Congratulations, September Licensees!

Congratulations to the following Licenses, Etc. clients who were approved in September:

·       Joseph Self at Rust Constructors, Inc. of Birmingham, AL

·       Daniel Kiesel at Bellwether Construction Services, LLC of Cape Coral, FL

·       Kenneth Goetzman at Goetzman Development, LLC of Starke, FL

·       David Doran of Naples, FL

·       Harrold Elie at Clear Sky Construction, Inc. of Lehigh Acres, FL

·       Andrew Lombardi at American Overhead Doors & More, Inc. of Molino, FL

·       Brian Moschello at Brian's Complete Home Improvements, LLC of Naples, FL

·       Brooke Emrick at Atlantic Steel Construction, LLC DBA Atlantic Steel of Miami, FL

·       Dennis Thiel at Kristal Pool Construction LLC of Cape Coral, FL

·       Jay Sullivan at UR Solar Power, LLC and UR Solar Power Licensing, LLC of Frederick, MD

·       Daniel Hamilton at Hamilton Electric, LLC of Naples, FL

·       Sharleen Hoadley at Centerpoint Construction Corp of Coral Springs, FL

·       Lee Litton at Gulfside Air Conditioning & Heating, LLC of Phoenix, AZ

·       Tim Beebe of Pompano Beach, FL

·       Arturo Parades at Paredes Mechanical, LLC of West Palm Beach, FL

And remember if you would like to be set up on Social Media Networking sites, call Lisa at 239.963.5369 for more information.

Business Lessons From a Visionary

Many people around the world are mourning the passing of Steve Jobs this week. He made a tremendous impact not just in the technology arena, but in various areas of our lives. He's even been called a world-changer.

According to a myriad of articles all over the internet, Jobs was known to be determined, focused, enthusiastic and a perfectionist, even to the point of being called crazy. He didn't give up, though, and he didn't stop at "good enough." He went the extra mile - and beyond. We can all learn from Jobs, including owners of small contracting businesses.

Here are some quotes we hope you'll think about as you go to work in your own business:

"When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through."

"To design something really well, you have to get it. You have to really grok what it’s all about. It takes a passionate commitment to really thoroughly understand something, chew it up, not just quickly swallow it. Most people don’t take the time to do that."

"When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions. Most people just don’t put in the time or energy to get there."

"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me."

"You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever."

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."

Sand Dollar Awards

As chair of this year's Sand Dollar Awards Committee for the Collier Building Industry Association (CBIA), our very own Lisa Adams played a significant role at this year's banquet and awards presentation. The Sand Dollar Awards is the equivalent of the Oscars for local building contractors. It's a major gala event with 59 awards granted this year in categories ranging from best home design to best kitchen remodel to best website for an associate member.

Lisa and her committee put together a spectacular event with an oriental theme of Good Fortune. The night included the awards presentation, a silent auction and a performance by the Robert Williamson Band. A reward for all of her hard work, Lisa got to enjoy a beautiful evening at the formal event.

Lisa (2nd from right) with friends at the 2011 Sand Dollar Awards Gala. Photo by John Sciarrino, Giovanni Photography.

We're proud of Lisa and all she's done with the Sand Dollar Awards and the CBIA. Well done, Lisa! We'd also like to say congratulations to all the winners, including client The Lykos Group for their multiple awards!

CBIA is a local chapter of the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Local chapters are located across the state. If you're not a member of your local building industry association, you ought to consider it. Numerous benefits include continuing education offerings, networking events and promotional opportunities, such as annual awards like the Sand Dollars.

Social Media Seminar for Key4Women

Thank you to everyone who attended the seminar yesterday!  Key4Women is a group started by KeyBank that provides customized business advice, access to capital, ongoing education, and networking opportunities.  Lisa was invited to be a guest speaker presenting information on Facebook, LinkedIn and the usage of social media in general There was an amazing turnout of 42 people to this breakfast meeting!  A few of the topics discussed were:

·         Actions to take to promote businesses

·         How to use Facebook to increase customer traffic

·         How to use referral marketing to outsell competition

·         Ways to use Social Media to increase brand awareness

·         How to increase your knowledge of customer attitudes and preferences with Social Media

 To see the presentation in its entirety, go to http://www.slideshare.net/lisaadamslicenses/key4-women-presentation.  There are active links within this presentation, so click away!

If you have any questions after watching this (or would like to hire us to perfect your social media message), please don’t hesitate to call Lisa at 239-963-5369!  



Lisa Adams with Joe from KeyBank



Congratulations, August licensees!

Congratulations to the following Licenses, Etc. clients who were approved in August:

·         David Blom at D&B Electrical Contractors of Longwood, FL 

·         Michael Soule at Gulfshore Construction Partners, LLC DBA Gulfshore Homes of Bonita Springs, FL

·         Greg Walls at Schear Construction, LLC of Lehigh Acres, FL

·         Matthew O'Brien at Execuvest Properties Corp of Tampa, FL

·         Calvin Wayne Hebb at Ultima Construction, LLC of Oakland Park, FL

·         Brian Noyes at Sun C.G., LLC of Seminole, FL

·         Andrew Ernst at AC Ernst Building Corp of Oviedo, FL

·         David Williams at Exceletech Coating and Applications, LLC of Clermont, FL

·         James R. Ceavers at H.A. Contracting Corp of Miami, FL

·         Kenneth Freeman at Kenneth Freeman, Inc. of Bonita Springs, FL

·         Brian O'Hara of Fort Myers, FL

·         Glenn Davis II at Kingston Construction Enterprises, LLC of Merritt Island, FL

·         Pamela FaJardo at B&D Roofing, LLC and B&D Construction of SW FL, LLC of Cape Coral, FL

·         Mitchell Sadlowski at SADAIN Building Contractors, Inc. of Fort Myers, FL

·         Julie Chambers at America's Best Contractors of Bonita Springs, FL

·         Andrew Shafer at Air Conditioning By Southern Climate Solutions, LLC of Naples, FL

·         Dennis Masters at BRD Inc. DBA BRD Construction Inc. of Buffalo, NY

We're also pleased to share the newly created or revamped Social Media Networking pages for these fine businesses we get to call clients:

·         Invitation to Paper

o    Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/InToPaper

Be sure to check them out!

And remember if you would like to be set up on Social Media Networking sites, call Lisa at 239.963.5369 for more information.

QR Codes – The Newest in Marketing

A new technological buzz is on the street and is spreading rapidly. The new advancement is called a Quick Response code, more commonly heard and talked about as a QR code. It is a specific matrix barcode. The words “quick response” refer to the fact that the code can be read quickly by a cell phone or reader and then can transmit unlimited data. They were originally created and used in Japan and are now being used throughout the United States in both commercial tracking applications and convenient applications for cell phone users.

QR codes can be placed on many mediums including magazines, business cards, buses, signs, and any objects users could need or want information from. The type of information that can be accessed by the individual scanning the QR code includes contact information, text, a website, a video, and more.  These codes are so advanced that they can even direct the user to compose a text message or e-mail or to receive a coupon for that specific business.

The QR code works very simply. The consumer needs to open the correct code reader application and hold their mobile device up to the QR code. The application then takes a picture of the code and directs the device to the information the code has been programmed to access.  

Download your reader application.  Choose yours based on the type of phone you have.  Each site lists the phones that support their apps:

·         KAYWA Reader:  http://reader.kaywa.com/

·         Mobile Tag:  http://www.mobiletag.com/

·         NeoReader:  http://neoreader.com/

Quick Response codes help you as a consumer and they can also help your business, no matter how small or large it is. By putting these codes on your products, flyers, invites, print advertising, etc. you can connect your clients to endless information. The potential growth for your business and possibilities to further service clients are endless.

Congratulations, July licensees!

Congratulations to the following Licenses, Etc. clients who were approved in July:

·  Kevin Taylor at Stage Technologies, Inc. of Las Vegas, NV

·  Richard Christiaens at Fort Myers Restoration Services, Inc. DBA Paul Davis Restoration of Lee and Charlotte of Fort Myers, FL

·  Robert Miller at Robert's HVAC & Refrigeration Inc. of Venice, FL

·  Ted Bickoff at General Plumbing, Inc. of Stoghton, MA

·  Scott Davis at Bayside Structures, L.L.C. of Molino, FL

·  Scott Ecker of Port St. Lucie, FL

·  Brandon Garmon at G3 Contracting, Inc. of West Palm Beach, FL

·  Joseph Bertolami at Lighthouse Pools, Inc. of Palm Beach Gardens, FL

·  Fritz Sullivan at Sullivan-Tassin, Inc. of Naples, FL

·  Anthony Geach at Roadway Management, Inc. of Sarasota, FL

·  Andre Williams at AE Williams Construction, L.L.C. of Orlando. FL

·  Neil Kynaston at Kynaston Construction, L.L.C. of Orlando, FL

·  Calvin Jack Eason at Eason Contracting, L.L.C. of Tampa, FL

·  Thomas Chad Lane at TCL Construction Concepts, Inc. of Winter Springs, FL

·  Pietro Mortellaro at G&M Contracting, Inc. of Tampa, FL

·  Jason Barfield at All Inclusive Maintenance & Construction, Inc. of Lakeland, FL

·  James Stamps, III of Fort Myers, FL

·  Robert Capozzoli at R&C Builders, LLC of Tampa, FL

·  Alex Mirabal at Air Central Services of Miami Springs, FL 

Be sure to check them out!

And remember if you would like to be set up on Social Media Networking sites, call Lisa at 239.963.5369 for more information.