May
23
Big Boxes: Boon or Bane?
Filed Under Economic Development, Trends | Leave a Comment
How supersized stores stack up in a neighborhood economy
by SARA FITZPATRICK
Associate Editor
Another balmy May morning in Southwest Florida. Birds are singing. “For Sale” signs have sprung up overnight before a row of stuccoed houses like identifiers in a garden row. Existing signs have sprouted new placards announcing, “Price Reduced.”
Along a sleepy county road nearby, convoys of pickups come to a stop on acres of new asphalt, unleashing their human payloads. The workers put on hard hats and step up to the controls of giant machines and begin to put into place huge slabs of concrete, prefabricated as a kit to come together in a great, boxy profile.
Housing, oil speculation, unemployment, inflation — all those markers of economic stability, or lack thereof, which have hit our neighborhoods so relentlessly in past months — seem to do nothing to slow the growth of large commercial retail development in our midst. It is their size, perhaps, their sheer uniformity, that insulate them against such pressures.
But in the shadow of the concrete megaliths, can you still hear the welcome jingle of the bells on the doors of the old neighborhood stores? Or in the footprint of the giant, are Mom and Pop destined to turn the key one last time and reluctantly don the corporate smock?
May
23
SWFBT nabs state awards
Filed Under Awards & Recognitions | Leave a Comment
Southwest Florida Business Today (SWFBT) only began publishing at the end of October, yet it impressed judges at Community Papers of Florida (CPF) to win a third-place spot and an 
honorable mention at that organization’s 2008 Awards for Excellence presentation in April.
The third place honors were awarded in the Sales Promotion category for Sales Kit/Media Package. The media kit’s striking cover features a businessman and woman looking bewildered beneath a jigsaw puzzle piece, with the headline, “Puzzled over how to keep up with changes in Southwest Florida’s Business Market?” Inside, the copy touts SWFBT as the missing piece – a source for regional business news. Read more
May
23
Charlotte Airport struggles to gain altitude
Filed Under Aviation, Economic Development | Leave a Comment
Are skies clearing — or is it the eye of the storm?
By BOB MASSEY
Associate Editor
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. – Attention, passengers: Charlotte County Airport has been experiencing some turbulence. Although there is evidence of clearer skies ahead, the captain suggests you fasten your seatbelts because, either way, it’s going to be a bumpy flight.
On a warm May afternoon, Bailey Terminal is more conspicuous by its hulking silence than when it bustled with activity
not two months ago. The multimillion-dollar complex doors are locked; inside, baggage conveyors are still, ticket counters unattended, passengers once eager to fly on Skybus (the airport’s first commercial carrier since the 1980s) are a haunting memory.
Bailey Terminal – the pride of Charlotte County Airport (hereafter referred to by its Federal Aeronautics Administration code, PGD) – is a spanking clean, brand new ghost town.
Like the legendary phoenix, the airport has been struggling to rise from the ashes – but it can’t seem to get off the ground. Several opportunities for economic renewal have dissolved into a string of disappointments.
The arrival of a new company, Arcadia Aerospace Industries, is offering hope – as well as much-needed infusions of morale and revenue. But will it be enough to turn PGD’s fortunes around?
May
23
Remember CUSTOMER when dealing with customer complaints
Filed Under Business Builders, Editorial & Guest Columns | Leave a Comment
By BILL McCABE
Charlotte SCORE Counselor
Consumers look for places to purchase goods and services where they will be treated well and receive the best value. They have many choices of vendors, and small businesses are usually happy that the customer purchased from them.
If customers have a problem with a product or service, they want a sympathetic hearing of their complaint, and a quick and fair resolution of the problem. Small-business owners sometimes forget what it is like to be a consumer trying to make a complaint. Read more
May
23
Beyond the bottom line
Filed Under Business Builders, Editorial & Guest Columns, Vince Crew columns | Leave a Comment
Four myths that can destroy your company
By VINCE CREW
I was originally going to call this Debunking the Myths of Political Correctness and Popular Management Theory.
Obviously there’s a little hyperbole injected in the title, but that was to encourage you to (1) keep reading, and (2) second-guess everything you hear that might alter your management approach. But I shortened it to allow for enough space to caution you about four insidious – yet readily accepted – myths of management that can dismantle your business from the inside out. Read more
May
23
What you wouldn’t give to work here
Filed Under Awards & Recognitions, Economic Development, Trends | Leave a Comment
Annual awards focus on Collier’s best companies for employees
By BILL SCHILLER
Business Writer
How would you like to have 39 paid days off after one year of employment? How would you feel about being imme
diately enrolled in a company’s 401k Plan on your first day of hire? What would it mean to have 100 percent of your health insurance paid by your employer? How would you feel about going to a job where a “Fun Committee” has been established to ensure staff takes time out for weekly games, such as a bubble gum blowing contest?
These are just a few of the perks provided by the companies that are being recognized by the Collier County Economic Development Council (EDC) with this year’s “Best Places to Work” and “Best Practices” Awards.
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