| New GrowFL Companies |
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| GrowFL Company Accolades |
If you have success stories, achievements, honors, awards or certifications that you are proud of, let us know! You could possibly be featured in the next edition of the GrowFL Update!
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| Bit-Wizards, First Kentico Partner to Attain Windows Azure Competency |
Vincent Mayfield
CEO of Bit-Wizards
Fort Walton Beach, Florida, April 20, 2011 – Bit-Wizards, a leading provider of software solutions and consulting in the United States, and Microsoft Managed Gold Partner has announced that they are the first to attain Kentico CMS Windows Azure Partner Competency.
To read more about Bit-Wizards' achievement, click here.
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Florida Trend's
Economic Yearbook 2011 |
Michael Wright, President of Power Grid Engineering, is now being honored as an "Impact Player" of the Central Florida region.
George Gordon, CEO of Enporion, is now being honored as an "Impact Player" of the Tampa Bay, Florida region.
For more honored companies and to read the rest of the Florida Trend article written by Art Levy, click here.
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~Case Study~
Florida Supplement |
As a small business owner, Doug didn’t have an outlet in which he could express ideas and concerns
about his business. When he learned about the GrowFL CEO roundtable program, he saw it as an
opportunity to have an informal sounding board that he could bounce ideas off of and learn from his fellow
CEOs. Doug says he has made better business decisions because of his interactions with the CEOs in
his roundtable group.
After participating in the CEO roundtables, Doug became involved in the Technical Assistance program of GrowFL, which he says provided him the resources he needed to define and refine his business’ strategy. He received a wealth of information that helped him guide his...
To read the rest of the article, please click here.
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Interested in joining CEO Roundtables?
Have you ever had to make difficult decisions alone as the sole executive in a growing company without anyone to turn to for advice?
Through GrowFl your company can address the management challenges you’re facing with guidance from business owners like yourself…..a panel of peers who can act as each other’s board and offer inuput and advice that can be immediately implemented.
Click here for CEO Roundtable Brochure.
Space is limited.
For more information contact Steve Quello at squello@ceonexus.com
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Interested in becoming a GrowFL company?
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IT'S NOT TOO LATE! |
To sign up for the Conference, click the flyer below!
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GrowFL Featured Forum |
CEO Nexus Forum
Tampa Bay Region
June 7, 2011
Tom Kruse began his career as a nurse 30 years ago and today is the CEO of Hoveround Corporation, the largest direct-to-consumer manufacturer of maneuverable and compact power chairs in the U.S. As with every entrepreneur, his story is unique and he identified a problem while working with home medical equipment: Most homes would not accommodate large and cumbersome power wheelchairs. He was determined to “build a power wheelchair that can go anywhere people can walk.”
For more information click here.
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Free Programs Help Small Jacksonville Businesses Take The Next Step
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GrowJax and GrowFL programs give small businesses valuable information — at no cost.
When Teresa Meares took over DGG Taser and Tactics Supply in 2006, the former St. Johns County Sheriff's Office patrol sergeant knew much about policies and procedures. She had no problem defining how her company placed and filled orders and dealt with billing issues.
But once the company was past its startup phase with a new store and law enforcement contracts from agencies throughout Florida and Georgia, it was time to focus for growth, she said.
"I'd say we've grown by four or five employees based on our involvement with GrowFL," said Dan Arch, President of another GrowFL graduate company, Engineered Lining Systems. "It's been very beneficial to us. We'd like to see more companies involved in it." "The customization of each participating company's program is key to what makes it work so well," GrowJax co-chairwoman, Gwen Griggs said.
To read more of the article at Jacksonville.com, please click here.
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Why is the State-funded GrowFL Technical Assistance Program so valuable to companies?
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Congressman Posey Hosts Entrepreneur Summit |
“The entrepreneurial spirit is alive in Central Florida,” said Congressman Bill Posey. “This was a great experience and I very much enjoyed the opportunity to listen to the presentations and talk with local business leaders about getting our local economy moving. I would like to thank everyone who helped pull this forum together, for their dedication to our community and their drive to help local businesses and job seekers succeed.”
To read more, head over to the Choose Osceola news and announcements.
For more pictures, check out our web album.
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Florida Research Coast and Workforce Solutions
CEO Forum |
On May 3, Florida’s Research Coast and Workforce Solutions conducted their second CEO Forum with GrowFL in Port St. Lucie.
The event attracted 50 senior business executives from the four-county region including Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie. Featured presenter was John Teaford, President and CFO, Digital Domain Media of St. Lucie Co. Jon shared the evolution of growing Digital Domain over an eighteen year period which included having a strong company presence in Los Angeles and Toronto prior to expanding to Florida.
For more, visit www.floridarc.com.
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Small Companies Need A Sound Plan To Grow
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Economic development programs help businesses reach the next stage
Bob Swindell is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater
Fort Lauderdale Alliance. He spearheads the state's economic
development initiative, GrowFL, for the Broward County region.
GrowFL , launched in 2009, is Florida's Economic Gardening
Technical Assistance Program designed to assist second stage
companies address the gap between where the company is now and
where it needs to be to grow.
To read more of the Sun-Sentinel article, please click here.
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Upcoming Events |
May 19-20, 2011
National Economic Gardening Conference - Orlando, FL
Hosted by the University of Central Florida
For more information and to REGISTER NOW go to www.negc2011.com.
May 25, 2011
Workforce Launch 2.0 Entrepreneurial Conference & Expo
2011 Development Conference
Launch 2.0 is an annual half-day special event to promote entrepreneurial growth in Central Florida.
For more information, click here for the flyer or head to www.WorkforceCentralFlorida.com/Launch.
June 1, 2011
Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce Expo
CEO Summit Hosted by GrowFL
Summit will feature fast pitch intros of 2nd stage growth companies from the Northeast Region.
For more information, contact Sandy Bartow of the Jax Chamber at (904) 366-6634.
June 2-3, 2011
Goals Conference
Hosted by Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce
Presenting organization goals including an introduction of Economic Gardening by Jane Teague.
For more information, click here.
June 7, 2011
EDC of Collier County June Investor Meeting and Campaign Kickoff
For information on becoming an EDC Investor or about the many advantages to locating or expanding a business in Collier County, contact
Economic Development Council of Collier County at (239) 263-8989 or online at www.eNaplesFlorida.com.
June 10, 2011
Orlando Biz Journal Expo
Featuring guest speaker Keith Engh of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute.
For more information, contact Connie Frye at cfrye@bizjournals.com.
June 14, 2011
Economic Gardening for Small Businesses
Hosted by Commissioner Jennifer Thompson (District 4) and the Metro Orlando EDC
12pm - 12201 Research Parkway, 2nd Floor Training Room, Orlando, FL
For more information, contact Karen Flood at (407) 422-7159.
June 15, 2011
Ocala Marion
County Economic Development Meeting
Florida Economic Gardening Institute presents Strategies for Providing 2nd Stage Companies with Business Assistance Tools utilizing the GrowFL Program
For more information, contact Linda Jennings Nelson at (407) 882-0046.
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Locate Your Regional GrowFL Representative |
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