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Monday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida entrepreneurs compete 'reality-tv style' to get in stores
Looking to shake up the product pipeline, retailers are putting hundreds of small entrepreneurs and manufacturers through a process that increasingly resembles reality TV shows. Some of the biggest retailers, such as Winn-Dixie and Wal-Mart, are holding open calls to look for the next breakthrough product, with on-the-spot offers at stake. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Boston Whaler buys land to expand Florida headquarters
Boston Whaler confirmed a major land acquisition that will result in the expansion of its Edgewater, Fla., headquarters by about 60 acres on the facility’s northern border. Company news release is here.
Geneticist says Florida panther still deserves endangered species protection
Florida panthers have been listed as endangered ever since the first endangered species list was drawn up in 1967. They are also Florida's official state animal, voted in by schoolchildren over such other contenders as the alligator and the mosquito. More from the Tampa Bay Times and the Daily Commercial.
Sale of Ybor City's King Corona marks end of century-old family cigar business
More than a century ago, a Cuban family working in the new cigar factories of Ybor City quietly started rolling cigars at home on the side. Five generations later, after establishing themselves as one of the Latin district's most important families, they're leaving the business just as quietly. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Small Business Advice
Do you know what you don't know?
It has been said that “A smart man knows what he knows, but a wise man knows what he doesn’t know.” We humans all too often accept opinions of others we agree with as fact and disregard any dissenting opinions. Owners and managers who think they know it all really miss the boat when they rely only on their intuition and disregard the opinions of others. Read the full column by Gray Poehler, here.
Travel Trends
Florida jumps ahead of Texas for second-most airline passengers
Florida’s airports rank second in the nation for airline passenger volume according to preliminary data from the Federal Aviation Administration and Bureau of Transportation Statistics. See the news release from Gov. Scott, here. Also read more at Space Coast Daily.
Small Business Success Story
Applied and approved
Wes Stapp and his partners at Applied Contracting Services (ACS) learned firsthand that even well-established businesses can have trouble finding money to grow. As the economy improved after the Great Recession, so did their business, but taking it to the next level seemed out of reach.
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