Jan
23
Realtor makes slow market pay off
Filed Under Profiles | Leave a Comment
Grimes succeeds with mixture of optimism and hard work
By JESSICA HEHIR
Business Writer
Lee County is now in a position to boast one of the highest – possibly the highest – foreclosure rates in the country. And Denny Grimes says that’s a good thing.
“Who wants to be second?” he challenged. “If we are going to be the foreclosure capital of the United States, that is fabulous. And you know what? I want the news media across the country to run that and put it on every bus bench there is. Because people that are looking for sales always go to the stores that have the best buys.”
Denny Grimes has served as a full-time Realtor in Lee County for the past 26 years and owns Denny Grimes & Company. During that time he has accumulated an impressive track record – including, most recently, a partnership with investor O.J. Buigas, manager of the Private Equity Group. He and Grimes sold 80 homes in Coral Lakes in just five days last March despite the bleak housing market.
Grimes said it proves a point.
Jan
23
S4J keeps a lock on the market
Filed Under Manufacturing, Profiles | Leave a Comment
Manufacturing company finds its niche in Cape Coral
By SARA FITZPATRICK
Associate Editor
How does a second-generation manufacturing company stay relevant and competitive in a fickle economy?
Perhaps it constantly seeks out new industries to serve. Maybe it tries to anticipate and cash in on the high-tech device flavor of the week. Or it might sprinkle in a measured dash of planned obsolescence and move its operations oversees.
Or maybe it does the one thing it’s always done – and does it consistently well: supplies primarily to only one industry sector, and relocates to … Cape Coral?
Yes, that’s what S4J has done.
Dec
12
Your own personal physician
Filed Under Health Care, Profiles, Trends | Leave a Comment
Concierge doctor combines service with medicine
by SARA FITZPATRICK
Associate Editor
Sure your doctor is board certified. Everybody knows the importance of that distinction. Yes, the office is proudly decorated with diplomas. But if waiting 45 minutes past the scheduled start of your appointment has you wondering why there is no diploma in customer service, you’re certainly not alone.
But you do have a choice.
Meet Dr. Wayne Burr, concierge physician.
He may sound like a doctor to the stars – and that suspicion may seem confirmed upon stepping into his waiting area. It looks and feels more like a nicely appointed living room. There’s a large screen TV, a varied assortment of (current!) magazines, and a friendly greeting from staff who offer a bottle of cold water while you wait. There’s even an executive room furnished with a fax machine.
However, chances are there won’t be much time to enjoy the amenities – appointments are typically scheduled with an hour’s window between.
But Burr’s not using a silver spoon as a tongue depressor. Revolutionary and counterintuitive as it may seem these days, he thinks service, convenience and quality care combine to make good medicine. More than that, it makes good sense.
Dec
12
Retiring Conover muses over future of Lehigh Acres
Filed Under Economic Development, Profiles | Leave a Comment
By JESSICA HEHIR
Business Writer
Oliver Conover is planning to retire for the third time Dec. 31, 2008. The executive director of the Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce has spent decades in the military, owned his own insurance agency, worked as an industrial fund raiser from the East Coast to the Rocky Mountains and spent several years as the development director for the Southwest Florida Symphony.
Now, after 10 years with the Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce, he reflects on the changes the area has witnessed under his watch – and what has disappointingly remained the same. He also looks ahead to what is in store for his successor come the dawn of the new year. Conover is, above all else, optimistic about the future of Lehigh Acres. Read more
Oct
24
Top Web site pumps up sales professionals
By BOB MASSEY
Editor
Where would you find the largest online community for sales professionals in the world? New York, perhaps? Los Angeles? London?
Would you believe Cape Coral?
With the trademarked tag line “Sales Professionals Are the Elite Athletes of the Business World,” Sales Gravy (www.salesgravy.com) is the self-proclaimed “portal to all things Sales.” And founder Jeb Blount has worked hard to make it that way.
“I was the head of sales for a large, $13 billion company – I handled sales for the Southeast region – and got tired of flying in airplanes all the time,” he said.
So Blount decided he would take a different tack – he just wasn’t sure what.
“While I was waiting to figure it out, my wife said she would divorce me if I didn’t find something else,” he quipped.
But he already had the answer; he just hadn’t recognized it.
Sep
12
“Nothing stays the same - but there is always opportunity.”
By PENNY DEUTSCH
Business Writer
When Maryann Mize decided to become a banker, she had no idea she would also become a teacher – and an exclusive one at that.
Mize – senior vice president/senior credit officer at Charlotte State Bank and past president of the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce – is one of only 95 professionals in the world designated as a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) instructor.
A CCIM is a recognized expert in the disciplines of commercial and investment real estate. While 9,000 professionals currently hold the CCIM designation across North America and more than 30 countries, approximately 10,000 additional professionals are applying for or awaiting CCIM designation – and there is a 15 percent failure rate.
Of the estimated 150,000 commercial real estate practitioners nationwide, only 6 percent hold the CCIM designation.
With 25 years of banking experience in a variety of professional positions, there don’t seem to be any glass ceilings stopping her from achieving the rewards of her dedication to her career.
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