August 2016

Cape Coral RanksNo. 1 for Job Growth

Forbes reports that the CapeCoral-Fort Myers MSA has seen a25.7% increase in jobs over thepast five years, placing us in thetop position among 150 U.S.metropolitan areas. The statistics were compiled bythe labor-market data companyEmsi. According to Emsi, the arts,entertainment, recreation andconstruction industries are morethan double the national averagein Cape Coral. Learn more.

Cape CoralCommunity

Foundation Poisedfor Growth UnderNew Leadership

Economic DevelopmentNews

Message From Your EDO ManagerIt's About the Pizza!All this time I thoughtthat people located inCape Coral because ofthe nice weather, the400 miles of canals,proximity to some of thebest beaches or the access to the Gulf of Mexico. Turnsout I was wrong, very wrong. Apparently, Cape Coral isthe place for pizza lovers to congregate! According to the online site SmartAsset, Cape Coral isnow ranked the No. 9 city in the U.S. for pizza lovers andwas the only city in Florida or the southeastern U.S. tomake the list. In addition to the local pizza aficionados,that means we have some pretty solid choices for pizzain our city. The News-Press did a nice article andhighlighted just a few of the pizza joints here in the Capeand the listing, although not comprehensive, isnonetheless impressive. If you add to that that notablelist other types of eateries in our community, it makes fora very solid place for foodies. So, why is this all so important? Well, in my game, we'reselling a sense of place. We're selling housing stock,access to amenities, waterfront living, cost of living,entertainment and workforce when we recruit newbusinesses to our community. With that in mind, youcan be assured that I will use 'Top 10 Place for PizzaLovers' because this message helps create a sense ofplace. After all, when you think about it, you have to goa long way to find someone who doesn't like pizza. Right? Stay hungry my Cape Coral friends...

Sincerely,

Dana Brunett City of Cape CoralEconomic Development Manager

Michael Chatman officially beginswork next week as the newExecutive Director for the CapeCoral Community Foundation(CCCF). Chatman last worked asthe Senior Vice President ofPhilanthropy at the CommunityFoundation of the Ozarks inMissouri. He is a graduate ofMissouri State University with aBachelor's degree in politicalscience and a post-graduatedegree in entrepreneurship fromthe Harvard Business School'sExecutive Education program. NonProfit Times Magazinehas recognized Chatman as oneof the most influentialphilanthropic leaders in America. With more than 300-thousandfollowers on Twitter, Chatman isalso known as one of the nation'sleading social media influencers inphilanthropy. You can find hisTwitter talk show #WHYIGIVE@michaelchatman.

The CCCF Board selectedChatman to take the reins after asix-month national search. "Webelieve that Chatman is theperfect fit to lead our CommunityFoundation," says CCCF BoardChair Brian Gomer. "Ourorganization is entering a newphase of maturity and growth.Chatman's experience will help usto gain national recognition as wecontinue to focus our giving tomeet the needs of Cape Coral." When asked to describe CapeCoral in two to three words,Chatman had this to share: "Ripe with opportunity--Cape

Cape Companies are Finalists in 25thIndustry Appreciation Awards

A number of Cape Coral companies are in the running thisyear to win prestigious awards at this year's IndustryAppreciation ceremony. This event is hosted by the LeeCounty Economic Development Office and the HorizonCouncil, recognizing businesses that have made'significant contributions' to the local economy. Awardcategories include: Business Citizenship, EmergingBusiness Leader and LocaLEE Grown with a special one-

time legacy award in commemoration of the 25th year. For Business Citizenship, IBERIABANK is a contender withWicked Dolphin Rum Distillery in the running for theEmerging Business Leader Award. Physicians' PrimaryCare of Southwest Florida is a finalist for the LocaLEEGrown Business Award and David Barton,owner/developer of the North Cape Industrial Park is afinalist for this year's exclusive Bruce T. Gora LegacyAward. According to the Lee County EDO website, thisaward recognizes an individual who has established ahistory of distinguished service and contributions to thebetterment and growth of Lee County's businesscommunity over the last 25 years. In addition, this personhas exhibited superior leadership and inspiration to others,not only in the business community, but also to thecommunity as a whole.

Congratulations to all of these business leaders for yournominations. The ceremony will be held at 11:45 a.m. onAugust 25 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Estero. Learn more.

Business Profile:Professional Secure Assistance

Dave Hampton -- Helping people to maximize their socialsecurity benefits.

Coral is a growing community withmany generous people whobelieve in the idea of caring fortheir neighbors. The role of acommunity foundation can also besummed up in three words: 1)Give. 2) Grow. 3) Grant. Cape Coral philanthropists &humanitarians give throughsetting up a giving fund throughthe foundation, the funds areinvested to grow and, at thedonor's discretion, we give thefunds back in the form ofgrants to nonprofits, ministriesand churches to benefitcommunities in Cape Coral andSouthwest Florida. I would like to share with thebusiness community in CapeCoral that we are in the middle ofthe greatest transfer of wealth inhistory. The builder generation willpass along their estate wealth totheir kids and grand kids. My hopeis that everyone who calls CapeCoral home will see ourcommunity as another child intheir estate plan. They will giveback to the community and makeit better and stronger by making abequest gift through their estate tobenefit nonprofits in ourcommunity."

Chatman officially begins work onAugust 22nd. Visit: www.capecoralcf.org

Noela Chocolate andConfections Wins

Award

Truly delectable chocolates aregarnering attention once again in

Dave Hampton has been an advocate for social securityrights for 36 years. For the first 26, he worked as a claimsrepresentative for the Social Security Administration (SSA)before starting Professional Secure Assistance (PSA) inConnecticut in 2008. He's both proud and passionateabout his work, which won $5.5 million in past-due benefitsfor his Connecticut clients. "Currently my disability clients are receiving approximately$180,000 in monthly benefits," says Hampton. "Anyonewho has stopped work due to illness, injury or a condition,has changed to a lesser job, or continues the same job,but with fewer hours-these are the people I can truly help." After visiting family in Cape Coral, the sunshine and waterenticed Hampton to move his business here in 2014. Inaddition to helping people with disabilities, Hampton alsoworks to help workers maximize their SSA retirementbenefits. The best age to begin checking according toHampton is between the ages of 58 and 62 while stillworking. One story Hampton shares is about a woman with threekids whose ex-husband died. She came to him to find outif there were any possible benefits for her children. WhenHampton told her that she would receive $980 a month,she burst into grateful tears before letting him finish whathe had to tell her. When she finally paused, he was ableto inform her that it was $980 per child per month. Thenthe tears really began to flow. Recently, PSA launched a new service and website toanswer Social Security questions: www.AskPSA.com. Once on the website, anyone with a question has twooptions: 1) Click email and pay $9.99 for an emailresponse or 2) Speak directly to an advisor for $19.99. Hampton also represents clients directly with the SSA,often receiving his pay from a portion of back pay benefitsfrom cases he wins. An example of a typical question would be: 'If I work and Iget Social Security disability, can I continue to work?' According to Hampton, there is no short answer becausethe spouse, children and other factors have to beconsidered. It's my hope that we can get people the answers theyneed when they need them," adds Hampton. "Mymotivation to help is still very high." www.AskPSA.com 239.541.7407

The E-Myth Principle is Still Alive andFlourishing By Russ Winstead CBA, CFM, CGBP FGCU Small BusinessDevelopment Center, Cape Coral Consultant

Cape Coral. This time, NoelaChocolate and Confections takescenter stage by winning the 2016William O. Webb Award along witha $1,000 check from the FloridaSmall Business DevelopmentCenter (SBDC) at Florida GulfCoast University. Noela is a family-owned artisanchocolate company thathandcrafts small batches at theirCape Coral factory using naturalspices, juices and organic nuts aswell as carefully selected fair-trade certified chocolate suppliers.The company's owners beganworking with the SBDC in 2015. To view their artisan chocolates,visit: noelachocolate.com

New Cape CoralBusinesses

151 new businesses registered for

Cape Coral Tax Receipts

(Business Licenses)

in July 2016.

Click here to view new Cape

business reports.

Fall ParksProgram GuideNow Available

239.573.2737

Martin Zwillingdiscussed in aForbes article that theE-Myth Principle is stillalive and flourishing. Over 25 years ago,Michael E. Gerber wrotea best-selling businessbook called The E-Myth: Why Most Businesses Don't Workand What to Do about It. The E-Myth (EntrepreneurialMyth) is the mistaken belief that most businesses arestarted by people who have tangible business skills, whenin fact most are started by 'technicians' who know nothingabout running a business. Hence most fail. Here is Martin'sassessment in a nutshell:

"Some pundits argue that the E-Myth principle is nowoutdated, due to the instant access to information viathe Internet, pervasive networking via social media,and courses on entrepreneurship at all levels ofeducation. Perhaps innate business savvy is no longera requirement for starting a successful business.

Let me assure you that in my experience, I'm notconvinced. I still see too many businesses started bytechnicians who haven't acquired the basic skills orknowledge, or still assume that business acumen is aminor part of the new business equation. I also seeno evidence that the percentage of new businesssuccesses has gone up in the last couple of decades."

I agree with most of Martin's assessment. However, Ihave found that the companies that utilize the vastinformational resources available, including educationalopportunities and business support services, tend to havea much better record of success! Those that choose toignore the requirement of a good business foundation andthink that their product or service alone will make themsuccessful are mistaken. Many businesses start well,however, without the proper plan and approach, many fail.This is why most lending institutions require at least twoyears in business before they will lend money. If you want to have a successful business, you need acompetitive product and/or service and the businessknowledge to run and grow it. There are many ways toobtain this business knowledge. At the FSBDC we helpguide businesses in the right direction every day. If youwould like some help understanding how to take yourbusiness to the next level, let us know. We are here foryou!

Cape Coral Police Department Awarded Defibrillator Grant

The Cape Coral Parks &Recreation Fall 2016 ProgramGuide is now available online. Click here to view the 40-pageProgram Guide.

In addition to being able to viewthe guide online, a limited supplyof printed guides is available forpick-up at all of the city'sRecreation Centers, both of CapeCoral's public libraries and theParks & Recreation counter in CityHall.

Cape Coral Still APopular Place to

Retire

Cape Coral chimes in at No. 7 of150 cities analyzed by WalletHubin a recent search to find the bestlocations to retire. Researchers looked at four keyareas: 1) Affordability, 2)Activities, 3) Quality of Life and 4)Health Care.

Two other Florida cities also madethe top ten list: Tampa andOrlando.

Interim Police Chief Dave Newlan, Detective Sergeant BrianKearney and Grant Writer Shannon Northorp accepted theAED award presented to them by Firehouse Subs StoreManager Dan Redolphy. Photo: Courtesy Cape Coral Police.

Thanks to a grant from the Firehouse Subs Public SafetyFoundation, the Cape Coral Police Department has a newautomated external defibrillator (AED) for use in a policevehicle. This medical device analyzes heart rhythms inindividuals experiencing a cardiac event, and whennecessary, applies an electric shock in the attempt torestore a regular heartbeat. The Department currently has a limited number of officerswith an AED in their vehicle. The grant will increase theCape Coral Police Department's ability to provideemergency medical care. Firefighting brothers and restaurateurs, Chris and RobinSorensen established the Firehouse Subs Public SafetyFoundation in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. With a commitment to providing first responders with life-saving equipment and resources, the Foundation hasawarded more than $20 million to public safetyorganizations throughout the country.

Resources

Cape Coral Chamber

CareerSource Southwest Florida

Cape Community

Foundation

CCCIA

City of Cape Coral

Goodwill MicroEnterprise Prog.

Learn more.

Goodwill Industriesto Open New Store

and Donation Center

On August 25th, GoodwillIndustries of Southwest Florida willofficially open its new 17,600-square-foot store in the CapeCoral Marketplace, next to a newWalmart on Pine Island Road.

The store is expected to employ adozen people and will replace anolder store just a mile east of thenew site.

The new facility is located at: 2040N.E. Pine Island Road. Hours ofoperation will be 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.Monday-Saturday, and 10 a.m. to7 p.m. on Sunday.

Learn more.

Contact Us

EditorMerriBeth Farnham

Cape Coral EconomicDevelopment Office

Dana Brunett Karen Ramos

Email

ecodev@capecoral.net

Phone(239) 574-0444

Website

www.bizcapecoral.com

Lee County EDO

SBDC

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