Business Forecast? Hot! Hot! Hot!

An Easy Place to be Successful

Tallahassee is an easy place to be successful. Laura Johnson, founder and CEO of Coton Colors, a national lifestyle brand with flagship stores in Tallahassee, Tampa, and Atlanta, and sold in boutiques and major department stores across the country, got her start in Tallahassee after being unable to keep up with the requests from friends and family for her painted clothing and home accessories. ”The support that we received in Tallahassee, especially in the early days, was a major contributor to our success,” says Johnson.

Trulieve, the first and leading medical cannabis company in Florida, is a “seed-to-sale” operation with 55% of the Florida market and 44 stores statewide.

BioFront Technologies creates kits for detecting food allergens for the food safety industry. “We’ve had opportunities to move our business to other cities, but we have always been encouraged by the support and genuineness of the business and science community in Tallahassee — and there’s no state sales tax,” says Jason Robotham, president.

FBMC Benefits Management began 40 years ago and has since grown into a multi-solutions company providing benefit planning, communication, education, brokerage consulting, administration and compliance, and enrollment management to companies nationwide.

Thomas Howell Ferguson, another Tallahassee homegrown firm, now in its 25th year, goes beyond traditional accounting services to offer resources, services, and specialty skills needed to address today’s accounting needs.

Superior Sports Management

Founded in 2017, Superior Sports Management is one of Tallahassee’s newest companies, capitalizing on the sports-crazed culture of the South by creating and managing premier athletic events in the U.S. and Caribbean. Its signature tournament, the Jamaica Classic, is now in its third year, with more destination tournaments on the calendar for the next decade. “These aren’t just tournaments — they’re destination sporting experiences, and what better place than Florida for us to expand our business,” says Jacob Ridenhour, founder.

Manufacturing and Industry

Interestingly, manufacturing is one of the top five fastest growing industries in the community. The Big Bend area is resource-rich, making it a prime location for manufacturers to do business. “The Big Bend area, and specifically Tallahassee with the FSU/ FAMU Engineering campus, Tallahassee Community College, and Lively Technical Institute in close proximity, offers a rich resource pool of technically competent engineering and maintenance technicians to choose from,” says Jack Martin, GT Technologies plant manager.

A Market for Business

Marketing firms abound in Tallahassee. Moore, now with offices in four states, just rebranded its integrated, full-service communications firm to better illustrate their national reach. The company is consistently named one of FLORIDA TREND’S Best Companies to Work For in Florida, and recently got a similar accolade from Inc. magazine by being named one of America’s Best Places to Work.

Strategic Digital Services, a marketing firm specializing in cutting-edge marketing strategies, just made the Inc. 5000 list. The Zimmerman Agency has grown into one of Florida’s most recognized marketing and public relations firms, with clients in multiple industries nationwide. Similarly, Bascom Communications, a strategic communications and public affairs campaign firm, is perfectly located to address all things political, from crisis communications to message development to political communications and candidate campaigns. And RSA Consulting Group, conveniently located in the Capital City, is a full-service consulting firm with government and legislative affairs, community affairs, strategic planning, and media and public relations expertise.

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