Monday's Afternoon Update

Posted 10/22/2012

Updated 1 decade ago

Majority of Florida small firms optimistic about growth

More than half of small businesses in Florida say they're optimistic about their growth, according to the fall American Express Small Business Index. But while 82 percent say they plan to grow their business, only 30 percent say they plan to hire. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Florida Trend Business Advice
What to say when it's time to talk about your company

When prospects are bombarded with a message of “it is all about us and our product”, they quickly turn off. This is one of the biggest mistakes that marketers and sales people make. They think that starting a conversation or presentation with “facts” about their company, product, or service is the way to gain credibility and get noticed. Read Ron Stein's full column.

Prime Therapeutics CEO to bring jobs to Orlando

Business Profile

Plastic prototypes aid cost-conscious entrepreneurs

Four expensive machines run constantly in Ken Brace’s office. Behind a glass pane, the temperature reaches 400 degrees as they create models of high-tech inventions by adding one layer of plastic at a time that is barely thicker than a human hair. Forget for a second what you hear about inventors being hamstrung by a lack of investment capital, even though it’s true. Inventors are swamping Brace’s business.

» Full story and video from Florida Today

» Rapid Prototyping Services

Prime Therapeutics President Eric Elliott, 49, had narrowed his search to 10 metro areas before choosing Orlando for his company's first comprehensive specialty pharmacy. This month, Prime celebrated the grand opening of its local facility in southern Orange County. Elliott, who lives in Minnesota, where Prime is based, brought his family to town last week on vacation. Read an interview with him at the Orlando Sentinel.

A look at some industries that fare well in South Florida

Even after a deep recession, some industries in South Florida maintain an outsized presence in the local economy. Along with lawyers, warehouse workers, cruise ship crew and art dealers, television broadcasters enjoy a much larger footprint in the local workforce than they would in the typical U.S. economy, according to a 2011 survey of businesses nationwide conducted by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. More at the Miami Herald.

Small Business Advice
Managing a distant work force

As our working environments change and with the advent of new (and not so new) technologies, more and more workers are working from their homes or in remote locations. Managing these distant or remote workforces requires both a special kind of manager and a special type of employee as this type of working is not for everyone. More advice from Jerry Osteryoung.

Out of the Box
Sweet success

What began with a series of employment misadventures after college and a single craft-store class has become a career -- and a passion -- for Sarasota entrepreneur Becky Schultes. Part artist and part confection manufacturer, Schultes is the owner and chief baker of Heavenly Cupcakes. Through a corporate parent, Sweet Teeth LLC, Schultes also makes cakepops which, as the name implies, are balls of cake on sticks -- like lollipops -- decorated with chocolate and icing and designs that can be tailored to any event or any occasion.