Good decisions, family values help local business

Small business owners are working harder than ever to survive these tough times. As the small business feature in Wednesday's Bradenton Herald illustrates, brothers Bob and Rocky Smith have had to do a lot of retooling to keep Universal Window Solutions afloat and competitive.

During my interview with the local business owners Tuesday, Rocky Smith said, "We've worked harder in the last four years than we have in the last 20 years."

Much of today's story focused on the business decisions the Smiths made that allowed Universal Window Solutions to pull through the recession. But it's important to add that family values and relationships have played a big part in the success of Universal Window Solutions, which was incorporated in 1981.

Rocky Smith purchased the business in 1999, and Bob Smith joined the business in 2001.

"We grew up understanding the value of a dollar," Rocky Smith said. "That has truly helped us."

Bob and Rocky's parents, both manufacturing representatives, taught them that value, as well as some good sales and business tactics the brothers have been able to carry into their own business.

"Our parents would be on the phone with clients and you'd be eavesdropping not really knowing you're eavesdropping," Bob Smith recalled. "It helped us see there's a lot of skill in understanding the sales process. It's not easy -- it's a very difficult process."

Boating plan goes after niche market

Tim Norwood (provided photo)

Tim Norwood is going after a very specific market with his proposed boat factory, as featured in today's Bradenton Herald Business section.

The concept he is working on for Row Norwood is whitehall row boats and crew boats. According to those in the marine industry, these types of recreational boats are ideal in a down economy.

The boats require less maintenance, no fuel, and are what first-time boaters usually start with, says Gordon Connell, director of association services at the Marine Industries Association of South Florida.

"The number of people doing real basic, entry-level rowing and paddle boating has become quite popular," Connell says. "There will continue to be a slice or segment in the industry for these type of boats."

But with any type of business, niche marketing can come with some downfalls.

"You have a greater dependency on one particular market and therefore there's more risk," says Joe Pfeiffer, volunteer business counselor for Manasota SCORE, a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration. "Everything is so defined."

On the other hand, Pfeiffer says market segmentation allows entrepreneurs to build closer relationships with their client base and better reach them through advertising. And Pfeiffer, who is also a business consultant in the Bradenton-Sarasota area, sees more established businesses going this route because -- you guessed it -- of the economy.

"Businesses have done everything they can to cut costs, so now they're really focused on trying to expand sales," Pfeiffer said. "They're finding a better niche market may be an opportunity for that."

Building business with a passion

Dell Hyland is a perfect example of those who build a business based on a passion for something, as reported in my 1A business story today.

The U.S. Marine veteran and 17-year veteran of the security industry is proposing a multi-use training facility for fire, police, emergency rescue and private security agencies.

Hyland is still working on building his startup, Wide World Security, in the region. And, while the proposed training center that could cost upwards of $150 million is a major undertaking, Hyland is determined.

"It was always my intent to grow with the community, to provide a better service of security and make it a safer place to live and raise a family," said Hyland, a 10-year resident of Lakewood Ranch.

After the Marines, Hyland's security career has involved event staff for concerts, executive protection and celebrity protection. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and after participating in the relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina, Hyland felt compelled to turn his passion into something bigger.

Wide World Security is Hyland's vision for what he hopes will improve security nationwide. And it's a vision that could bring 100 jobs to this area.

Manatee officials to host small business forum

Times have been tough for small businesses. If you want to let your local officials know just how difficult business is, you can do so on Tuesday.
The Manatee County Board of Commissioners is hosting a forum at 1 p.m. Tuesday to hear from local businesses about the challenges they're facing. The forum will be an opportunity to discuss the economic challenges you're facing as a small business owner and any suggestions you have for how the county can help.
The free forum will run from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. at the Manatee Civic Center, One Haben Blvd., Palmetto.

Talking about tourism

In the first BizBlast blog I told you about the free marketing Visit Florida is offering to tourism businesses. Now I want to tell you about some plans the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau is working on to help local businesses with their overall marketing strategies.

In today's business section, you'll see the bureau hosted another tourism industry meeting on Wednesday. While those meetings have mainly addressed oil spill issues, interim director Elliott Falcione indicated he'd like future meetings to be educational workshops for tourism businesses.

Falcione said future meetings will aim to bring in local experts on online marketing, social media networking and other marketing strategies to help tourism businesses  reach their clients more effectively. In addition, Falcione said the meetings should be an opportunity for business owners to share what's helping or hurting their sales.

The next tourism industry meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. Aug. 11 at Holmes Beach City Hall. That meeting will give you an opportunity to meet the bureau's new Executive Manager Debbie Meihls, who will oversee sales and marketing for the bureau and maybe learn a tip or two for your business.