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New Monthly BizWalk Connects Businesses with Resources
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#CCBizWalk
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The Cape Coral EDO is hosting its inaugural BizWalk today. During the walk, two teams will visit businesses on Pine Island Road north of Chiquita Boulevard.
This new Cape Coral EDO initiative-based on proven best practices from the International Economic Development Council-is designed to help the city and our partners get a pulse on our local businesses. The EDO team has partnered with the Cape Coral Community Development Department, Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce, CareerSource Southwest Florida and the Florida Small Business Development Center at FGCU. The goal of this initiative is to visit our local businesses on their turf, make them aware of free resources that are available to them, and hear first-hand from business owners and supervisors.
BizWalks will be held the third Wednesday of each month from
9 a.m. to noon. They will concentrate on specific hubs and target industries. BizWalks are coordinated by EDO Business Recruitment/Retention Specialist Nita Whaley: (239) 574-0443 or
nwhaley@capecoral.net.
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Ribbon-cutting:
Midtown Coastal Luxury Living Apartments
The Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting event for the Midtown Coastal Luxury Living Apartments in the heart of Cape Coral on Feb. 7. Developed by Aileron Capital, the complex offers 90 units in one- and two-bedroom floor plans and features many amenities. The clubhouse includes a 24-hour, full-service gym; a heated, saltwater swimming pool; a high-tech, Wi-Fi internet café; and a game room with billiards. Around the grounds, residents can relax outside at the picnic area with grills, romp with their canine companion at the dog park, or practice their strokes at the putting green. The apartment complex is located at 2310 SW 17th Place.
Midtown Coastal Luxury Living Apartments is already filled; interested renters will be added to a waiting list. Even with the development of two additional large-scale apartment complexes along Pine Island Road, Cape Coral is lacking the necessary multi-family units to keep up with increased demand. The EDO team is working to develop potential new incentives for the development of workforce housing to support the needs of our growing workforce.
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Nominations Open for 2018 Distinguished Entrepreneur of Southwest Florida
The Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Florida Gulf Coast University is accepting nominations for the 2018 Distinguished Entrepreneur of SW Florida.
Southwest Florida business owners who have overcome obstacles, discovered new technologies to help grow their business, or dedicated themselves to helping other small businesses through mentorship and civic leadership are encouraged to submit applications. Self-nominations are encouraged. Awards include: Distinguished Entrepreneur, Distinguished Small Business Advocate, and Distinguished Innovator of the Year.
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Coming Soon...
4th Wednesday Biz Chat
Feb. 28
11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
815 Nicholas Parkway
Public Works Building Community Room
In partnership with the Small Business Development Center, BizChats are informative and include a free light lunch with networking opportunities. Come early to get a seat at this popular event!
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Food for Thought
Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce
March 1
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Cape Coral Technical College
360 Santa Barbara Blvd. N.
Network with other chamber members and learn from a guest speaker. The luncheon is for current and prospective members, in partnership with the Southwest SCORE Chapter, SBDC, and the Cape Coral EDO. The cost is $15 for members; $20 for non-members.
In The Know:
MarketWatch 2018
February 27
4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Germain Arena
Have you gotten your tickets for MarketWatch 2018? This insightful event organized by
The News-Press offers a year-end review and year-ahead forecast about market conditions for residential, commercial, permitting, land and new home sales.
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VenturePitch SWFL Extends Deadline
March 2 is new date
Organizers of VenturePitch SWFL have extended the deadline until March 2 for entrepreneurs to submit a plan to pitch their companies at the Shark Tank-style event that will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 12 at Babcock Ranch. SCORE and the Florida Small Business Development Center will serve as the screening committee and select the 10 semi-finalists to pitch from Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Glades, Lee and Sarasota counties.
A final selection committee will interview the 10 semi-finalists to determine the final four who will be invited to pitch at the April 12 event. Up to $25,000 in equity investment will be available for each of the top two winners. To be considered, companies must be in the pre-revenue stage or within the first few months of producing revenues, must be in business less than two years, have a scalable business model, and have not already raised more than $1 million.
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New Cape Coral Businesses
179
new businesses registered for Cape Coral Tax Receipts
(Business Licenses)
in January 2018.
Click here to view new Cape Coral business reports.
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PGA HOPE
Golf for Veterans
Coral Oaks Golf Course
and
the South Florida Section of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA)
have partnered to host a golf instructional program for military veterans at no charge called
PGA HOPE.
This free
"Helping Our Patriots Everywhere" program is open to all veterans who are interested in playing golf or just improving their game. The program will run for six consecutive Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 28 and running through April 4. Lessons will take place from 10 a.m. to noon. The class is limited to the first 15 people to register who will commit to all six sessions.
The registration deadline is Friday, Feb. 23 - or as soon as the program is full. To register for this program, contact Michelle Goda of the South Florida PGA at 561-537-5809 or MGoda@PGAhq.com
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Message From Your EDO Manager
Post-Irma Business Recovery Programs
For some businesses, Hurricane Irma is a distant memory, but for others it is still a persistent issue to be overcome. Physical or financial damage may be lingering. I wanted to share that I recently attended a workshop which featured several participants from federal, state and local governments that focused on programs to help alleviate some of the issues caused by Irma.
I was pleased to see that our governments are committed to assisting us as we recover and try to embrace normalcy. On the federal side, the Small Business Administration, Economic Development Administration, USDA, HUD, EPA and the Department of Interior participated. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity was also present. The event was hosted by the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, and we were joined by consultants from the International Economic Development Council and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at FGCU.
My message to you, business owners, is simple. There are ongoing programs that may be able to assist you as you continue to recover. The financial damage as a result of lost tourism could linger and cause persistent issues in the off-season. If you've been impacted, reach out to our office. We can connect you to the people and programs that can benefit you and your business. Sometimes, the worst action is inaction.
Sincerely,
Dana Brunett
City of Cape Coral
Economic Development Manager
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Insite Managed Solutions Helps Businesses Boost Their Bottom Line
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Insite Managed Solutions founder & CEO Chris Rozum stands in front of the company's patented MegaMap.
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Seeing a drop in customer satisfaction? Wondering how to streamline purchases or how to cut inefficiencies and redundancies to reduce costs and increase profits? Considering restructuring staffing levels or providing expert training to bolster your workforce?
These are the questions that Insite Managed Solutions helps global corporations- Google, Comcast, JetBlue, Delta and GM-solve. "We sit behind a lot of neat companies and what we do with them is pretty exciting," says founder and CEO Chris Rozum. Based in Cape Coral since its founding 11 years ago, Insite has helped over 230 clients at 700 sites.
Simply put, Insite calls itself "The Human Operations Experts," specializing in evaluating, training, consulting and staffing. Insite experts drill down into the nitty-gritty of a company's data, metrics, operations, priorities and goals. They create a patented MegaMap. Rozum describes the 5-foot high and 23-foot long step-by-step roadmap to success "like wallpaper. Our clients love it. It's a tactical, in-the-weeds view. We don't struggle to find data, but often, they get overwhelmed with the data." Typically, his clients experience a return of seven to nine times the consulting fees within the first year, he says.
Rozum has a staff of 36-the majority consultants-and he's expecting to expand to 50 or more this year. His consultants are recruited nationwide because of their expertise. They are required to have at least 15 years of experience in operations and relocate to Southwest Florida. Their work involves extensive business travel, and Rozum appreciates Cape Coral's drivable access to reach Florida clients in Miami, Tampa and Orlando and proximity to several airports in the event of flight delays and cancellations. "In two-and-a-half hours, we have access to six airports," he notes. "If we get disrupted on the way home, we can get to these other destinations and head home." These days, Rozum has begun bringing clients to the Westin Resort for in-depth training workshops.
Rozum decided to open Insite to offer companies sustainable, meaningful results after decades of experience in operations. He worked at Gateway computers 22 years ago, "when they were operating in a dairy barn," as well as IT consulting, before helping to launch 18 international call center sites for companies such as Dell, Compaq and Microsoft. "I personally came from an entrepreneurial and operations background. I largely grew up in the call center space," he says.
Rozum chose to locate his company in Cape Coral because of its subtropical setting and low cost of office space. "The warm weather, waterways, beaches, golfing-that's part of our national recruiting."
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How Good Businesses Get Better
Russ Winstead, Florida Small Business Development Center
In my many years of consulting with business owners, I have found a few consistent things that are common among the most successful ones. More than anything else, they are learners.
Many of the owners I work with could be consultants themselves.  They know business and they know their business. However, they are constantly looking to know it better. They search for new ideas and ways to be more efficient. They look at new markets and methods and how to hire and keep the best people. They know when they sit down with a consultant or business advisor that they may already know 95 percent of what that person will share with them. However, they also know that the additional 5 percent may make a big difference in how their business grows, if it closes or how profitable it will be. They consistently seek knowledge and the best practices.
Today I met with one of my clients, Dan Puleio from Cape Cleaners. He is always working on his business. He has been recognized as the "Best Dry Cleaner" in Cape Coral for many years, but he wants to reach more people and grow his business.
As an example, he recently launched a pick-up and delivery service for both residential and commercial customers. He thought of implementing this service because he reads industry trade magazines to stay abreast of market trends.
He shared the idea with me and we evaluated it together based on all the available information. The findings were that it appeared to be a good idea. Some owners would leave it at that and move forward. However, Dan contacted a successful consultant that specializes in dry cleaning route development because he wanted to learn all he could to best prepare for this new venture. Dan has been very successful with the development of his route business and it has augmented his already-successful business. Today, we sat down to map out how to take his route business to the next level. Always learning, always growing!
How are you growing? What are you learning? Could you be more profitable? No matter how you do it, keep learning and seeking new knowledge to make your business healthy.
If you would like consultation or guidance on business issues or growing your business, contact me directly or attend our free Fourth Wednesday BizChats, held at Nicholas Annex, 815 Nicholas Parkway, at 11:30 a.m.
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Ecological Laboratories Hosts Worldwide Audience
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Participants from 17 countries took part in this year's training event at Ecological Laboratories.
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On Jan. 29, Mayor Joe Coviello and EDO staff joined Ecological Laboratories in welcoming international guests to their Cape Coral manufacturing facility. Ecological Laboratories has been in Cape Coral since the early 1990's in North Cape Industrial Park. They are working with city staff on their sixth expansion project, an obvious indicator of a strong, successful and growing company. Ecological Labs is a good partner and advocate for Cape Coral and we are pleased to have them in our city.
Owners Michael and Barry Richter hosted over 40 customers from 17 different countries at their Cape Coral facility to perform product updates and training over a three-day period. This is good for our community because people who visit here tend to return for vacation or even to relocate here.
Ecological Laboratories Inc. develops and sells 100 percent, all-natural wastewater solutions to the municipal, agricultural and industrial sectors. Its R&D staff has developed superior technologies in bacteria culture selection, and bio-product formulation with total dedication to the sustainability and preservation of the world's waterways and agricultural lands. They focus their efforts on providing advanced, cost-effective, sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. In pursuing worldwide efforts, Ecological Laboratories has developed a new 100,000-square-foot facility in China to focus on that country's market demands.
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Healthy Life Center Expands to Cape Coral
 LeeHealth held an open house at its Cape Coral Wellness Center in celebration of bringing its Healthy Life Center to Cape Coral.
The Healthy Life Centers in Estero, and now Cape Coral, provide a broad range of educational events geared toward healthy living, early disease detection and chronic disease management. Events range from a Fourth Trimester Club for new moms to mini-health screenings, nutrition cooking demonstrations, self-defense and more.
Learn more:
LeeHealth.com
239.424.3210
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Consider This
Challenge: #10wordchallenge
By MerriBeth Farnham, HD PR Group
Now that the Cape EDO's 4th Wednesday BizChat has swelled to nearly 90 people attending each month, the rules have changed. Instead of having time to give a 30-second elevator speech highlighting your business, product or service, each attendee gets just 10 seconds, or about 10 words.
Believe it or not, that's a good thing. It essentially forces every participant to think through exactly what it is they most want prospective customers and clients to know in order to choose them. Here are four key questions to help make that deep dive:
- What does your business do, provide or offer? (Consider the real guts of it versus a laundry list.)
- Who are your ideal customers? (It's hard to target anything if your target customer is everyone.)
- What distinguishes you from others in your field? What do you do differently or far better than your competitors?
- What is the emotional appeal? Is there some aspect of your product or service that provides a clear benefit to your customers?
Russ Winstead mentions Cape Cleaners in this month's article, and I agree that Dan Puleio has gone out of his way to distinguish himself from other cleaners by providing a unique pick-up and delivery service.
For someone starting a cleaning business, the questions might narrow the focus to: commercial cleaning, not residential, within Cape Coral and Fort Myers; overnight services provided using environmentally friendly products; and background checks on staff to ensure safety.
For my team at HD PR Group, the discussion might be: We create beautiful print and digital ads, copy and visuals for content development, crisis communications, media buys, news releases, email marketing, social media and videos. Our ideal clients are municipalities, public agencies and mid-size to large corporations. What we do best is strategize with our clients to ensure that any paid campaign is tailored to their particular strengths and targeted customer base. We love to develop campaigns with purpose that serve the greater good. (74 words)
So #in10words, this might look like: "Delivering strategic, multichannel campaigns for municipalities, agencies seeking meaningful results."
Now it's your turn. Whether you are considering a business, new in business or have been in business for a long time, this is an exercise worth pursuing. We'd like to give you an opportunity to share your 10-word story on our Cape Coral EDO Facebook page. Please like the page and add your 10-word story under the 10 Word Challenge post. Don't forget to add the hashtags: #10wordchallenge #in10words
MerriBeth Farnham is celebrating 20 years as a business owner in 2018. The owner of HD PR Group, she will share marketing tips in this newsletter every other month to inspire and inform local business owners.
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Save the Date!
The Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife is hosting an elegant gala on Friday, March 23, to begin raising funds to build an environmental education center at Sirenia Vista Park.
Hosted by the Manatee Cape Connection Committee of the Friends, the evening includes a catered dinner, live music and a silent auction at the Cape Coral Yacht Club from 6 to 10 p.m.
The 8-acre Sirenia Vista Park is a popular spot for viewing manatees, fishing, strolling and launching a kayak to journey the Calusa Blueway through Matlacha.
Individual tickets and corporate tables can be purchased online at Manateeum Fundraiser
or in person at Rotary Park Environmental Center (5505 Rose Garden Road) during normal business hours.
To donate a premium item or service for the auction, make a monetary donation, or become a sponsor, contact Rotary Park at (239) 549-4606.
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