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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida is home to 2.2 million small businesses
A new report from the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy shows that Florida is home to 2,180,556 small businesses that employ 3,000,167 workers. Read more from the Orlando Business Journal and read the full report.
Low prices lead to big sales of Florida Prepaid Tuition plans
After slashing costs to remain affordable, the Florida Prepaid Tuition program has seen its new plan sales double with a month remaining to purchase one. The group reports that it has sold 32,080 plans since the window opened in October. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Florida Trend Exclusive
A home for budding entrepreneurs
Infinity Hall, a five-story, 97,000-sq.-ft. dorm being built under a public-private partnership between UF’s Innovation Square and Signet Development, will offer living space for 308 students, as well as offices, collaboration lounges and a 3-D printing lab. Access full story.
Florida health insurance enrollment reaches more than 1.3 million
The number of enrollees in Florida — 1,339,791 — is the largest of any state participating in the healthcare.gov exchange and is about 18 percent of the 7,473,699 enrollees in the 34 participating states. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
See also:
» South Florida tops nation for health insurance enrollment
» Health law sign-ups grow as Feb. 15 deadline nears
8 Deadly Ways to Kill Employee Motivation
There are events and circumstances that make us feel happy and appreciated. But unfortunately there are also many that kill our motivation. If you want to make sure you're providing your employees with an environment in which they can thrive, check your workplace for these motivation killers. [Source: Inc.]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Design Center of the Americas experiencing revival post recession
Design is becoming fashionable again. The sprawling Dania Beach design center is once again becoming a destination for designers seeking to outfit luxurious homes in South Florida and beyond, say company executives, designers and retailers.
› IRS offers all Florida taxpayers extra identity theft protection
The Internal Revenue Service is offering Floridians an extra measure of identity theft protection this tax season. Because of a high incidence of identity theft statewide, Florida was picked as one of three test markets where all taxpayers can apply for an Identity Protection PIN (personal identification number).
› 4 points to consider on Staples' acquisition deal with Office Depot
Office supply giant Staples agreed to buy its smaller competitor Boca Raton-based Office Depot in a $6.3 billion deal announced Wednesday, and it's a move that may begin to heal the hemorrhaging companies.
› Cruise passengers set PortMiami record
A record in cruise passengers – nearly 4.8 million – sailed through PortMiami last year. That’s a 17% gain from 2013, when about 4.08 million came through, according to PortMiami.
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