. But there's a
looming budget gap of about seven hundred million dollars at
the MBTA the state has long been needing to come
up with a more holistic way of financing road and
(21:21):
bridge repairs, other road infrastructure expansions and improvements. Never mind
the MBTA, you look at the commuter rail system and
other rail service across the state. And right now the
state is in a situation where there's a big surplus
of money from that income tax, the cyart tax on
(21:43):
people who aren't a million dollars a year, and there's
more than a billion dollars of that revenue sitting aside
waiting to be appropriated. And I think the legislature will
probably apply a lot of that billion dollars towards transportation issues,
and I think that's going to occupy a lot of
their time early this year, is trying to figure out,
(22:05):
you know, really what's the path forward for paying for
transportation in Massachusetts.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
It's a good question, certainly, especially with New York going
forward with the congestion pricing exactly. Yeah, I mean that's
a huge issue. And the other other thing I caught
my attention, and I'm sure it did yours because you
work up there full time. It was the leadership Marianno
and Spilka. They had some negative things to say about
the press, about the media, about the way they've been treated.
(22:32):
What's going on with that column they do?
Speaker 6 (22:35):
Yeah, there was there's quite a lot of that last week,
and all the new lawmakers were sworn in. A few
slices that the media. You know, I think a lot
of it stems from a series of reports that the
Boston Globe has done over the last nine months or so,
looking at how the House and Senate do budget ear marks,
(22:56):
looking at some of the personal relationships at play up here,
with at least one key lawmaker who's dating a lobbyist
who lobbies his committee.
Speaker 10 (23:07):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (23:08):
And you know, I think that they're sort of frustrated
when you consider that reporting and then the fact that
an overwhelming majority of voters this November said they want
the state auditor to be able to scrub the books
of the House and Senate. You know, I think the
legislative leaders are feeling like they're sort of being targeted
(23:28):
right now, they think unfairly.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Uh, of course, you know, I'm sorry. It's a little
bit laughable. I mean, what's what's wrong with having an audit?
You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (23:39):
What is everybody else does?
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Yeah, I mean I don't know. I guess I see
it as an that, you know, good.
Speaker 6 (23:46):
For some and and uh maybe not for us type
of situation. You know, I think that's that that's kind
of their issue. There's plenty of great reporting that comes
out of Beacon Hill that you know, doesn't get into
the scandal or the personal issues that are at play,
and really is it dives deep on the policy and
(24:06):
the politics that go on up here. But of course
that's not what's going to you know, catch someone's attention,
and that's usually not what gets people around the state talking.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah, finally, last question for me, colin, real quickly here.
It looks like all the leadership will stay in place.
Speaker 6 (24:22):
Yes, yeah, everyone is in place at least to start
this term. And you know, of course we're always watching
to see if there could possibly be a change of.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Top either branch Alan Young, thank you so much, great insight.
And it should be a very exciting legislative session, you know,
with their pockets being padded now with a little increase
in their pay, Joe.
Speaker 10 (24:43):
So.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Quiet them down a little bit, right.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
All right, still coming your way. Executive editor or the
Bust of Business journal are good friend, Doug Banks, He's
going to join us talk about new year, New business
and some of the challenges related to commercial real estate.
They can continue right into the new year that's coming
up right here on the New England Business Report.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Kim and Joe will explore more business news that impacts
our New England economy when they return.
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seven one eight nine three nine. That's nine seven eight
seven seven one eighty nine thirty nine, or visit Hi
Techcorp dot biz for a free estimate. Hi, everybody, I'm
(27:16):
Kim Kerrigan.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
And I'm Joe Shortsley. If you want to be part
of the New England Business Report sponsorships are still available.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
You can email us at Any Business Radio at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
That's Any Business Radio all one word at gmail dot com,
and we'll get your business on the show too. He
and welcome back to the New England Business Report on
this Sunday morning on January the fifth.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
And this is the spot on the.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Program where Kim and I pick out a couple of
business stories that tickled our.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
Fancy, so to speak.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
I'm something you may have heard about, something you may
not have heard about, but I've been I'm still fascinated
by our real estate industry and what's going on there.
And there's a story in the Boston Business Journal that
talks about homes and Metro Boston taking longer to sell.
The data shows interesting, it's finally turning. Supposedly inventory is
(28:14):
up and homes are taken longer to sell. And the
question is, you know, does that mean that prices will
be coming down? And I guess there's some evidence that
obviously in the commercial market, the residential market not so much.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Kim, Yeah, absolutely, Well, it's been a long time since
there's been a glut of homes on the market, so
we really we haven't tested the waters here, Joe for
a long time. It'll be interesting to see. Obviously, this
is not the greatest time to have your house on
the market. That spring market getting started late February early March,
and you know, many realtors have said that's the time
(28:45):
you want to be selling your house.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
That was always a great story in the Globe that
I saw that. It was written by Dana Gerber of
the Boston Globe, and it's about the whole idea of
arcades making a comeback in Greater Boston. I mean, but
this growing up and an arcade was a cool thing.
Then they just went away, and now this generation is
bringing them back.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Well, you know what's interesting about this story. I've read
this story as well. You know, I think they went
away because kids started playing video games at home, right,
And now all of a sudden, kids are sort of
bored with being at home and they've got to go
somewhere else to play their games. Well, here we are
in twenty twenty five, and Joe, you know, it sort
of feels like a broken record where you're stepping off
(29:27):
again in twenty twenty five where we left off in
twenty twenty four and that's that. You know, a lot
of real estate projects in the city are kind of teetering,
and it's not a lot of question marks. Yeah, a
lot of question marks, not real clear what the new
year is going to bring. The Boston Business Journal has
done a really super piece about this exact issue in
their newest edition, Ten Boston Area real estate projects to
(29:51):
watch in twenty twenty five. Executive editor of the Boston
Business Journal joining us Doug Banks, done good to have you.
A long and happy new year, sir.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
Happy new year to you.
Speaker 12 (30:00):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
You bet. So, let's talk about some of these projects.
First off, you know, the state of real estate in
the city. You know, I think I was correct in
saying we sort of watched a lot of problems in
twenty four and we're just kind of stepping right into
them in twenty five.
Speaker 7 (30:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 12 (30:17):
I think that it's really interesting. I mean, if you
drive through the city or even just outside and you
know Prince like Cambridge or Brooklyn, you will see big cranes, right,
I mean, the crane watch is real. There's still there
are projects that are taking place, but there are you know,
as many or more that are also approved, ready to
go and just in a in a state of limbo,
(30:37):
whether it's you know, the white stadium project at Mattapan
that's hung up in court, or projects like you know,
the Suffolk Downs, Mayne's, Boston and Revere that's you know,
waiting on construction financing. So there's a number of different
projects that Greg Ryan RC Reporter took a look at
that are you know, scheduled to come online in some
(30:57):
form of fashion in twenty twenty five, and you know,
it's it's all sort of mixed bag, if you will.
There's you know, they've signed a couple of them, have
signed a ten, but not for as much space as
it's like, and you know, happy to talk about one
or two of those if you'd like.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
Yeah, I mean, I really think it's the white stadium
issue there in Mattapan that it really has caught my attention.
Kim and I were just chatting about it, and you know,
obviously they're trying to renovate White Stadium so a national
women's a soccer team can play there in twenty twenty six,
and Kim and I just don't understand the opposition here.
It is you have this dilapidated facility that you know,
(31:35):
could be completely renovated and beautiful and the kids of
Boston be able to use it.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
I don't understand the opposition.
Speaker 12 (31:44):
Yeah, you're not wrong. It really it seemed like a
no brainer. You've got to pro a professional women's soccer team,
You've got you know, teaming with the City of Boston.
You know, the City of Boston has someone who's going
to spend you know, half or more of the project's work.
Was originally planned to be a fifty million dollar construction project.
(32:04):
I mean, the thing's stilapidated now, you know, it's it's
up to ninety million, and of course construction is super
expensive materials or expensive, but it does it seems like
it would be a no brainer, and yet there's been
this this big fight. The community feels like that this
renovation violates the public trust for use in the park.
(32:24):
They think that they're not going to be able to
have as much use for it. But of course the
city has said, you know, Boston Public Schools is going
to be given priority and scheduling, and you've got you've
got all this finacy employee. So it definitely seems like
a project that could have been simple turned into you know,
something that's now it's pending in court and who knows
what's going to happen. And of course you've got the
(32:46):
potential sadium and effort for the New England Revolution, which
could be an alternative for you know, the soccer team
bost Nation as it's called, could be a place for
them to go. So it's that's going to be definitely
an interesting one to watch. One I'm watching honestly, it's
probably a little more whole high profile downtown Ofton and
that's the South Station towers.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
People.
Speaker 12 (33:07):
You know, you've been watching South Station. It's one of
our most historic buildings in the city going up. And
you've got a fifty one story tower that's coming up right,
you know, in the in the heart of it, which
you know many of the upper floors will be rich
Carlton condos. And then they just hind the development and
just scored their first tenant in a big law firm
(33:28):
Doon to day. But you know, which would be great
because so many other projects in the city have not
found a tenant yet. But Jones they only took two floors,
which is not a lot.
Speaker 6 (33:37):
For a big, big law firm like that.
Speaker 12 (33:39):
So again sort of mixed messaging. Yes they uh, you
got this big project. Yes to cut offices and housing,
but they're still looking for that, you know, for those
tenants to fill up that office space.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
You know, Doug. The one that I watched the most
because I drive past it all the time, of course,
is the Suffolk Down situation there in East Boston and Revere.
H y M Investment Group building this you know, just
huge almost community, I think is the best way to
say it, and it certainly was promising a lot of housing.
Tom O'Brien has had approval, he's got one building finished
(34:14):
and now has come to a complete stop because of
construction costs. Talk us through that, No, I.
Speaker 12 (34:21):
Think you've described it very well.
Speaker 7 (34:23):
That's exactly right.
Speaker 12 (34:25):
When you look at the number of housing units that
have been approved already in the city Suffolk Downs, that
East Boston and Revere project, Yes, that one building is there,
but they have over seven thousand units that have been approved.
Now that's over. That's like a quarter of all of
the housing that has been approved in the city of Boston.
(34:47):
But it can't we know, obviously we need more housing.
The housing costs here are so expensive. We need more
supply to lessen the demand. But to your point, construction
financing has been really hard to come by for for
Tom O'Brien and the Hym folks, and so they haven't
been able to start on that second building. They're ready
to start on the second building, you know, as soon
(35:08):
as they can get that financing. And then there was
also a life scientist building that was supposed to go
up right next to it, and the life sciences market
tanked in the last two years, so that has been
put on hold as well. So I think ten years
from now we'll look back and we won't remember all
of this if they can make this work. But you know,
today's HYM is, you know, definitely they ready to go.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
They want to go.
Speaker 12 (35:30):
They're just they work previously to get that financing it
and hopefully we'll see it. And to your point, I
see that all the time as well. I live right
here there, so I see that that project all the time,
and it's it's it's going to be really interesting to watch.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
Doug Banks executve vendor to the Boston Business Journal. Is
our guest, Well, you said it, ten years from now,
we won't be bothered by this. Is that the timeline
in your head? Seriously, seriously, I mean, how long is
it going to take?
Speaker 12 (35:55):
I think for the Suffolk Downs project, they are looking
at it.
Speaker 6 (35:58):
You know, they were looking at a twenty year ride.
Speaker 12 (36:00):
When they first propose this. So there, you know, there's
going to be tens of thousand of the units eventually,
but you know, these first few years, it's gonna it's
going to.
Speaker 7 (36:08):
Take a little while.
Speaker 12 (36:09):
But a lot of the other projects that we're looking at,
whether they're in the Seaport District or South Boston, we'll
see the you know, the first construction or they'll land,
their first tenant will be in twenty twenty five. But
these are all you know, long term projects in the way.
With a new administed federal administration coming in it, you know,
(36:30):
everything's kind of put on hold until you see what
what the what the markets are going to do. So
it's you know, we're we're sort of at a wait
and see stage for a lot of these projects. But
once they start popping, it's going to be you're going
to see another another big change throughout the city.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
You know, that is an interesting thing to be in
this situation with these projects and have a new administration
coming in in Washington that can certainly change things. Doug Banks,
executive editor of the Boston Business Journal. We're glad you
could be with us. So those are going to be
interesting product to watch throughout this year and to see
the ones that and you and I very you know,
(37:05):
I feel like we have sort of an intimate attachment
to Tom O'Brien because we interviewed him so frequently over
at Bloomberg when he was putting that project together, you know,
doubt about so passionately about it.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
Yeah, a frequent guest.
Speaker 4 (37:17):
The largest housing development in the history of the city
going on and then boom hit the brakes stop. Yeah,
But also, Kim, we were also right across the street
from South Station and that whole new tower that was
going up there, So we've really been right in the
middle of it. I do think that the timeline question
is interesting, and he just sort of said ten years,
but it could be ten years, you bet, all.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Right, Kim.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
We talked about it a little earlier in the program,
and it is really the staggering number of people that
are reaching retirement age. Consider this, eleven two hundred people
a day a day in this country will turn sixty
five years old. That's some four million each year, every
year for the next three years. That's just the beginning.
(38:00):
So let's bring in a Mike Marshall of Marshal Wealth Management.
Mike is somebody who must have a phone bank at
his placed at this point with people calling for help
with retirement and what to do with all that money
they saved over the years. Mike, Welcome in the Happy
New Year.
Speaker 10 (38:16):
Good morning Joe and Tim, and the happy New Year
to you as well. Yeah, it's it's basically been like
a title wave of people that are finally looking for advice.
And you know, a lot of these baby boomers they're
going to retire over the next five, ten, fifteen years,
and the key is to start the planning before you
(38:37):
get into the area where you're going to need to retire.
So I mean, you know, Joe, Tim, it's not rocket science,
but you do need a plan. I mean, there's no
way around it. You've got to have a plan in
place for a successful retirement.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
So let's talk a little bit about what your experience
has been like, because these baby boomers are out there.
Are you seeing an influx? Are people taking your advice
and putting together a plan?
Speaker 10 (39:05):
You know, they are, Like I said, it's been a
steady flow of people who are turning, you know, age
sixty and then obviously into their sixty mid sixties, and
they understand now that they can't just do it themselves.
You know, it's much too complex and there's too much
on the line. I mean, think about not having a
(39:25):
plan for retirement with your life savings. Basically you're playing
Russian roulette with your life savings. And again, it doesn't
have to be so complex that you get overwhelmed. But
you've got to have a plan for all seven key years.
You know we've talked about in the past. I mean
there's state planning, retirement planning, insurance planning, and tax planning.
(39:48):
They all go together. You don't just have one. You
have to have them all in order to have a
comprehensive plan. And that's the key.
Speaker 4 (39:54):
Yeah, okay, so okay, I call you up, We sit down,
We we got going. What is the business side for you?
What is the business side for me in terms of
cost and preparation to get where we need to go.
Speaker 10 (40:06):
That's a great question. And we talk about how we
make money and how we charge our clients. But for
me to tell a client exactly how we would see
them and what we would see them. That happens after
we do the plan design, gather all the information, talk
to them about their goals, their objectives, see what they need,
and then design the plan for them. And then once
(40:26):
we design the plan, we come out we talk about
what the fees would be for this type of design.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
Mike Marshall is our guest. Mike, I'm always fascinating with
the timeline. So you know, we're talking about all of
these people turning sixty five right now, how far before
your sixty fifth birthday do you or your plans to retire.
Let's put it that way, how far in advance do
we need to sit down and start this portfolio? And then,
having said that, how frequently do we need to meet
(40:54):
once we've got to put together?
Speaker 10 (40:56):
In my opinion, you need to stop looking at winding
down or transitioning your asset your investments five years before
you're actually going to start drawing on those investments, because
if you don't, then you wait a year or two
before we have a correction just before you're ready to
start drawing income. That can decimate your nest egg to
(41:20):
the point where your nest deck never recovers from that
dissent on the market. And so we call it the
sequence of returns, and it's something that you must be
aware of once you retire and start drawing income. If
you're drawing income from a falling market, a falling portfolio,
then that's dangerous because that portfolio may never return to
(41:44):
where it was in the beginning. So sequence of returns
is one of those things that people really don't know about.
They really need to know about so that we can
plan to offset it.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
Mike Marshall's Our Guests of Martial Wealth Management. I guess
you know people when they talk about retiring, Mike, they
often don't. Some have a choice, some don't in terms
of Okay, I got to retire on this day, but
a lot of people say, well, is it a good
time to retire? A big picture right now, as we
look at what's going on in our financial world, is
this a good time to retire.
Speaker 10 (42:16):
That's a great question, Joe. I mean, retirement, when you
want to retire is a very very personal decision. Okay, Now, financially,
you can retire once you're financially able to do so.
But a lot of people are able to retire, but
they don't want to, they'd rather keep working. So you know,
in those situations we talk about move, maybe retire from
(42:39):
your official long term position in the economy, I mean
in the business world, which you know can be st
stressful if you're working for Corporate America, and maybe retire
from that and then you know, maybe get a little
side job or side you know, hobby that you enjoy doing,
something that you don't think of it as work. You know,
they say, if you love your work, you don't work,
(43:00):
and you never work a day in your life. But
you know, these folks are ready to retire, usually around
sixty five, sixty seven somewhere in there.
Speaker 2 (43:10):
And Mike, I have to assume the number one question
that you're asked is will my money run out? How
how do you stress test? How do you make that determination?
For people?
Speaker 10 (43:22):
Well, that's another great question. I mean, think about this,
Will my money run out? Well, yes, if you're spending
more than you're taking in. So you've got to have
the knowledge of what you're bringing in. You've got to
understand that this is my income. Usually retirees are on
a fixed income, so it's not going up unless they
go back to work. So you've got to understand, here's
(43:43):
my income. I've got to make sure that my budget,
my monthly budget in retirement, does not exceed my income.
And if it does, you're going to see a slow
decline in that nest egg coupled with those years when
the nest egg drops anyway because of the market declining.
So the combination of withdrawing money for retirement and the
(44:04):
market falling, that's that sequence of returns. We have to
be careful, all right.
Speaker 4 (44:09):
But if I'm thinking about retiring, and I'm listening to
Mike Marshall on the radio right now, and I'm saying, Okay,
I'm going to make that call.
Speaker 3 (44:16):
Can I actually talk to Mike absolutely all.
Speaker 10 (44:20):
The meetings initially, especially because I want to introduce myself
and let these folks know what our priority, know what
our values are at Martial Wealth. Okay, to that, you
may have a meeting with a member of my team
to discuss social security planning. So those seven key areas
I mentioned, we have a specialist in all seven areas,
(44:41):
So I'm always in the first meeting to meet the client,
and then you may end up meeting with one of
my team members. And then obviously at the end I'm
always back because I give the final approval on all
designs that go out for any client.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
All right, all right, I feel better already.
Speaker 4 (44:57):
He's Mike Marshall and Martial Wealth Management up next.
Speaker 3 (45:01):
Well, remember wicked Good cupcakes.
Speaker 4 (45:03):
Well we're going to talk to the woman behind it,
the founder, Tracy Wheeler Noonan in just a moment, and
she's up to something.
Speaker 3 (45:10):
Well pretty wicked good. That's different.
Speaker 1 (45:12):
Now you are listening to the New England Business Report
on the Voice of Boston WRKO six 't eighty Joe
and Kim, We'll be right back.
Speaker 5 (45:27):
Are you a brother or sister of one of Greater
Boston's local trade unions and finally thinking about getting ready
to hang up your tools after thirty five years of
working your tail off. Congratulations, you worked hard to build
you a retirement nest egg. But now what Let me
help you break through the nonsense and financial speak so
we can get to the questions that are important to you.
As you know, nothing gets built without a set of plans,
(45:48):
and neither will you a financial future. My name is
Mike Marshall, President and CEO of Marshall Wealth Management and
creator of the Marshall Plan, a comprehensive, customized plan that
will help you answer important questions in all seven key areas.
You don't have to do it alone. There is no
cost or obligation. Call us at eight five seven three
four two ten thirty. That's eight five seven three four
(46:11):
two ten thirty. We'll check us out online at Marshallwealth
dot Com, Marshall with Twels, Marshallwealth dot Com.
Speaker 8 (46:18):
Advisory services offer through Capital Analysts or Lincoln Investment Registered
Investment Advisors. Securities offered through Lincoln Investment Broker Dealer Member Finra, SIPC,
Lincoln Investment dot Com, Marshall Wealth Management and the above
firms are independent and not affiliated.
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Speaker 2 (47:46):
Our next guest, Joe is an entrepreneur. She's an author,
she's a public speaker, but she's probably best known for
a business that she owned with her daughter. By the way,
she's a local woman, let's put from down on the
South Shore. It's a business that grew leaps and bounds
after making an appearance on Shark Tank on TV. Of course,
(48:07):
I'm talking about Wicked Good Cupcakes and now Tracy Wheeler
Noonan is starting a new year with a number of
new Projects and Tracy, it's great to have you here
on the New England Business Report.
Speaker 13 (48:17):
Oh, thank you so much. Kim and Joe, it's wonderful
to be here.
Speaker 4 (48:21):
I think the name of Wicked Good Cupcakes was Wicked Good.
I really do that kind of played into your success.
I know the cupcakes themselves were Wicked Good, but that
name really distinguished you.
Speaker 3 (48:34):
I mean in terms of I don't know, it drew
me to it.
Speaker 13 (48:36):
Well. You know what's really interesting, Joe, is that when
I was doing my research and my trademark and patent research,
I was so shocked no one had had chosen that name,
because if you're from Boston have a business, that's so iconic, right,
And we were really fortunate that we were able to
obtain that name.
Speaker 2 (48:58):
So let's walk back just for a second. I could
hear and talk a little bit about this whole experience.
You guys, you and your daughter were actually making cupcakes
out of your kitchen and we're doing okay, but you
wanted to take this business to the next level and
ended up on Shark Tank.
Speaker 12 (49:15):
Correct.
Speaker 13 (49:16):
So basically, we had taken a cake decorating class together
and just started posting what we were baking and creating online,
and then friends and family who were local started asking us,
can you make this for me? Do this for me?
And then weirdly we started getting requests from businesses. And
(49:37):
that was the point where you know, we have like
a wall ovens can bake two dozen at a time,
and we're getting orders for like two hundred and fifty
three hundred cupcakes. So at that point we had to
decide do we want to make this a business or
just rein it in and keep it a hobby. And
we decided at that point to go for it.
Speaker 4 (49:57):
Yeah, but getting on a shark tank wasn't easy either,
I'm guessing I mean take us through that quickly.
Speaker 13 (50:04):
Sure. So basically at that point in time, it was
season four and they were getting upwards of seventy five
thousand applications. Were really get us apart, and I won't
go into great detail, is one of our jars was
confiscated by the TSA at an airport and Danny and
(50:25):
I were deemed a national security threat overnight and that
went viral, so that kind of put us on the map.
And then the casting director for Shark ten gets from
Maine and she knew the story, so right there.
Speaker 12 (50:40):
She was intrigued.
Speaker 2 (50:42):
I love it well. I think the rest is history.
We all know that it went on to be a
multi million dollar business that the two of you have
ultimately sold. And so now, Tracy Wheeler Noonan, you are
moving into the next phase of entrepreneurship. So tell us
what's on the docket for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 13 (51:02):
So one of the things that I'm doing is a
passion project is.
Speaker 14 (51:07):
I'm in the process of putting together an online course
for entrepreneurs and it's really geared towards those who know
they want to have a business, have an idea, but
are really stuck right. They're spinning their wheels and they
don't know where to begin, and quite honestly, don't know
(51:28):
a whole lot about having a business. So it's going
to teach people things like, you know, what different investors are,
angel investors, what are they supply chain, how do you
manage inventory, brand building, marketing, dealing with employees, all the
things that you really need to have a grasp on
(51:50):
that we actually didn't when we started our business. So
I think it's going to be super helpful and.
Speaker 4 (51:56):
Interesting talking with a Tracy Wheeler Noon And of course
the founder of a Wicked Goed Cupcakes, which she sold
And I'm guessing I'm not surprised that you probably won't
tell me what you sold it for. You know, I
understand that, but I guess I am curious is when
did you sell and where are you as far as
you know, getting onto that next business.
Speaker 13 (52:19):
The deal closed in June of twenty twenty one and
we sold to Hickory Farms and it was really, I
have to say, the easiest acquisition because we had done
a campaign with them. We were the dessert in one
of their products offerings and it sold out and they
(52:39):
were really looking to add dessert to their lineup and
their and their catalog. And they knew us, they liked us,
we loved them, They were great to work with. So
it was really a very symbiotic transition, if you will.
Speaker 2 (52:55):
And you guys are completely out now right correct?
Speaker 13 (52:58):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (52:58):
Okay? All right? So, so I know that you're talking
about doing the entrepreneurship classes online. I know you also
have a memoir that's in the making that has anticipated
this year. What's what's the goal for for you, Tracy?
As an entrepreneur, do you hope to eventually start another business?
(53:21):
That turns out like Wicked Good Cupcakes. I mean, what's
the future hold for you?
Speaker 13 (53:25):
So that's a great question. One of my passions is mentoring,
and I had done a lot of and am looking
into doing more mentorship in high schools. I'd love to
go and talk to entrepreneur classes in high schools and
really find up from the kids what entrepreneur entrepreneurship means
(53:49):
to them. I find to say the word and what
they hope to do. And for me, I never had
the opportunity to go to college. My dad wouldn't send
me because I was a girl. And so I have
this special place in my heart for kids who either
(54:09):
are not going to have the opportunity to go to
college or maybe just don't want to go to college.
And I want to send the message that, you know what,
you can still do really big things with your high
school diploma. You might have to work a little bit
harder and learn things in a different way, but you
can be a tremendous success without a college degree. And
(54:32):
I think that's an important message.
Speaker 4 (54:35):
And now, of course you started Wicked Good Cupcakes with
your daughter, Danny. I'm curious as to where she is
at this point. In her life and her dreams, and
also the relationship with Kevin O'Leary.
Speaker 13 (54:46):
So Keevin will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Kevin did a lot to help us grow the business
in the sense that he could get us a lot
of media, and whenever we appeared on TV, and we
had a lot of television appearances, our sales just fight
and that really helped us. Don't forget, we had a
royalty deal with him, so every time we sold something,
(55:09):
he made money instantaneously. He was very motivated. We're still friends.
We don't really reach out to him a lot, there's
really no need. He's, you know, always and forever will
be a part of our life, and we're grateful to him.
Danny right now is exploring her options. She took a
(55:30):
little time to decide what she wanted to do, and
she's looking into some voice acting and just different different things.
And I'm really happy that she has this opportunity to
really do what she wants to do now. She worked
really hard and has earned that that.
Speaker 2 (55:52):
Right well, we're excited to see what's gonna happen for
you next. You know, I think entrepreneurship is a very
scary but certainly must be a very rewarding situation. The
online classes. When will they be available, Tracy?
Speaker 13 (56:09):
They will be available in the second quarter of twenty five.
Speaker 2 (56:15):
Okay, super And the book comes out later in the
year past present and Paris.
Speaker 13 (56:22):
Yes it does. And that was a memoir that I
literally took from a journal I kept following my divorce
two years ago. I chronicled almost every day what I
was going through, and mainly because it was really scary
to be in my sixties and have to start all
(56:44):
over again. And it just talked about everything, really raw, emotion, dating,
you name it. It just follows the whole gamut. And
I hope that it helps other women or men that,
you know what, you're not in this alone. If you're
starting over, you can do it, and life is not done.
(57:06):
You just need to get in the right mindset and
believe in yourself and just go for everything that you've wanted.
Speaker 2 (57:14):
Tracy Wheeler, Noonan, we thank you so much for being
a part of the show today.
Speaker 4 (57:18):
All right, Kim, time has come to talk about next
week's program here on the New England Business Report.
Speaker 3 (57:23):
You know what we're going for.
Speaker 4 (57:24):
The guest Rob Collins, Now he's the CEO of the
American Heritage Museum may not have heard of it, but
apparently it's a great take.
Speaker 3 (57:32):
It's out there in Hudson.
Speaker 4 (57:33):
Massachusetts, and they have all types of displays like military equipment, tanks,
historical stuff, World War Two, the old planes. I mean,
if you think your kids would get a kick out
of something, it's the American Heritage Museum. We'll have Rob
Collins as a guest next week here on the New
England Business Report. That is next Sunday morning on WRKO,
(57:55):
the Voice of Boston AM six eighty
This is the New England Business Report with Joe short
Sleeve and Kim Carrigan, a weekly round up in discussion
of the top business news impacting our New England economy.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, everybody in Welcome to the New England Business Report,
and happy New Year to everyone. I'm Kim Kerrigan along
with Joe short Sleeve and here we are, Joe, our
first show of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I know it.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
I know it Sunday, January the fifth, and we are
going to march through January.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Just we march through December. You know.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
I know New Year's Eve seems like a long time
ago at this point, but I wanted to bring it up, Kim,
because I spent New Year's Eve down in Chatham, and
you know, we spent a good part of our show
in December talking about the Christmas tradition down on caim Cod,
whether we're talking to Gary Thulander we crossed, or Paul
Ned's Wiki at the Chamber. I was in Chatham on
New Year's Eve and that place was jammed. I really unbelievable.
(00:55):
They had like a parade and I mean there are
thousands and thousands of people in the street.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I'm looking around going what is going on here? But
it was. It was great fun.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
It was, oh I bet it was. And good for
them because it looks like they are successful in making
Cape Cod and most specifically that that far southern part
of Cape Cod a real destination for the holidays. So
that's really terrific. Well, I hope you had a great
holiday season. If you're like me, I'm ready to get
(01:23):
back into a routine.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
What is that? What is a routine?
Speaker 5 (01:28):
Right?
Speaker 6 (01:28):
Well?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
That so true, that's so true. I've washed so many
towels and so many dishes and I just feel like,
you know, But it was a good one, that's for sure.
And I hope it was great for everyone, and I
hope it is the beginning of a really terrific year.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
For first, here's got their magic wands. So I did
my job. Okay, there you go.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
They're just kind of mad that they're not really magic.
You know, they thought they would be, thought they would.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Let's take a look at today's show, because we've got
a good one on tap. We're going to get get
it started with John Hurst. Of course, he's a president
of the Retailers Association in Massachusetts. We wanted to talk
to John today specifically because we want to look back
at how this holiday season played out for retailers here
in the state. You know, nationwide, a number of reports
have come out and we consumers spent about four percent
(02:17):
more than we did last year. We're hoping that pays
off for our local retailers as well. I was a
little surprised by that number.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Five way.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
I was surprised too, because everybody was kind of predicting
gloom and doom. And I mean, you know, John Hurst
is a great guest because you know what, he's the
one who said that the retailers in Massachusetts are probably
in a recession.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So we'll have you know, it'll be a good conversation.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Absolutely, So John's coming up here in just a few minutes. Also,
of course, new year means new legislative session up there
on Beacon Hill.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Here we go.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
So we're going to be joined by the deputy editor
of State House News, Colin Young. He's an old friend
of ours and a guy who really knows what's going
on up there at the State House. As we know, Joe,
they ended the last session, you know, really with some
dangling participles, if you will, and.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
So they'm mad too. They're mad.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
They think that the press really beat up on them,
you know, I mean they say that the media was
unfair to them.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Oh, the media unfair.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
I mean, come now, and lawmakers who are whiny, Why
don't think they fairly? That can't be right. No, he's
going to preview what we can anticipate happening up there
on Beacon Hill.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
Yeah, never mind Mara Healy in our eleven percent pay
raise that slipped right through their well nobody, well, nobody's
looking right.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
They happen on a Saturday night during the middle of
the holiday season.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Oh boy. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Also coming along in the program today executive editor, good
friend of ours, Doug Banks. He'll be talking about, well,
the big business stories of twenty twenty five as we
had that way, and you know what happened with the
commercial real estate in downtown Boston. Really everybody's wondering. Okay, well,
we hope them for a rebound. We didn't get it,
and I we'll see what's one twenty five brings. And
then of course we're going to have Mike Marshall of
(04:04):
Martial Wealth Management's going to join us and talk a
little bit about the Silver tsunami.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
As they call it.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
It's eleven thousand, two hundred people a day in this
country turned sixty five. Yeah, eleven thousand people a day,
something like over four million a year. So this this
whole retirement thing going on, and Mike Marshall's right in
the middle of it, and that'd be a good conversation
with him. And finally, Kim, you arranged this Tracy Wheeler
(04:32):
noonan of Shark Tank fame and you know, wicked good cupcakes.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, yeah, I guess it was a wicked good cupcake.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
He's at the truth. You know, she was on Shark
Take Back in the I know, twenty fourteen, something like that, fifteen,
and you know, mister Wonderful paired up with her and
Alvin Olui says, he says that was the best deal
that he got involved in on Shark thank ever.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
It was one of the fastest growing small companies in
the country, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
It's just phenomenal. It's unbelievable. But she's subsequently sold, she
and her daughter, and she's moving on and she's got
a really interesting story to tell me. She's a woman
who knows about entrepreneurship.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
All right, Kim, Well, we've been talking about it without
further ado. What we want to do is bring in
a John Hurst. Now, he, of course is the president
of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, a job he's had
since nineteen ninety. They represent some four thousand members across
the state. And John is somebody we always turned to to,
(05:35):
you know, take the temperature of the economy.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
How are we doing right?
Speaker 4 (05:39):
So we obviously want to talk to him about sales
and the Christmas season and look ahead to the first
quarter of twenty twenty five. John, you know, Kim and
I were a little surprised when we started looking at
the numbers here. It's actually MasterCard had a report out
saying holidays sales are stronger than last year, stronger than
a lot of people thought they would be. Now you're
somebody who was, you know, perhaps a little skeptical about
(06:00):
the holiday season and how it was going to shape up.
So what say you, mister Hurst?
Speaker 7 (06:06):
Uh, Joe, Kim, I I think there's there's a story
of winners and losers here, right. I think I think
the consumers ended up being relatively positive and and you know,
spent more than more than on average. You know, an
average holiday season is about three percent, and uh, you know,
(06:27):
it's appearing that they spend a little bit more than
that on average across the country. Now, you know, the
the key question that though is they have we have
to ask ourselves is where were those dollars spent? And
increasingly it looks to me we won't. We don't have
our own internal numbers yet, but we will here within
a week. It appears to me a lot of the
(06:49):
increase was was to online uh, to major sellers, uh,
you know, on the internet. Now, you know that's that's
a great thing for those sellers, but not necessarily a
great thing for local mom and pops and local economy.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Are you aren't your members online? John?
Speaker 7 (07:09):
Well, you know, a good sixty percent of our members
are now online. That's that's way up before COVID, where
it was only about a quarter. They are online. But
you know, you know, for a small business, a good
proportion of online versus brick and mortars maybe fifteen percent
internet sales versus eighty five percent brick and mortar. Now
(07:32):
a large national chain, it may be closer to fifty
to fifty. You know, as far as the ratio of
online in store, small businesses have ways to go yet
to catch up with that kind of ratio.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Well, John, if that plays out the way that you
are sort of anticipating it might, what's the answer for
these small businesses? How you know, can they start to
profit more off of online or to take advantage of
that situation?
Speaker 7 (08:04):
Well, Kim, I think you know they're they're getting there slowly,
but surely they will. Related to the game, Like I said,
a lot of them weren't even online until they were
forced to with the shutdowns and restrictions under COVID. You know,
I think they need to more of them need to
also look at other options online. They may have a
(08:24):
standalone website. They ought to think a little bit about marketplaces.
Whether you know, there's of course Amazon Marketplace, but there's
other marketplaces as well as the Walmart and and several
others other ways to to uh get more exposure and
more sales. You need to look at a combination there.
(08:45):
And you know, it's a process. It's a process of
really integrating what you know your consumers are coming through
your front door and and and trying to establish multiple
ways from them to come back and do additional sales
for you, even from their smartphone when they aren't going
to come into your store, so you know it's getting there,
(09:07):
but I you know they've got a waste to go
to increase the sales. In the meantime, you know, from
our perspective, we're going to really focus on what we
can do to lower their costs. Because if your sales
are not rising, in some cases, they're dropping. The only
way you're going to keep your doors open is to
lower your costs. And that's really going to be a
major message from us to the leaders up and begin
(09:31):
Hill this year.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
All right, well how do we do that, John Hurst,
president of the Retailers Association, how do we lower the costs?
Speaker 7 (09:38):
Well, I think I think one of the things we've
got to we've got to look at state mandated costs.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (09:43):
So you know we need the politicians to look in
the mirror, you know, And it's not enough to say,
you look, our housing costs are real high without looking
at now, what does what's a proportion of property taxes
to that. It's not enough to say that, you know,
our small businesses are strugg going without also looking in
the mirror and saying, how does our health insurance laws
(10:06):
discriminate against a small business? And their workforces versus a
big business. That's a big one. Payroll taxes. January first,
we saw another UI Unemployment insurance tax increase. On average,
that's going to be about a thirty six percent increase,
a tax increase for employers in Massachusetts. And our unemployment
(10:28):
level is still you know, it's it's inched up a
little bit, but it's under four percent. What is causing
these huge tax increases. I think it's a It's probably
the worst UI system in the entire country. That's a
competitive problem. We need to start looking at at some
of these state mandated systems that you know, a small
(10:50):
business cannot cannot afford and cannot escape if they want
to operate in Massachusetts.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Well, John, you're talking about some of the things that
you're hoping to do obviously up on Beacon Hill in
twenty twenty five. What's the outlook for twenty twenty five
from your point of view?
Speaker 7 (11:07):
Well, you know, I think it's if from the consumer standpoint,
I think, you know, as long as we don't fall
into a recession, that's a good thing. They can keep
keep spending. And you know, if you know, of late
they're still spending. Maybe not quite you know, is it
sustainable because you know, incomes are not rising quite as
(11:31):
as fast as they did a couple of years ago.
We'll see what happens on that front. But it's you know,
what the consumer does is important because they represent seventy
percent of our economy and you know it. You know,
whether they are spending and whether they're positive and where
they are spending is very very important for our small
businesses here in Massachusetts. We we want them to spend
(11:55):
in Massachusetts, not necessarily a majority online or not necessarily
a majority up in New Hampshire. We've got to look
at public policy where it sometimes is counterproductive to those objectives.
And and you know, uh, I think we probably could
do go a little further than what we did this
(12:16):
past session as far as more money back in the
pockets of taxpayers who are also consumers. We didn't go
quite as far as we we probably should have as
far as state tax cuts, you know, on the heels
of the millionaires tax, you know, which is bringing in
more than anticipated. You know, are there ways that we
can put money back into the pockets of our our
(12:38):
consumers a little bit more to to help them, uh,
you know, be in the black each and every month
as they try to to work and raise a family,
and and and and and retire here in Massachusetts as
opposed to somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Well, John, you did it again. You brought up the
R word.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
Last time you were on this program, you talked about recession,
and this time you said, it's still an open question, right,
is that what you feel?
Speaker 7 (13:04):
I feel we're kind of we we are we are
on an edge where we could go either way. You know,
no question, there's some contraction as far as as job creation.
There's you know, consumers are still hanging in there, but
they can't hang in there if they don't have good
(13:25):
job opportunities and good wage increases. So it's it's going
to be how we how we do in this first
quarter in twenty twenty five will be very telling. You know.
Hopefully there's there's both a good strong consumer competence and
multo business confidence and we continue to grow. But if
we do fall into a recession, hopefully it's it's short
(13:48):
and very uh, you know, very shallow, and we can
bounce right back. You know, Let's let's face it, Economies
move in in cycles, and it's been a while since
we have out of recession. It's avoiding one is going
to be somewhat difficult, but not impossible.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
All right. He's a John Hurst.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
He's the president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. Thanks
for joining us on of New England Business Report this
Sunday morning. Up NeXT's going to go up to Beacon Hill. Yeah,
they're back in business up there. We'll talk to Colin Young,
deputed the enter of the State House News Service.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
That's coming up.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
You are listening to the New England Business Report on
the Voice of Boston WRKO six 't eighty. Joe and
Kim will be right back.
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Speaker 2 (16:42):
Well, new Year means new legislative session upon Beacon Hill.
This after the last session left a whole lot of
loose ends. Deputy editor of State House News Colin Young
joining us, and we're so glad to have Colin with
a season man who knows all when it comes to
Beacon Hill. Colin, first off, Happy New Year, Great to
have you along. And look, you bet it looks like
(17:04):
this session is going to start sort of like most
of them do, with lots of rule considerations. They go
through all the protocol first, right exactly.
Speaker 6 (17:12):
The legislative session always takes a little while to actually
get going. It usually isn't until towards the end of
February that committees are assigned and then bills will start
flowing into committees and hearings can get going, you know,
after March and into the springtime. But you're right, Before
they can start considering new legislation, the House and Senate
(17:37):
have to consider their own rules, the things that they're
going to abide by for the two year session. And
there's been a lot of talk that there's going to
be some changes. Usually from session to session there are
a few tweaks, but this year it looks like they're
going to be some more wholesale changes. The big one
that we're watching is whether the House and Senate will
(17:59):
do away with the July thirty first deadline. This is
the one that they sort of failed to live up
to this past year and c or that requires them
to wrap up work by July thirty first. They want
to maybe scrap that, maybe move that later in the year,
or just say, you know, the legislative session is two
(18:21):
years and they can pass any bills at any point
during those two year sessions. So that would be a
big change to the legislative.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
All these people have other jobs, though, I mean, so
I would guess that there might be a little pushback
up there.
Speaker 6 (18:34):
That's right, you know, and we already hear that of
lawmakers saying that they don't get enough of a heads
up on when big bills are going to come to
the floor, you know, so they can plan their own
work and their own lives, so there might be some
pushback from the rank and file.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
Yeah, I thought that the big story that sort of know,
they teach you in public relations, you know, if you
want to announce some news that you don't want people
to really hear, right, you do it? Well, let me
see you do it on July fourth, do it Thanksgiving morning?
Or are you do it on in this case New
Year's eve. Mara Healy eleven percent pay increase is pushed through.
(19:12):
I thought that was fascinating.
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Yeah, and this is one of these where, you know,
legislators set themselves up for this a few years ago
with a pay raise law that they passed that tied
their pay to changes in the state's economic conditions. So
that's how the governor got to eleven percent. Was looking
at these very specific economic indicators that the law calls
(19:40):
calls out and she says, well, you know, these indicators
say eleven percent, and the law says that the increased
legislators get. But of course, you know, I don't think
hardly anyone else's pay is increasing eleven percent on an
annual basis in Massachusetts, most people are lucky to get
a few percent points increase, so sort of another example
(20:03):
of the legislature being in some ways out of step
with everyday based stators.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Well, it's really interesting because if you remember, just a
couple of years ago, law stated that taxpayers got a
refund and they didn't like that too terribly much. So
it's interesting the laws they like to abide by exact
when we do start to get into full swing, which
is really interesting that they go to work in January
(20:30):
but don't get into full swing until late February. But
when they do, what are you anticipating, Colin, What are
going to be some of the big things we're going
to want to watch?
Speaker 6 (20:39):
I think the really big one shaping up for early
this year is transportation and transportation financing. This was something
that governor launched a task force on in twenty twenty four.
The group was supposed to come back with the report
and recommendations on how the state should finance public transportation
(20:59):
by the end of last year. They didn't meet that deadline,
so we're still waiting on that report. But there's a
looming budget gap of about seven hundred million dollars at
the MBTA the state has long been needing to come
up with a more holistic way of financing road and
(21:21):
bridge repairs, other road infrastructure expansions and improvements. Never mind
the MBTA, you look at the commuter rail system and
other rail service across the state. And right now the
state is in a situation where there's a big surplus
of money from that income tax, the cyart tax on
(21:43):
people who aren't a million dollars a year, and there's
more than a billion dollars of that revenue sitting aside
waiting to be appropriated. And I think the legislature will
probably apply a lot of that billion dollars towards transportation issues,
and I think that's going to occupy a lot of
their time early this year, is trying to figure out,
(22:05):
you know, really what's the path forward for paying for
transportation in Massachusetts.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
It's a good question, certainly, especially with New York going
forward with the congestion pricing exactly. Yeah, I mean that's
a huge issue. And the other other thing I caught
my attention, and I'm sure it did yours because you
work up there full time. It was the leadership Marianno
and Spilka. They had some negative things to say about
the press, about the media, about the way they've been treated.
(22:32):
What's going on with that column they do?
Speaker 6 (22:35):
Yeah, there was there's quite a lot of that last week,
and all the new lawmakers were sworn in. A few
slices that the media. You know, I think a lot
of it stems from a series of reports that the
Boston Globe has done over the last nine months or so,
looking at how the House and Senate do budget ear marks,
(22:56):
looking at some of the personal relationships at play up here,
with at least one key lawmaker who's dating a lobbyist
who lobbies his committee.
Speaker 10 (23:07):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (23:08):
And you know, I think that they're sort of frustrated
when you consider that reporting and then the fact that
an overwhelming majority of voters this November said they want
the state auditor to be able to scrub the books
of the House and Senate. You know, I think the
legislative leaders are feeling like they're sort of being targeted
(23:28):
right now, they think unfairly.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Uh, of course, you know, I'm sorry. It's a little
bit laughable. I mean, what's what's wrong with having an audit?
You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (23:39):
What is everybody else does?
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Yeah, I mean I don't know. I guess I see
it as an that, you know, good.
Speaker 6 (23:46):
For some and and uh maybe not for us type
of situation. You know, I think that's that that's kind
of their issue. There's plenty of great reporting that comes
out of Beacon Hill that you know, doesn't get into
the scandal or the personal issues that are at play,
and really is it dives deep on the policy and
(24:06):
the politics that go on up here. But of course
that's not what's going to you know, catch someone's attention,
and that's usually not what gets people around the state talking.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah, finally, last question for me, colin, real quickly here.
It looks like all the leadership will stay in place.
Speaker 6 (24:22):
Yes, yeah, everyone is in place at least to start
this term. And you know, of course we're always watching
to see if there could possibly be a change of.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Top either branch Alan Young, thank you so much, great insight.
And it should be a very exciting legislative session, you know,
with their pockets being padded now with a little increase
in their pay, Joe.
Speaker 10 (24:43):
So.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Quiet them down a little bit, right.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
All right, still coming your way. Executive editor or the
Bust of Business journal are good friend, Doug Banks, He's
going to join us talk about new year, New business
and some of the challenges related to commercial real estate.
They can continue right into the new year that's coming
up right here on the New England Business Report.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Kim and Joe will explore more business news that impacts
our New England economy when they return.
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(27:16):
Kim Kerrigan.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
And I'm Joe Shortsley. If you want to be part
of the New England Business Report sponsorships are still available.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
You can email us at Any Business Radio at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
That's Any Business Radio all one word at gmail dot com,
and we'll get your business on the show too. He
and welcome back to the New England Business Report on
this Sunday morning on January the fifth.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
And this is the spot on the.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Program where Kim and I pick out a couple of
business stories that tickled our.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
Fancy, so to speak.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
I'm something you may have heard about, something you may
not have heard about, but I've been I'm still fascinated
by our real estate industry and what's going on there.
And there's a story in the Boston Business Journal that
talks about homes and Metro Boston taking longer to sell.
The data shows interesting, it's finally turning. Supposedly inventory is
(28:14):
up and homes are taken longer to sell. And the
question is, you know, does that mean that prices will
be coming down? And I guess there's some evidence that
obviously in the commercial market, the residential market not so much.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Kim, Yeah, absolutely, Well, it's been a long time since
there's been a glut of homes on the market, so
we really we haven't tested the waters here, Joe for
a long time. It'll be interesting to see. Obviously, this
is not the greatest time to have your house on
the market. That spring market getting started late February early March,
and you know, many realtors have said that's the time
(28:45):
you want to be selling your house.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
That was always a great story in the Globe that
I saw that. It was written by Dana Gerber of
the Boston Globe, and it's about the whole idea of
arcades making a comeback in Greater Boston. I mean, but
this growing up and an arcade was a cool thing.
Then they just went away, and now this generation is
bringing them back.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Well, you know what's interesting about this story. I've read
this story as well. You know, I think they went
away because kids started playing video games at home, right,
And now all of a sudden, kids are sort of
bored with being at home and they've got to go
somewhere else to play their games. Well, here we are
in twenty twenty five, and Joe, you know, it sort
of feels like a broken record where you're stepping off
(29:27):
again in twenty twenty five where we left off in
twenty twenty four and that's that. You know, a lot
of real estate projects in the city are kind of teetering,
and it's not a lot of question marks. Yeah, a
lot of question marks, not real clear what the new
year is going to bring. The Boston Business Journal has
done a really super piece about this exact issue in
their newest edition, Ten Boston Area real estate projects to
(29:51):
watch in twenty twenty five. Executive editor of the Boston
Business Journal joining us Doug Banks, done good to have you.
A long and happy new year, sir.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
Happy new year to you.
Speaker 12 (30:00):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
You bet. So, let's talk about some of these projects.
First off, you know, the state of real estate in
the city. You know, I think I was correct in
saying we sort of watched a lot of problems in
twenty four and we're just kind of stepping right into
them in twenty five.
Speaker 7 (30:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 12 (30:17):
I think that it's really interesting. I mean, if you
drive through the city or even just outside and you
know Prince like Cambridge or Brooklyn, you will see big cranes, right,
I mean, the crane watch is real. There's still there
are projects that are taking place, but there are you know,
as many or more that are also approved, ready to
go and just in a in a state of limbo,
(30:37):
whether it's you know, the white stadium project at Mattapan
that's hung up in court, or projects like you know,
the Suffolk Downs, Mayne's, Boston and Revere that's you know,
waiting on construction financing. So there's a number of different
projects that Greg Ryan RC Reporter took a look at
that are you know, scheduled to come online in some
(30:57):
form of fashion in twenty twenty five, and you know,
it's it's all sort of mixed bag, if you will.
There's you know, they've signed a couple of them, have
signed a ten, but not for as much space as
it's like, and you know, happy to talk about one
or two of those if you'd like.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
Yeah, I mean, I really think it's the white stadium
issue there in Mattapan that it really has caught my attention.
Kim and I were just chatting about it, and you know,
obviously they're trying to renovate White Stadium so a national
women's a soccer team can play there in twenty twenty six,
and Kim and I just don't understand the opposition here.
It is you have this dilapidated facility that you know,
(31:35):
could be completely renovated and beautiful and the kids of
Boston be able to use it.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
I don't understand the opposition.
Speaker 12 (31:44):
Yeah, you're not wrong. It really it seemed like a
no brainer. You've got to pro a professional women's soccer team,
You've got you know, teaming with the City of Boston.
You know, the City of Boston has someone who's going
to spend you know, half or more of the project's work.
Was originally planned to be a fifty million dollar construction project.
(32:04):
I mean, the thing's stilapidated now, you know, it's it's
up to ninety million, and of course construction is super
expensive materials or expensive, but it does it seems like
it would be a no brainer, and yet there's been
this this big fight. The community feels like that this
renovation violates the public trust for use in the park.
(32:24):
They think that they're not going to be able to
have as much use for it. But of course the
city has said, you know, Boston Public Schools is going
to be given priority and scheduling, and you've got you've
got all this finacy employee. So it definitely seems like
a project that could have been simple turned into you know,
something that's now it's pending in court and who knows
what's going to happen. And of course you've got the
(32:46):
potential sadium and effort for the New England Revolution, which
could be an alternative for you know, the soccer team
bost Nation as it's called, could be a place for
them to go. So it's that's going to be definitely
an interesting one to watch. One I'm watching honestly, it's
probably a little more whole high profile downtown Ofton and
that's the South Station towers.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
People.
Speaker 12 (33:07):
You know, you've been watching South Station. It's one of
our most historic buildings in the city going up. And
you've got a fifty one story tower that's coming up right,
you know, in the in the heart of it, which
you know many of the upper floors will be rich
Carlton condos. And then they just hind the development and
just scored their first tenant in a big law firm
(33:28):
Doon to day. But you know, which would be great
because so many other projects in the city have not
found a tenant yet. But Jones they only took two floors,
which is not a lot.
Speaker 6 (33:37):
For a big, big law firm like that.
Speaker 12 (33:39):
So again sort of mixed messaging. Yes they uh, you
got this big project. Yes to cut offices and housing,
but they're still looking for that, you know, for those
tenants to fill up that office space.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
You know, Doug. The one that I watched the most
because I drive past it all the time, of course,
is the Suffolk Down situation there in East Boston and Revere.
H y M Investment Group building this you know, just
huge almost community, I think is the best way to
say it, and it certainly was promising a lot of housing.
Tom O'Brien has had approval, he's got one building finished
(34:14):
and now has come to a complete stop because of
construction costs. Talk us through that, No, I.
Speaker 12 (34:21):
Think you've described it very well.
Speaker 7 (34:23):
That's exactly right.
Speaker 12 (34:25):
When you look at the number of housing units that
have been approved already in the city Suffolk Downs, that
East Boston and Revere project, Yes, that one building is there,
but they have over seven thousand units that have been approved.
Now that's over. That's like a quarter of all of
the housing that has been approved in the city of Boston.
(34:47):
But it can't we know, obviously we need more housing.
The housing costs here are so expensive. We need more
supply to lessen the demand. But to your point, construction
financing has been really hard to come by for for
Tom O'Brien and the Hym folks, and so they haven't
been able to start on that second building. They're ready
to start on the second building, you know, as soon
(35:08):
as they can get that financing. And then there was
also a life scientist building that was supposed to go
up right next to it, and the life sciences market
tanked in the last two years, so that has been
put on hold as well. So I think ten years
from now we'll look back and we won't remember all
of this if they can make this work. But you know,
today's HYM is, you know, definitely they ready to go.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
They want to go.
Speaker 12 (35:30):
They're just they work previously to get that financing it
and hopefully we'll see it. And to your point, I
see that all the time as well. I live right
here there, so I see that that project all the time,
and it's it's it's going to be really interesting to watch.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
Doug Banks executve vendor to the Boston Business Journal. Is
our guest, Well, you said it, ten years from now,
we won't be bothered by this. Is that the timeline
in your head? Seriously, seriously, I mean, how long is
it going to take?
Speaker 12 (35:55):
I think for the Suffolk Downs project, they are looking
at it.
Speaker 6 (35:58):
You know, they were looking at a twenty year ride.
Speaker 12 (36:00):
When they first propose this. So there, you know, there's
going to be tens of thousand of the units eventually,
but you know, these first few years, it's gonna it's
going to.
Speaker 7 (36:08):
Take a little while.
Speaker 12 (36:09):
But a lot of the other projects that we're looking at,
whether they're in the Seaport District or South Boston, we'll
see the you know, the first construction or they'll land,
their first tenant will be in twenty twenty five. But
these are all you know, long term projects in the way.
With a new administed federal administration coming in it, you know,
(36:30):
everything's kind of put on hold until you see what
what the what the markets are going to do. So
it's you know, we're we're sort of at a wait
and see stage for a lot of these projects. But
once they start popping, it's going to be you're going
to see another another big change throughout the city.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
You know, that is an interesting thing to be in
this situation with these projects and have a new administration
coming in in Washington that can certainly change things. Doug Banks,
executive editor of the Boston Business Journal. We're glad you
could be with us. So those are going to be
interesting product to watch throughout this year and to see
the ones that and you and I very you know,
(37:05):
I feel like we have sort of an intimate attachment
to Tom O'Brien because we interviewed him so frequently over
at Bloomberg when he was putting that project together, you know,
doubt about so passionately about it.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
Yeah, a frequent guest.
Speaker 4 (37:17):
The largest housing development in the history of the city
going on and then boom hit the brakes stop. Yeah,
But also, Kim, we were also right across the street
from South Station and that whole new tower that was
going up there, So we've really been right in the
middle of it. I do think that the timeline question
is interesting, and he just sort of said ten years,
but it could be ten years, you bet, all.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Right, Kim.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
We talked about it a little earlier in the program,
and it is really the staggering number of people that
are reaching retirement age. Consider this, eleven two hundred people
a day a day in this country will turn sixty
five years old. That's some four million each year, every
year for the next three years. That's just the beginning.
(38:00):
So let's bring in a Mike Marshall of Marshal Wealth Management.
Mike is somebody who must have a phone bank at
his placed at this point with people calling for help
with retirement and what to do with all that money
they saved over the years. Mike, Welcome in the Happy
New Year.
Speaker 10 (38:16):
Good morning Joe and Tim, and the happy New Year
to you as well. Yeah, it's it's basically been like
a title wave of people that are finally looking for advice.
And you know, a lot of these baby boomers they're
going to retire over the next five, ten, fifteen years,
and the key is to start the planning before you
(38:37):
get into the area where you're going to need to retire.
So I mean, you know, Joe, Tim, it's not rocket science,
but you do need a plan. I mean, there's no
way around it. You've got to have a plan in
place for a successful retirement.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
So let's talk a little bit about what your experience
has been like, because these baby boomers are out there.
Are you seeing an influx? Are people taking your advice
and putting together a plan?
Speaker 10 (39:05):
You know, they are, Like I said, it's been a
steady flow of people who are turning, you know, age
sixty and then obviously into their sixty mid sixties, and
they understand now that they can't just do it themselves.
You know, it's much too complex and there's too much
on the line. I mean, think about not having a
(39:25):
plan for retirement with your life savings. Basically you're playing
Russian roulette with your life savings. And again, it doesn't
have to be so complex that you get overwhelmed. But
you've got to have a plan for all seven key years.
You know we've talked about in the past. I mean
there's state planning, retirement planning, insurance planning, and tax planning.
(39:48):
They all go together. You don't just have one. You
have to have them all in order to have a
comprehensive plan. And that's the key.
Speaker 4 (39:54):
Yeah, okay, so okay, I call you up, We sit down,
We we got going. What is the business side for you?
What is the business side for me in terms of
cost and preparation to get where we need to go.
Speaker 10 (40:06):
That's a great question. And we talk about how we
make money and how we charge our clients. But for
me to tell a client exactly how we would see
them and what we would see them. That happens after
we do the plan design, gather all the information, talk
to them about their goals, their objectives, see what they need,
and then design the plan for them. And then once
(40:26):
we design the plan, we come out we talk about
what the fees would be for this type of design.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
Mike Marshall is our guest. Mike, I'm always fascinating with
the timeline. So you know, we're talking about all of
these people turning sixty five right now, how far before
your sixty fifth birthday do you or your plans to retire.
Let's put it that way, how far in advance do
we need to sit down and start this portfolio? And then,
having said that, how frequently do we need to meet
(40:54):
once we've got to put together?
Speaker 10 (40:56):
In my opinion, you need to stop looking at winding
down or transitioning your asset your investments five years before
you're actually going to start drawing on those investments, because
if you don't, then you wait a year or two
before we have a correction just before you're ready to
start drawing income. That can decimate your nest egg to
(41:20):
the point where your nest deck never recovers from that
dissent on the market. And so we call it the
sequence of returns, and it's something that you must be
aware of once you retire and start drawing income. If
you're drawing income from a falling market, a falling portfolio,
then that's dangerous because that portfolio may never return to
(41:44):
where it was in the beginning. So sequence of returns
is one of those things that people really don't know about.
They really need to know about so that we can
plan to offset it.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
Mike Marshall's Our Guests of Martial Wealth Management. I guess
you know people when they talk about retiring, Mike, they
often don't. Some have a choice, some don't in terms
of Okay, I got to retire on this day, but
a lot of people say, well, is it a good
time to retire? A big picture right now, as we
look at what's going on in our financial world, is
this a good time to retire.
Speaker 10 (42:16):
That's a great question, Joe. I mean, retirement, when you
want to retire is a very very personal decision. Okay, Now, financially,
you can retire once you're financially able to do so.
But a lot of people are able to retire, but
they don't want to, they'd rather keep working. So you know,
in those situations we talk about move, maybe retire from
(42:39):
your official long term position in the economy, I mean
in the business world, which you know can be st
stressful if you're working for Corporate America, and maybe retire
from that and then you know, maybe get a little
side job or side you know, hobby that you enjoy doing,
something that you don't think of it as work. You know,
they say, if you love your work, you don't work,
(43:00):
and you never work a day in your life. But
you know, these folks are ready to retire, usually around
sixty five, sixty seven somewhere in there.
Speaker 2 (43:10):
And Mike, I have to assume the number one question
that you're asked is will my money run out? How
how do you stress test? How do you make that determination?
For people?
Speaker 10 (43:22):
Well, that's another great question. I mean, think about this,
Will my money run out? Well, yes, if you're spending
more than you're taking in. So you've got to have
the knowledge of what you're bringing in. You've got to
understand that this is my income. Usually retirees are on
a fixed income, so it's not going up unless they
go back to work. So you've got to understand, here's
(43:43):
my income. I've got to make sure that my budget,
my monthly budget in retirement, does not exceed my income.
And if it does, you're going to see a slow
decline in that nest egg coupled with those years when
the nest egg drops anyway because of the market declining.
So the combination of withdrawing money for retirement and the
(44:04):
market falling, that's that sequence of returns. We have to
be careful, all right.
Speaker 4 (44:09):
But if I'm thinking about retiring, and I'm listening to
Mike Marshall on the radio right now, and I'm saying, Okay,
I'm going to make that call.
Speaker 3 (44:16):
Can I actually talk to Mike absolutely all.
Speaker 10 (44:20):
The meetings initially, especially because I want to introduce myself
and let these folks know what our priority, know what
our values are at Martial Wealth. Okay, to that, you
may have a meeting with a member of my team
to discuss social security planning. So those seven key areas
I mentioned, we have a specialist in all seven areas,
(44:41):
So I'm always in the first meeting to meet the client,
and then you may end up meeting with one of
my team members. And then obviously at the end I'm
always back because I give the final approval on all
designs that go out for any client.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
All right, all right, I feel better already.
Speaker 4 (44:57):
He's Mike Marshall and Martial Wealth Management up next.
Speaker 3 (45:01):
Well, remember wicked Good cupcakes.
Speaker 4 (45:03):
Well we're going to talk to the woman behind it,
the founder, Tracy Wheeler Noonan in just a moment, and
she's up to something.
Speaker 3 (45:10):
Well pretty wicked good. That's different.
Speaker 1 (45:12):
Now you are listening to the New England Business Report
on the Voice of Boston WRKO six 't eighty Joe
and Kim, We'll be right back.
Speaker 5 (45:27):
Are you a brother or sister of one of Greater
Boston's local trade unions and finally thinking about getting ready
to hang up your tools after thirty five years of
working your tail off. Congratulations, you worked hard to build
you a retirement nest egg. But now what Let me
help you break through the nonsense and financial speak so
we can get to the questions that are important to you.
As you know, nothing gets built without a set of plans,
(45:48):
and neither will you a financial future. My name is
Mike Marshall, President and CEO of Marshall Wealth Management and
creator of the Marshall Plan, a comprehensive, customized plan that
will help you answer important questions in all seven key areas.
You don't have to do it alone. There is no
cost or obligation. Call us at eight five seven three
four two ten thirty. That's eight five seven three four
(46:11):
two ten thirty. We'll check us out online at Marshallwealth
dot Com, Marshall with Twels, Marshallwealth dot Com.
Speaker 8 (46:18):
Advisory services offer through Capital Analysts or Lincoln Investment Registered
Investment Advisors. Securities offered through Lincoln Investment Broker Dealer Member Finra, SIPC,
Lincoln Investment dot Com, Marshall Wealth Management and the above
firms are independent and not affiliated.
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Speaker 2 (47:46):
Our next guest, Joe is an entrepreneur. She's an author,
she's a public speaker, but she's probably best known for
a business that she owned with her daughter. By the way,
she's a local woman, let's put from down on the
South Shore. It's a business that grew leaps and bounds
after making an appearance on Shark Tank on TV. Of course,
(48:07):
I'm talking about Wicked Good Cupcakes and now Tracy Wheeler
Noonan is starting a new year with a number of
new Projects and Tracy, it's great to have you here
on the New England Business Report.
Speaker 13 (48:17):
Oh, thank you so much. Kim and Joe, it's wonderful
to be here.
Speaker 4 (48:21):
I think the name of Wicked Good Cupcakes was Wicked Good.
I really do that kind of played into your success.
I know the cupcakes themselves were Wicked Good, but that
name really distinguished you.
Speaker 3 (48:34):
I mean in terms of I don't know, it drew
me to it.
Speaker 13 (48:36):
Well. You know what's really interesting, Joe, is that when
I was doing my research and my trademark and patent research,
I was so shocked no one had had chosen that name,
because if you're from Boston have a business, that's so iconic, right,
And we were really fortunate that we were able to
obtain that name.
Speaker 2 (48:58):
So let's walk back just for a second. I could
hear and talk a little bit about this whole experience.
You guys, you and your daughter were actually making cupcakes
out of your kitchen and we're doing okay, but you
wanted to take this business to the next level and
ended up on Shark Tank.
Speaker 12 (49:15):
Correct.
Speaker 13 (49:16):
So basically, we had taken a cake decorating class together
and just started posting what we were baking and creating online,
and then friends and family who were local started asking us,
can you make this for me? Do this for me?
And then weirdly we started getting requests from businesses. And
(49:37):
that was the point where you know, we have like
a wall ovens can bake two dozen at a time,
and we're getting orders for like two hundred and fifty
three hundred cupcakes. So at that point we had to
decide do we want to make this a business or
just rein it in and keep it a hobby. And
we decided at that point to go for it.
Speaker 4 (49:57):
Yeah, but getting on a shark tank wasn't easy either,
I'm guessing I mean take us through that quickly.
Speaker 13 (50:04):
Sure. So basically at that point in time, it was
season four and they were getting upwards of seventy five
thousand applications. Were really get us apart, and I won't
go into great detail, is one of our jars was
confiscated by the TSA at an airport and Danny and
(50:25):
I were deemed a national security threat overnight and that
went viral, so that kind of put us on the map.
And then the casting director for Shark ten gets from
Maine and she knew the story, so right there.
Speaker 12 (50:40):
She was intrigued.
Speaker 2 (50:42):
I love it well. I think the rest is history.
We all know that it went on to be a
multi million dollar business that the two of you have
ultimately sold. And so now, Tracy Wheeler Noonan, you are
moving into the next phase of entrepreneurship. So tell us
what's on the docket for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 13 (51:02):
So one of the things that I'm doing is a
passion project is.
Speaker 14 (51:07):
I'm in the process of putting together an online course
for entrepreneurs and it's really geared towards those who know
they want to have a business, have an idea, but
are really stuck right. They're spinning their wheels and they
don't know where to begin, and quite honestly, don't know
(51:28):
a whole lot about having a business. So it's going
to teach people things like, you know, what different investors are,
angel investors, what are they supply chain, how do you
manage inventory, brand building, marketing, dealing with employees, all the
things that you really need to have a grasp on
(51:50):
that we actually didn't when we started our business. So
I think it's going to be super helpful and.
Speaker 4 (51:56):
Interesting talking with a Tracy Wheeler Noon And of course
the founder of a Wicked Goed Cupcakes, which she sold
And I'm guessing I'm not surprised that you probably won't
tell me what you sold it for. You know, I
understand that, but I guess I am curious is when
did you sell and where are you as far as
you know, getting onto that next business.
Speaker 13 (52:19):
The deal closed in June of twenty twenty one and
we sold to Hickory Farms and it was really, I
have to say, the easiest acquisition because we had done
a campaign with them. We were the dessert in one
of their products offerings and it sold out and they
(52:39):
were really looking to add dessert to their lineup and
their and their catalog. And they knew us, they liked us,
we loved them, They were great to work with. So
it was really a very symbiotic transition, if you will.
Speaker 2 (52:55):
And you guys are completely out now right correct?
Speaker 13 (52:58):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (52:58):
Okay? All right? So, so I know that you're talking
about doing the entrepreneurship classes online. I know you also
have a memoir that's in the making that has anticipated
this year. What's what's the goal for for you, Tracy?
As an entrepreneur, do you hope to eventually start another business?
(53:21):
That turns out like Wicked Good Cupcakes. I mean, what's
the future hold for you?
Speaker 13 (53:25):
So that's a great question. One of my passions is mentoring,
and I had done a lot of and am looking
into doing more mentorship in high schools. I'd love to
go and talk to entrepreneur classes in high schools and
really find up from the kids what entrepreneur entrepreneurship means
(53:49):
to them. I find to say the word and what
they hope to do. And for me, I never had
the opportunity to go to college. My dad wouldn't send
me because I was a girl. And so I have
this special place in my heart for kids who either
(54:09):
are not going to have the opportunity to go to
college or maybe just don't want to go to college.
And I want to send the message that, you know what,
you can still do really big things with your high
school diploma. You might have to work a little bit
harder and learn things in a different way, but you
can be a tremendous success without a college degree. And
(54:32):
I think that's an important message.
Speaker 4 (54:35):
And now, of course you started Wicked Good Cupcakes with
your daughter, Danny. I'm curious as to where she is
at this point. In her life and her dreams, and
also the relationship with Kevin O'Leary.
Speaker 13 (54:46):
So Keevin will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Kevin did a lot to help us grow the business
in the sense that he could get us a lot
of media, and whenever we appeared on TV, and we
had a lot of television appearances, our sales just fight
and that really helped us. Don't forget, we had a
royalty deal with him, so every time we sold something,
(55:09):
he made money instantaneously. He was very motivated. We're still friends.
We don't really reach out to him a lot, there's
really no need. He's, you know, always and forever will
be a part of our life, and we're grateful to him.
Danny right now is exploring her options. She took a
(55:30):
little time to decide what she wanted to do, and
she's looking into some voice acting and just different different things.
And I'm really happy that she has this opportunity to
really do what she wants to do now. She worked
really hard and has earned that that.
Speaker 2 (55:52):
Right well, we're excited to see what's gonna happen for
you next. You know, I think entrepreneurship is a very
scary but certainly must be a very rewarding situation. The
online classes. When will they be available, Tracy?
Speaker 13 (56:09):
They will be available in the second quarter of twenty five.
Speaker 2 (56:15):
Okay, super And the book comes out later in the
year past present and Paris.
Speaker 13 (56:22):
Yes it does. And that was a memoir that I
literally took from a journal I kept following my divorce
two years ago. I chronicled almost every day what I
was going through, and mainly because it was really scary
to be in my sixties and have to start all
(56:44):
over again. And it just talked about everything, really raw, emotion, dating,
you name it. It just follows the whole gamut. And
I hope that it helps other women or men that,
you know what, you're not in this alone. If you're
starting over, you can do it, and life is not done.
(57:06):
You just need to get in the right mindset and
believe in yourself and just go for everything that you've wanted.
Speaker 2 (57:14):
Tracy Wheeler, Noonan, we thank you so much for being
a part of the show today.
Speaker 4 (57:18):
All right, Kim, time has come to talk about next
week's program here on the New England Business Report.
Speaker 3 (57:23):
You know what we're going for.
Speaker 4 (57:24):
The guest Rob Collins, Now he's the CEO of the
American Heritage Museum may not have heard of it, but
apparently it's a great take.
Speaker 3 (57:32):
It's out there in Hudson.
Speaker 4 (57:33):
Massachusetts, and they have all types of displays like military equipment, tanks,
historical stuff, World War Two, the old planes. I mean,
if you think your kids would get a kick out
of something, it's the American Heritage Museum. We'll have Rob
Collins as a guest next week here on the New
England Business Report. That is next Sunday morning on WRKO,
(57:55):
the Voice of Boston AM six eighty
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