Episodes

Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
What is the secret to a successful Sales Force implementation? Find out on this episode where Tom Kindred, host of Small Biz Florida, sits down with Chandler Jenkins, Senior Consultant for Coastal Cloud.
Chandler shares his background and pathway to working at Coastal Cloud & shares his passion for helping Economic Development Agencies with their CRM system Sales Force. Chandler gives us an overview of the tools you can utilize within Sales Force, What his experience has been working almost exclusively with public sector clients, and provides us with an idea of what it’s like to simplify reports and data using Sales Force.
– Learn more about Coastal Cloud: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coastal-cloud/– Connect w/ Chandler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandler-jenkins-mba-a5652623/
For more segments like these, subscribe to Small Biz Florida and Follow the official Small Biz Florida Instagram! This and the following segments were recorded at this year’s annual Florida Economic Development Council Conference hosted at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront in St Petersburg, Florida and cohosted by Dr. Herbert Ricardo Professor at the School of Business at Indian River State College.
– Connect w/ Dr. Herbert Ricardo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/herbert-ricardo-ph-d-91b1ba225/
– To learn more about the FEDC Conference, visit their website here
– To visit the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront in St. Petersburg, Florida, visit their website here

Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Follow this conversation to learn more about the beautiful hotel that hosted this year’s Florida Economic Development Council Conference!
Gene Schroeder serves as the Director of Group Sales at the Hilton Bayfront St. Petersburg and joins Tom on podcast. Gene’s journey surprisingly started in New York as a Medical Insurance Adjuster. After a few years working in the health industry, Gene took a turn after living in Cape Cod for a few years. He got a degree in hospitality and never looked back! The warm sunshine attracted Gene to Florida, and on this special episode of Small Biz Florida, he joins Tom Kindred and Dr. Ricardo to chat about the state of recovery of St. Petersburg thru his eyes and the beautiful property he represents.
– Stay in St. Petersburg: https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/sptshhf-hilton-st-petersburg-bayfront/– Connect w/ Gene: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gene-schroeder-81466515/
For more segments like these, subscribe to Small Biz Florida and Follow the official Small Biz Florida Instagram! This and the following segments were recorded at this year’s annual Florida Economic Development Council Conference hosted at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront in St Petersburg, Florida and cohosted by Dr. Herbert Ricardo Professor at the School of Business at Indian River State College.
– Connect w/ Dr. Herbert Ricardo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/herbert-ricardo-ph-d-91b1ba225/
– To learn more about the FEDC Conference, visit their website here
– To visit the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront in St. Petersburg, Florida, visit their website here

Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
The primary purpose of small biz Florida is to highlight and create awareness for all of Florida’s small business assistance and resource programs. One of the most effective ways to learn about, gather and share information on these resources is to attend and work at Florida’s top small business and economic development conferences.
One of these important business events was the recent Florida Economic Development Council’s 2022 Annual Conference held in St. Petersburg, Florida. Small biz Florida was on the scene during the conference, recording and producing segments. The Small Biz Florida crew wants to thank Beth Cicchetti, Jill Blackman, and the entire FEDC team for allowing the podcast to be part of the recent conference. Also want to thank Indian River State College's school of business professor, Dr. Herbert Ricardo, for serving as podcast cohost during the conference.
Attended by over 275 of Florida’s economic development professionals, the conference was a huge success. The next 15 segments of small biz Florida were all produced and recorded at the conference-hopefully the segments will provide our listeners with valuable and beneficial information.
Please like, rate, and share our show to continue supporting the podcast with your networks, family, and friends. To stay connected and up to date on our latest releases, follow our Instagram @SmallBizFlorida!
We are so thankful for the growing and overwhelming support of our listeners. We hope our work is inspiring and helping all business owners in Florida and Nationwide!

Monday Apr 25, 2022
Monday Apr 25, 2022
This week, we have a special guest from the Florida SBDC Network joining us to talk about The Small Business Success Summit. The Florida SBDC Network is excited to host the Small Business Success Summit in Tampa, FL, June 27-28, 2022. This event aims to provide small businesses with access to capital, contracts, and connections for growth and success.

Thursday Apr 21, 2022
Ep. 69 | Miles West | Owner of A Geek To Go
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
This particular episode features the owner of "A Geek to Go," Miles West. Learn how to protect your business from cyberattacks in this information-packed interview with Miles West!
Locally owned and operated for over 17 years, A Geek to Go offers experienced services in computer repair for both Apple / Mac and Microsoft Windows Operating Systems, so fixing problems such as virus infection or data recovery is much quicker and more reliable than the generic big-box “geek” or “nerd” companies that employ the cheapest labor they can find. Over 25 years of experience from self-taught and professionally trained computer technicians who are licensed, insured, and criminal-checked safe will satisfy any questions about any computer repair or tech support that you may have.

Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
Tuesday Apr 05, 2022
Tom Kindred also sat down for a conversation with Andy Miller who serves as the Senior Vice President for AARP in charge of Product & Innovation. They talk about AARP's innovative way of finding new products by putting together events like Connect & Thrive. Andy talks about what jump-started AARP to move in an innovative direction to create products for a new era of Age-tech. Listen to this episode to hear more about Amy's company and Andy's innovative role.

Thursday Mar 31, 2022
Thursday Mar 31, 2022
Small Biz Florida goes to Miami for the AARP Connect & Thrive Pitch Event and was able to sit down and chat with Amy Stapleton CEO of Chatables. Amy has worked in voice and conversational AI since 2016. Her early voice skills on Amazon Alexa won recognition and earned her the coveted distinction of "Alexa Champion" by Amazon. Prior to Chatables, Amy was an IT Manager at NASA with management roles in Enterprise Software Applications. She began her IT career at SAP in Germany while completing a Ph.D. in German Literature and dreaming of becoming a science fiction author.

Monday Mar 28, 2022
Monday Mar 28, 2022
Tom Kindred interviews Charlotte Bireley, who serves as the Director of Tourism and Marketing of St. Lucie County. Tom and Charlotte cover the rebound of tourism St. Lucie County has experience in the years following the COVID-19 Pandemic. They chat about the "Visit St. Lucie" website and share all the information about upcoming events in the area.

Monday Mar 21, 2022
Monday Mar 21, 2022
This episode of Small Biz Florida features a great interview with the Small Business Majority. Small Business Majority is a national small business organization that empowers America's diverse entrepreneurs to build a thriving and equitable economy. We engage our network of more than 85,000 small businesses and 1,500 business and other partner organizations to advocate for public policy solutions and deliver resources to entrepreneurs that promote equitable small business growth.
In this episode, Tom Kindred, who serves as the Regional Director for the Small Business Development Center at Indian River State College and serves as the Host for Small Biz Florida, interviewed V.P of Programs & Research Brian Pifer. He and Host Tom Kindred talk about Starting and Growing a Small Business in 2022. They cover topics such as the "Great Resignation," Side Hustle Culture, and much more. Listen to this episode to learn what you can do today to start building your very own business.
Brian oversees Small Business Majority's Entrepreneurship Program and Venturize platform, which delivers crucial education and resources to entrepreneurs seeking to start and grow their businesses. He builds partnerships with organizations that serve small business owners, manages content development for Small Business Majority's educational programming, and oversees the development of Venturize, the nation's one-stop hub for entrepreneurs, including the website's MatchFinder tool, which connects small business owners to mission-driven lending partners.
Brian also leads the organization's research activities, including ongoing surveys of its vast network of business owners, national opinion polling, small business owner focus groups, and external and economic data analysis. He helps collect and monitor organizational impact data and metrics.
Brian has a journalism background, including writing and editing stories about local small businesses for an award-winning daily newspaper. He also led a regional desk that handles editing and layout for more than a dozen newspapers across Northern California.

Monday Mar 14, 2022
Ep. 64 | Robin Olin CEO of Estuary Oysters | FSBDC Day at the Capitol 2022
Monday Mar 14, 2022
Monday Mar 14, 2022
In celebration of SBDC day at the Capitol, we traveled to Tallahassee, Florida, to support small businesses. Tom sits down with Robin Olin, CEO of Estuary Oysters, To talk about the great purpose behind his small business while at this special event! Listen to this special episode to hear about his business and the innovative ways they’ve built up the Apalachicola Coast with their on-of-a-kind oysters! Robin Olin is a premier example of what the Florida SBDC can do for your business. In this episode, he covers what his process was like going through the SBDC and talks about what he was able to accomplish!