Jun
20
Beyond the bottom line
Filed Under Business Builders, Economic Development, Editorial & Guest Columns, Vince Crew columns | Leave a Comment
Eight truths for sustaining your business in tough times
by VINCE CREW
When things are tough, taking a downturn or just uncertain, here are eight axioms that have kept my business prospering through the ups and downs, while seeing competitors nose-dive:
Jun
20
Putting faith in business
Filed Under Trends | Leave a Comment
By BILL SCHILLER
Business Writer
If “a dream cometh through the multitude of business (Ecclesicastes 5:3),” then perhaps a multitude of business can stir enough faith to make a dream come true.
And if enthusiasm is evidence of faith in action, few personify it as fully as Christian Chamber of Southwest Florida President Jeanne Sweeney, who is enthusiastically planning the opening of a new Christian Chamber of Commerce in Charlotte County. She anticipates the opening to follow with yet another in Polk County – and, eventually, throughout Florida, the nation, and even overseas. Negotiations have included professed Christian professionals in Russia, where a Christian movement is reportedly evolving.
Jun
20
The hottest jobs around
Filed Under Economic Development, Trends | Leave a Comment
Finding the most in-demand careers for today and beyond
By JESSICA HEHIR
Business Writer
All industries are not created equal. And that’s good to remember when the job market in Southwest Florida is lean – like now.
The Career and Service Center of Southwest Florida (CSC) is at its busiest. The latest unemployment numbers put Southwest Florida at 6.4 percent – far ahead of the state’s 4.9 percent average – and even the national average of 5.5 percent.
So if you’re looking for work, you may want to think about switching careers – especially to one that is not only popular now, but may be a growing field in the future. Read more
Jun
6
Meeting of cyber-minds
Filed Under Economic Development, Technology | Leave a Comment
Startup org wants to put SW Fla. on the technical map
By BILL SCHILLER
Business Writer
More than 150 representatives from 64 regional companies and agencies gathered at Fort Myers’ Pelican Preserve last month to participate in the very first meeting of a group of professionals who
have aligned themselves as the Southwest Florida Regional Technology Partnership.
“Our mission is to catalyze, cultivate and connect,” said President Kevin Barnhill.
“We’ll catalyze by introducing innovative high tech companies with early stage capital and partnership opportunities with the local high tech community and service providers who serve our industry. We’ll cultivate by offering educational programs for our members, by uniting as one voice on important governmental affairs which affect our industry, and by recognizing our regional leaders through an annual awards program. We’ll connect by holding events that are meaningful to our members and prospective members, by promoting our region’s success stories and by supporting initiatives that advance our mission,” Barnhill said. Read more
Jun
6
‘Okay is unacceptable’
Filed Under Book Reviews, Business Builders | Leave a Comment
BOOK REVIEW
By SARA FITZPATRICK
Associate Editor
What’s the Secret: To Providing
a World-Class Customer Experience
by John R. DiJulius
Wiley: May 2008
Hardcover, 320 pages
List price: $27.95
A satisfied customer is a loyal customer, right? Think again, says John R. DiJulius III.
“Think about what ’satisfied’ really means to us as consumers,” he writes. “It means that the company we are doing business with hasn’t done anything wrong yet to make us feel the need to go elsewhere; similarly, the company has yet to do anything significant to make us loyal.”
Customer satisfaction, therefore, is a benchmark of mediocrity, and one that companies lately are having a difficult time reaching. It’s also a blind spot, as most companies tend to overestimate their prowess in the customer service arena. Read more
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