On the Economic Scene

JOB FAIR COMING TO THE VOLUSIA MALL – VolusiaJobFair.com will hold its next free job fair at the Volusia Mall on Jan. 8. Participants can meet one-on-one with hiring managers and companies with immediate job openings from entry level to experienced professional in retail, health care, hospitality, municipal jobs, professional trades and other industry sectors. Make sure to register so companies can review your resume prior to attending. The job fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. near the food court of the Volusia Mall, 1700 W. International Speedway Blvd.

VOLUSIA COUNTY BUSINESS INCUBATOR’S THIRD ANNUAL CLIENT SHOWCASE AWARDS – The Volusia County Business Incubator held its Third Annual Client Showcase on Tuesday, Dec. 3. The event was open to the public and featured individual tours and an awards ceremony. Attendees learned about innovative products and services being developed by Incubator clients and were introduced to the Soft Landing program available through UCF’s Business Incubation Program. County Council Member Heather Post honored Corrine Heck, CEO of florist software company Details Flowers, with the award for incubator “Graduate of the Year” and Anthony Ford, CEO of home health care company Plan Life Care, with the incubator “Entrepreneur of the Year” award.

2020 MARKET WATCH BUSINESS SUMMIT – The Daytona Regional Chamber and Team Volusia will hold a 2020 Market Watch and Business Summit from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Dec. 10, at the Hilton Daytona Oceanfront, 100 N. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach. Advance registration is $35. The charge is $50 on the day of event. Local leaders will give their perspectives on the local economy. Marci McGregor, a senior portfolio strategist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, will present a 2020 national and international outlook. For further information and registration, contact Ken Phelps or call 386-523-3675.

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND SPENDING UP 16% – A record 189.6 million U.S. consumers shopped from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, an increase of 14% over last year’s 165.8 million, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. Black Friday was the busiest day for in-store activity, with 84.2 million shoppers, followed by Small Business Saturday (59.9 million), Thanksgiving Day (37.8 million), Sunday (29.2 million) and Cyber Monday (21.8 million). Of those shopping on Saturday, 73% were likely to shop specifically for Small Business Saturday. Locally, this bodes well, as consumerism helps support a workforce of 30,867 employed in the retail trade industry within the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach MSA.

IMPROVING CASH FLOW IN YOUR BUSINESS – At 9 a.m. Dec. 18, GrowFL will present a free one-hour webinar on business cash flow improvement. Learn how to optimize your business’s current cash flow process and identify bottlenecks. Mark Mandula, chief marketing officer for United Capital Funding, will present the workshop. He has spoken across the globe from London to Kuala Lumpur to Tianjin and earned his business degrees from the Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business. Don’t miss his discussion of the principles and benefits of successful cash flow and practical steps to measure and improve that process.

LIVE WEBINAR: HOW TO WIN BUYERS AND INFLUENCE SALES WITH VALUE – It is no longer a sufficient strategy to build a business that provides sub-par products and services. Consumers are more educated than ever, and social influence continues to play a larger part in how fast a business grows or dies. In this one-hour, live webinar to be held at 1 p.m. Dec. 12, SCORE Certified Mentor Brandon Shaefer will present the what, when and how to create value that will win over buyers and increase sales. Participants will receive post-webinar handouts to help with staying on track. Some of the key strategies to be covered include ways to differentiate in a crowded market, using data to create upsell opportunities, mastering initial appointments, and providing excellent customer service.

AGRISCIENCE ACADEMY – The academy at New Smyrna Beach High School prepares students for careers in agriscience, horticulture, veterinary assisting and aquaculture. Through the school farm and area marine environments, students have opportunities to connect with local projects in agricultural sciences. For more on this academy, contact Academy Director Joanna Crawford.

NASA IS GOING BACK TO THE MOON BY 2024 AND MARS AFTERWARD – NASA is bringing together the capabilities and resources of its international and commercial partners to help the USA get to the moon quickly and sustainably. NASA has a bold vision to return to the moon by 2024. Last month, the Artemis I Orion spacecraft arrived at NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, for in-space environmental testing. This is the final, critical step before the spacecraft can be joined with the Space Launch System rocket. The Artemis I Mission is an un-crewed test flight around the moon – the first in a series of progressively more complex missions that will land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface. NASA will use what it learns from the moon mission to prepare for sending humans to Mars. Click for more about NASA’s Moon to Mars plans.

NEWS ITEMS WANTED! – Please send your business news items to Joanne Magley at jmagley@volusia.org.