The Goofproof Blog - Business Booster

I was hoping that a few days’ vacation from the Blog World would result in a clarifiied perception of where the world was headed and how it could point you (and your business) in a profitable direction.  Not yet.

The news of the world all leaned toward finance with its many ramifications. The tone of most comments seemed to be moderately upbeat, moreso than in many months, but still very, very cautious. Today the stock market seemed to take heart at the lack of change in the Fed’s stance (no news.)

One interesting article pointed out the similarities between Obama’s stimulus, which has yet to take effect, and the Reagan stimulus package in 1981 that resulted in the great bull market beginning in 1982, lasting several years and benefitting mostly emerging high tech companies. If  that is to be the scenario this time, we will all benefit. 

Meanwhile, If you are a female entrepreneur aching to get out on your own in a lovely climate and in a place with a romantic name like Cape Coral,  get on the nearest plane, train, or bus and head for Florida, USA.

“Cape Coral is the ideal place for enterprising women to start their own small businesses, according to a new program airing on the city’s cable television channel, said Audie Lewis, business recruitment specialist for the city’s Economic Development Office.

The number of small businesses opening each month has remained steady for the past year, even in this recession, as more people have started working for themselves after being laid off from other jobs. . . He said many women are starting businesses in marketing and eco-businesses that offer energy audits of homes and companies.

The goal of the program airing four times a day on cable channel 98 is to encourage women to open more small businesses in Cape Coral by showing them the advantages of locating in the city and growing their companies, said Lewis, who helped produce the show.

The demographics of Cape Coral make it a good place for women to start small businesses, said Debra Shane, one of three panelists interviewed during the program. She owns Train With Shane, a business education and mentoring firm.
She also is a consultant for the local branch of the Florida Women’s Business Center.

Women make up 51.5 percent of the city’s full-time work force, said Shane. Cape Coral’s population is 160,000. She said that a total of 60 percent of households include married couples with children younger than 18 and the average age is 43.
These demographics make Cape Coral a family-oriented community. Cape Coral is a great place to grow a family and build a business.

Women are starting home-based businesses on the Internet and in the fields of insurance, retail sales, marketing and consulting. They are tapping into their passions and what skills they have, Shane said.
Annette Watkins was laid off from her art teaching job at Ida S. Baker High School. Watkins, a single mother, said she got the idea for starting a business after talking with a friend who suggested she teach art classes. atkins took the idea to the drawing board and added a twist - teaching art classes for beginners by partnering with wine and cheese shops and restaurants.
She started her business, Brushes and Bottles, last September. Watkins said she teaches two-hour art classes for mainly beginners at Time To Make Wine, a shop and cafe at 912 SE 46th Lane owned by Sandy Zahorchak. The art class costs $35. It’s a different way to get people to unwind. They paint, they have wine and relax, Watkins said. Her business took off and she now has locations in Naples, Fort Myers and Miami.
There are several organizations that help women start and grow businesses, including the Small Business Development Center at Florida Gulf Coast University, with an office in Cape Coral. The center offers free counseling and has business seminars to help women get started.
The Southwest Florida Enterprise Center, the local office of the Florida Women’s Business Center, offers mentoring and other services to women in business.” Read related articles HERE.