June 18, 2018
NEW WEBSITE HELPS BUSINESSES PREPARE FOR NATURAL DISASTERS – The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has a new website, FloridaDisaster.biz, to help Florida businesses prepare for and recover from hurricanes and other disasters. Businesses, like individuals and families, must be prepared with a plan, and FloridaDisaster.biz will guide businesses step-by-step to help them prepare and quickly recover from an emergency. To learn more, visit www.FloridaDisaster.biz.
CULINARY ARTS ACADEMY – The academy at New Smyrna Beach High School utilizes the industry-standard ProStart curriculum to teach students industry skills in the hospitality and tourism career cluster. Students in the advanced courses are responsible for the operation of Cuda Café, a school-based restaurant that serves 100 to 150 people twice weekly, and for Cuda Catering, a catering service available to community organizations. For details, contact Academy Director Beth Stone at eastone@volusia.k12.fl.us.
SCORE PRESENTS: GET YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE WITH GOOGLE – This SCORE workshop will explain how to set up your business for success on Google; how to claim, verify and update your free Google Business listing; how to target interest with Google AdWords Express; and how to use Google maps. The workshop will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 21, at Daytona State College, UCF Building 150, Room 101, 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach. For more information, call 386-255-6889. Register at https://tinyurl.com/y8labaep.
DSC COLLABORATES IN GRANT TO TRAIN HIGH-TECH WORKERS – Daytona State College (DSC) is partnering with a neighboring Brevard County institution, Eastern Florida State College, on a nearly $3.8 million state grant to train Floridians for jobs in aerospace and advanced manufacturing. Called the Florida Actively Collaborating with Training for Individuals in Vocational & Advanced Technology Educational Skills (Florida ACTIVATES) Consortium, the partnership is part of Florida's Job Growth Grant Fund initiative spearheaded by the governor's office, the Department of Economic Opportunity and Enterprise Florida. DSC will receive $1.2 million to develop, expand and equip programs in advanced welding, mechatronics and industrial technology maintenance. To learn more, go to https://tinyurl.com/ybf6prkb.
REPORT FINDS SMALL BUSINESSES ARE RAISING COMPENSATION – In its most recent survey, the National Federation of Independent Businesses shows that 35 percent of small business owners reported increases in labor compensation. The higher compensation is linked to the difficulty owners have in attracting workers. At the time of the survey, 58 percent of respondents were hiring or trying to hire, but of that group 83 percent reported having few or no qualified candidates. Higher compensation is one method being used to improve their hiring success. Learn more in the full report at https://www.nfib.com/assets/SBET-April-2018.pdf.
EDA ANNOUNCES 2018 FUNDING OPPORTUNITY – In recognition of the importance of entrepreneurship in building resilient, regional economies, the U.S. Economic Development Administration has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the 2018 Regional Innovation Strategies program. With up to $21 million available, this year’s program is expected to help spur innovation capacity-building activities in regions across the nation through two separate grants: the i6 Challenge and the Seed Fund Support Grant competitions. The i6 Challenge is a leading national initiative designed to support the creation of centers for innovation and entrepreneurship that increase the rate at which innovations, ideas, intellectual property and research are translated into products, services, viable companies and jobs. The Seed Fund Support program provides funding for technical assistance to support the creation, launch or expansion of equity-based, cluster-focused seed funds that invest regionally managed risk capital in regionally based startups. For details, go to https://www.eda.gov/files/oie/ris/2018-RIS-Program-NOFO.pdf.
FLORIDA SEAPORTS MISSION PLAN – The Florida Ports Council has released a new report, "Connecting Commerce: The 2018-2022 Five-Year Florida Seaport Mission Plan,” which provides updated seaport figures on international trade, cargo data and cruise activity. Some highlights include $83.2 billion in waterborne trade (4.9 percent increase), 16.1 million cruise passengers served, $54.4 billion in value of containerized cargo moved ($4.3 billion increase) and eight of Florida’s 11 cargo ports increasing tonnage, with 24 million tons worth of containers moved. To review the full report, visit https://tinyurl.com/y6w6mj6o.
4 RESOURCES TO HELP CREATE A SAFE WORKPLACE – When was the last time you revisited your workplace safety plan? Meeting the legal requirements for a safe and healthful workplace can ensure that you and your employees are always safe. In honor of National Safety Month, the U.S. Small Business Administration has highlighted four resources that will help you identify unsafe behaviors, create opportunities for improvement, and help you (and your employees) make well-informed safety decisions on a daily basis. For more information on these resources, visit https://tinyurl.com/y77lxfs5.
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