NAPLES endorses Project Innovation

Networking groups help advance Collier EDC’s mission

By Cynthia M. Dobyns
Guest Correspondent

“Decisions are made by those who turn up,” said Karl Gibbons, president of the Naples Area Professional League of Executive Services (NAPLES) networking group. True to those words, the group unanimously voted to endorse Project Innovation halfway through a presentation by Julie Schmelzle, spokeswoman and board member for Collier County’s Economic Development Council (EDC).

Common good

The early morning gathering of business entrepreneurs nodded in agreement as Schmelzle said, “Growth is not about traffic and road expansion. It is about opportunities to be gainfully employed, to be an entrepreneur, and to take a chance.” She defined Project Innovation as the foundation for creating an environment where a diversified audience can find work, from young graduates who choose to stay here rather than leave for northern cities to retirees who want to stay active in jobs they enjoy. “The EDC needs to do a better job engaging people in the business community. We want to hear from you.”

Julie Schmelzle

Her words resonated with NAPLES members, one of several networking groups in Southwest Florida that are coming together to make things happen. During tough economic times throughout history, Schmelzle said, merchants would band together, create guilds, and develop relationships that foster help among peers. Collier County is at a critical juncture and needs the attention of groups like NAPLES that represent new business owners, consultants, and sales professionals in a variety of industries. A number of similar organizations are sprouting up in our community, according to Schmelzle, which is good news for the EDC.

The face of change

With the addition of NAPLES to their ranks, 51 organizations have endorsed Project Innovation. The program has been hosting workshops throughout Collier County to solicit feedback from business owners by asking questions such as:

Who do we want to be?
What do we look like?
What do we need to do to be successful?
What is important to us?
How do we grow talent?
Why do new businesses come to Collier County?

Schmelzle conceded the easy answer to the last question: businesses are often driven here by the sunshine and quality of life. But a business owner needs much more than great weather to be successful. She said we need to define the aspirations of our community and focus on what we need to do to be successful by asking the right questions. With these responses, the EDC is creating a baseline from which to grow. She said goals for building the economy of Collier County are talent, governance, business climate, quality of life and place, innovation, and infrastructure.

The next workshop is on May 20, when the EDC will host Richard Florida, the author of the international best-selling book, The Rise of the Creative Class, which received the Washington Monthly’s Political Book Award and was cited as a major breakthrough idea by the Harvard Business Review. To register, go to www.Projectinnovation.cc.

NAPLES group president Karl Gibbons encouraged the members to attend and to participate. “We are vibrant business members of this community. If Naples and Collier County do not grow, our businesses will not grow. We support this. We turn up.”

Cynthia M. Dobyns has owned and operated AboveWater Public Relations and Marketing LLC for eight years in Collier County.

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