Jul
18
Boat brake lights hitting new markets
Filed Under Technology | Leave a Comment
Device acts as ‘brake light’ for watercraft
By BOB MASSEY
Editor
Imagine slamming on the brakes on a road slick with wet leaves. Chances are you’re not stopping anytime soon.
That kind of skid is an unusual situation for automobile drivers in Southwest Florida – but it’s the norm for watercraft.
“A personal watercraft can travel in excess of 200, 300 feet before you come to a stop,” said inventor Todd Bootes.
He sought to alleviate that problem by developing a watercraft braking system in 2004. But that created another problem: letting other boaters know he was able to stop a lot faster than others.
His solution: the trademarked and patent-pending Safety Alert System (SAS). It’s a device that alerts following watercraft that your watercraft is slowing down by activated an amber LED light mounted on the stern.
Jul
4
Beyond the bottom line
Filed Under Business Builders, Editorial & Guest Columns, Vince Crew columns | Leave a Comment
DIY business: It costs too much to save a few bucks
By VINCE CREW
“A man’s gotta know his limitations.”
- Clint Eastwood as “Dirty Harry” Callahan in “Magnum Force” (1973)
Ever meet a diehard do-it-yourselfer who sported an injury to his anatomy, such as missing a finger (or portion thereof)? It’s a “non-occupational” hazard that comes from experimenting, being distracted or simply trying to do something better left to experienced craftsmanship than weekend warrior escapades.
At my request, Harry (ex-neighbor, still a friend) said he’d help me with a plumbing project. I didn’t know what the heck I was doing, and I always heard Harry talking about the projects he’d done around the house.
Fast forward to Harry and Vince’s DIY project completed, professionally and properly. And all it took was a REAL plumber – and several hundred dollars. Ouch.
Not only did it end up costing a lot of money (more than if the plumber wouldn’t have had to undo what Harry and I did), it shot a pleasant weekend, and didn’t thrill Harry OR my wife.
Jul
4
Your future is in the cards
Filed Under Business Builders, Trends | Leave a Comment
How useful are business cards anyway?
By JESSICA HEHIR
Business Writer
Millionaire entrepreneur Michael Masterson once wrote an article claiming business cards are “90 percent ineffective.” In reference to networking at trade shows and seminars he says, “It’s a phony, lazy substitute for the real work you should be doing at such events.”
In the wake of those statements, one can’t help but ponder the usefulness of the business cards floating amongst the papers on your desk, or even your own carefully designed card. Before you toss those tiny rectangles in the recycling bin, consider this: Local experts could not disagree more. Read more
Jul
4
True, tried and trusted
Filed Under Editorial & Guest Columns | Leave a Comment
by BILL SCHILLER
Business Writer
Trust … ahhh, so much like youth or the love you once knew. Seems neither more missed nor more appreciated than when it is too long gone. Of course, time and experience have a peculiar way of affecting the way one sees things. Somewhere between learning how blind trust can be just as perilous as losing trust, we’ve somehow grown accustomed to entertaining certain compromises in terms of expectations; compromises which make it all the easier to tolerate, even anticipate, varying degrees of dishonesty.
Little wonder that expressions such as “I’ll call you” or “It’s not you, it’s me” rank on the Internet’s list of leading lies. These are as commonplace as professional jargon which promotes something as “new and improved” that can only be ordered “Now… while supplies last.” These are just things people say, and BS isn’t really in the same category as out-and-out lies or propaganda. But all too often, the focus on the point where the line is crossed comes only after failure to see the little steps leading up to it. Even in this, there’s little wonder as the standards for trust seem to constantly shift. Read more
Jul
4
Understanding how generations work – and work together
Filed Under Business Builders, Editorial & Guest Columns | Leave a Comment
By LIBBY ANDERSON
Guest Columnist
“Rules are rules.”
“Coming in before the rest of the staff puts me ahead of the competition.”
“I just wish my supervisor would leave me alone.”
“Why so many policies?”
These remarks are just some that can be overheard in most typical workplaces every day. They also reflect an interesting dynamic that is occurring in the workplace: the mix of generations representing the variety of age groups of your staff. While there have always been workers of different ages, it has been more and more apparent that this current mix has a great deal of complexity. Read more
Jul
4
New initiative seeks firm to give market an identity
By BILL SCHILLER
Business Writer
As a regional market, Southwest Florida is apparently ready to dispel its image as – to quote one business leader – “irrelevant and invisible.”
For several years now, regional proponents of economic development, education and business have decried the need to promote Southwest Florida under the auspices of a brand that serves to attract new industry to the area.
Citing such examples as Brevard County’s use of “The Space Coast” and Palm, Martin and Indian River Counties use of “Research Coast,” locals have argued Southwest Florida suffers from a lack of identity. Though recognized as a tourist destination, the argument has been that there is little awareness of the business opportunities which exist here. Leaders such as Richard Pegnetter (dean of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Lutgert School of Business) and Richard Botthof (executive director of the Southwest Florida Regional Business Alliance) have maintained this region is Florida’s only major urban market that has no regional branding and marketing organization.
The result, according to Botthof: “We are irrelevant and invisible on the economic development landscape.”
Now, it appears, that is about to change. Read more
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