When brothers Michael and Stephen Peel started Gulfstream

Homes in Naples in 1998, they paired Michael’s business acumen with Stephen’s

solid construction background: Michael had years of experience as a CPA for a

Big Eight accounting firm and in financial management for a Fortune 500

company, while Stephen had worked locally with Centex Homes for six years.

They knew they would have to work hard. What they didn’t

count on was succeeding so fast.

“I’ve never lived anywhere like this,” says Michael. “It’s

great to be in such a dynamic environment and experience so much opportunity.

From a business owner’s standpoint, it’s almost overwhelming.”

Last year, the University of Florida’s Warrington College of

Business Administration named Gulfstream Homes the top family-owned business in

Florida and ranked the company sixth on its roster of the Florida 100—the

fastest-growing private companies in the state. The brothers recently launched

two additional businesses—Gulfstream Construction and Gulfstream Fence—and now

have 32 employees. “A year ago, thinking we were going to have more than 20

employees was a stretch,” Michael says. “Right now, thinking more than 50 would

be a stretch, but if this keeps up, that’s where we are headed.”

The Peels are not alone. Small businesses find Southwest

Florida a welcoming place to set up shop. Entrepreneurs are attracted by the

climate, a low crime rate, the lack of a state income tax, Southwest Florida

International Airport and Florida Gulf Coast University’s burgeoning workforce

and research efforts.

According to Enterprise Florida, the state’s primary

economic development organization, nearly 78 percent of Lee County businesses

have fewer than 10 employees. In Collier County, that number is 85 percent.

For several years, national publications have singled out

Collier and Lee counties as attractive places to live and work. Forbes’ list of

the 200 Best Places for Business and Careers ranks Naples and Fort Myers 32 and

37, respectively. Inc magazine has named Fort Myers one of the 50 hottest

cities to start a small business. And Small Business magazine has spotlighted

Fort Myers-Naples as the eighth best place in the country for entrepreneurs.

The area’s popularity among entrepreneurs and small business

owners isn’t expected to slow. Florida Gulf Coast University’s Small Business

Development Center in Bonita Springs has recently seen spikes in the number of

inquiries from people out of state interested in Southwest Florida, says

director Dan Regelski. The center offers free counseling, educational workshops

and other support.

“People have their eyes on Southwest Florida as a desirable

place to relocate. They either own their own business where they’re coming

from, or they’re leaving the corporate world and moving to paradise to start up

the business they’ve always dreamed of,” Regelski says.

That’s one reason why the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of

Commerce holds Small Business Week each June. Held in conjunction with the

National Small Business Week and with the support of the Small Business

Development Center, the event includes workshops on hot topics ranging from

technology to how to develop business plans. It culminates with a luncheon

naming the Small Business of the Year. This year’s winner, Congress Jewelers,

was established in 1983 on Sanibel Island and has grown from two showcases in

the back of a shoe store to three retail locations in Sanibel, Bonita Springs

and Key West.

Chamber executive director Nancy Keefer says her

organization dedicates resources to small businesses because they are such a

large part of the community—more than 90 percent of the Chamber’s members are

businesses with fewer than 50 employees. And the majority of members have fewer

than 10 employees.

Many Southwest Florida small businesses thrive because of a

booming construction industry providing steady work for plumbers, electricians,

carpenters, roofers, painters and landscapers. Some non-construction small

businesses benefit from the building boom as well. In 1991, Claire Kingsley,

president of Kingsley & Co., moved to Naples, took a look around and

decided to specialize in public relations for the building industry. Before

long, Kingsley was earning a good living writing press releases for 18 U.S.

Home developments as well as other national developers, local builders, country

clubs and interior designers. “Public relations is very important in an area

where new businesses and developments are moving into town every day, and trust

and name recognition need to be established,” she says. “The strict focus I

decided to take has worked well.”

Jerry Wallace, owner of Fort Myers-based J.L. Wallace and

Royal Corinthian Homes, credits a strong local economy and a pro-business

environment for the success of his commercial and residential building

companies. Wallace, who has been his own boss for 15 of the 20 years he’s

worked here, employs 25. The low cost of non-union labor has helped keep the

business competitive, and he’s won projects and found work in Charlotte,

Collier and Lee counties.

J.L. Wallace has been on the University of Florida’s list of

the state’s top 100 fastest-growing private companies for two years (the

company ranked 16th this year). The builder also has been recognized as one of

America’s fastest-growing companies by Dun & Bradstreet and Entrepreneur

magazine. “We’ve been able to sustain tremendous growth in a seemingly

recession-proof economy,” says Wallace. “There’s been an explosion of building

and expansion in Collier and Lee, and I don’t see things slowing down any time

soon.”

Ten years ago AccuData America had three employees in Cape

Coral and $500,000 in annual revenues. Today, AccuData—ranked 61st on the

Florida 100—is the largest independent provider of marketing data solutions

nationwide. AccuData and its technology spin-off, Alvion Technologies, employ

250 and churn out annual revenues in excess of $30 million. The companies are

relocating from Cape Coral to Fort Myers to accommodate growth.

Owner Vilnis Ezerins says it’s become much easier to recruit

qualified employees. “Two years ago, it was almost impossible to get people to

relocate to Southwest Florida. Either they had not heard of Fort Myers, or the

wages are higher up North, or maybe they were happier up there,” he says. “For

whatever reason, in the last 18 months or so we’ve found that people are now

willing to take reductions in salaries to move down here. Maybe it’s that

economic conditions are worse elsewhere. Something is working, because we’re

having a much easier time attracting people from outside the area.”

In the 18 years he’s been in business, Jerry Fisher, owner

of Jerry Fisher’s Printing in Naples, has seen a transformation in the market.

The influx of national chains like Office Depot and Office Max drove many of

the local office supply stores and printers out of business, but Fisher’s

Printing survived by catering to small businesses. “Department stores coming

into the area, such as T.J. Maxx and Ross, order all of their printing and

marketing materials from their national headquarters, not us. What we’ve seen

is an increase in the number of physicians, attorneys and architects. Construction

companies and their suppliers—roofers, lumber companies—all give us work. Our

niche is small business,” says Fisher, who employs six.

But Southwest Florida is not a sure thing. “So many

[businesses] do open and close rather quickly,” explains Regelski. “The market

looks at you skeptically. Because this is such a transient and new market, it

takes a while before people know what you do and believe you’re going to do

what you tell them you’re going to do.”

Critical survival skills include building a reputation for

honest work and establishing trust. Regelski and his staff advise that to

thrive in Southwest Florida, “it takes the ability to network, to get out and

actually meet people and convince them that you are for real.”

More individuals are stopping in at his center to ask for

information, Regelski adds, and they are doing more research and due diligence

before opening businesses. “This is a very, very positive sign,” he says.

Essential Assistance

Here are a few area organizations that provide free information

for small-business owners.

The City of Fort Myers Business Development Center

3901 Martin Luther King Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33916-4897

Phone: (239) 332-6702

Fax: (239) 337-5604

www.cityftmyers.com/de-partments/BDC/bdc.htm

Provides office and commercial space for small and

disadvantaged businesses.

Economic Development Council of Collier County

3050 N. Horseshoe Drive, Suite 120, Naples, FL 34104

Phone: (239) 263-8989

Fax: (239) 263-6021

www.enaplesflorida.com

Supplies market data, site availability, fast-track

permitting details and other assistance.

Florida Gulf Coast University’s Small Business Development

Center

24311 Walden Center Drive, Suite 100, Bonita Springs, FL

34134

Phone: (239) 948-4040

Fax: (239) 948-1814

www.fgcu.edu/cob/sbdc

Offers free counseling and education services for

entrepreneurs.

Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center

24311 Walden Center Drive, Suite 100, Bonita Springs, FL

34134

Phone: (239) 948-0473

Fax: (239) 948-1814

www.fgcu.edu/cob/cli/centers.html

Helps businesses obtain contracts with the Department of

Defense and other federal agencies, state/local government agencies and

participating prime contractors.

Institute for Technological Innovation

10501 S. Florida Gulf Coast University Blvd., Room 157, Fort

Myers, FL 33965-6565

Phone: (239) 590-7309

Fax: (239) 590-7367

www.fgcu.edu/cob/iti/iti.html

Helps integrate business with engineering and computing

knowledge.

Lee County Economic Development Office

2180 W. First St., Suite 306, Fort Myers, FL 33901

Phone: (239) 338-3161

Fax: (239) 338-3227

www.leecountybusiness.

com

Supplies market data, assistance with site selection and

permitting, financing options and other services.

Naples Entrepreneurs Workshop

P.O. Box 1112, Naples, FL 34106

Phone: (239) 649-4701

Fax: (239) 649-7849

www.teamws.com/new

Provides education, networking and venture capital

opportunities for those seeking to establish new enterprises or expand existing

businesses.

Southwest Florida SCORE (Service Corps of Retired

Executives)

Renaissance Center

8695 College Parkway, Suite 345, Fort Myers, FL 33919

Phone: (239) 489-2935

Fax: (239) 489-1170

Score219@juno.com

Naples/Collier County SCORE

International College

2655 Northbrooke Drive, Naples, FL 34110

Phone: (239) 254-9440

Fax: (239) 254-9441

Score.naples.net

Offers counseling and

mentoring.