From left, Connie Larkin, John Mahoney and Don Guiley prepare for the “Slow Speed” networking meeting held every Friday at the SunTowers Retirement Community. Shawn Spiegel hands one of his business cards to Carolyn Thomas. Lia Martin photo.
By LIA MARTIN
More than 50 percent of the working population in the United States is employed in a small-business setting, according to Forbes magazine. More than half of that population works at home. Since 1996, statistics also show, more than 65 percent of the new jobs created in this country were located at small-business venues.
It has been a challenging job market in recent years, and an entrepreneurial spirit has grown since the job market began to shrink and jobs were lost.
This past week inside an Old Salty Dog restaurant at New Pass in Sarasota, a sign was posted:
“One of the fundamental requirements of being an entrepreneur is being naive. We certainly qualify. Thanks Old Salty Dog for keeping us out of the woods,” signed
New Pass Grill and Bait.
One of the employees of Old Salty Dog explained that when New Pass Grill and Bait restaurant first opened, the owners felt overwhelmed. Old Salty Dog, with its location down the street from New Pass Grill, extended a hand of encouragement.
The thank you is posted on the wall for everyone to see. One restaurant owner helping another in a time of need speaks for itself.
In the same spirit, entrepreneurs attending “Slow Speed” networking every Friday morning at SunTowers Retirement Community support one another. They learn about one another’s lives and challenges over time, and exchange a little advice here and there. They swap business cards and each has a short “verbal ad” they give each Friday.
If someone is looking for a job, or a business lead, these entrepreneurs keep their ears and eyes open so they are ready to refer one another. The event is free.
“At SunTowers, we strive to be a resource for our community. By providing our weekly networking meeting, we have assisted 56 individuals [at the networking event] in finding employment within the past three years,” said Debbie Caneen, SunTowers director of admissions. “There are several professionals who attend every week without fail, and others who come and go but share what they do with us each week, giving our group additional resources. The group is FREE and open to all and takes place each Friday morning from 7:30 to 9 a.m. I invite anyone who would like to expand their network to attend. No RSVP is required. Come on over!”
Caneen, who is also the Greater Sun City Center Chamber of Commerce board president, moderates the networking seminar.
Sun City Center has residents who are 55 or older, as required by the community. They have specific needs, so businesses dealing in medical and health-care concerns do well here. There are more than several home health-care providers in the networking group, as well as businesses helping seniors to manage their finances and their daily budgetary needs and assisting in ways that are helpful when aging and memory issues surface.
Susan Seipelt is a senior transition specialist who “helps to create peace of mind” in her business. She helps guide people in money management and acknowledges that her market is people who have dementia-related issues.
“We are certified guardians to help guide those in money management,” Seipelt says. “We are looking for caregiver’s referrals.”
One approach to helping seniors is the program offered by Behind the Wheel Rehab, “a company dedicated to maximizing your independence in community mobility,” as it describes itself. In short, the company’s Rany Hines is an occupational therapist helping to improve her clients’ driving skills so they can retain their license.
“Driver rehabilitation may be beneficial whenever a medical condition caused limited function,” says the marketing flier for Behind the Wheel Rehab. “These medical conditions may be neurological, orthopedic, developmental or they may be a result of age-related changes in function.”
Shawn Spiegel is a “car haggler” and an expert in the automotive industry. He charges $250 to find the perfect car for his clients. His relationships with car dealers enable him to filter through all the possibilities of car ownership for his clients. Spiegel finds the car, goes with the client to see it and drive it, and will do all the “haggling,” including having the paperwork completed if the client decides to buy the car.
Spiegel told the Friday morning group he would like more of a senior market and that it was a demographic he would like to “conquer.” Other entrepreneurs will no doubt refer him, judging from the positive reinforcement from the group.
Mark Murphy describes himself as an “accomplished office manager and operations coordinator.” He asked the group to refer him to an employer who needs help in organizing its business so that it will be successful.
Entrepreneurs helping one another. That is what this networking group is all about.
Bryce Bowden is a real estate agent with Turner Cole Company Real Estate Services who also attended the event. He acknowledges: “It has opened doors and made introductions which I would not have been able to do.”
