Sunday, December 19, 2010

Happy Holidays!

Wishing everyone the best. Have a wonderful and safe holiday season.


Business NetLink will not have a Christmas Party this year, but we do intend to have a New Year/ Mardi Gras gathering tentatively planned for the 22nd of January.


Our next meeting is Thursday January 6th. Until then, enjoy!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Event: An Auction!

This Fri & Sat (Dec 3 & 4), we're conducting our first two-day, on-site auction.  Everyone is invited to stop by and see the operation under the big tent and view the largest collection of Griswold cast iron cookware that we have ever seen.  Also, there are hundreds of tools, antique furniture, antique violins, all types of advertising and collectibles (old fishing lures, sports cards from the 80s, RR lanterns, LC Smith & Sterlingworth shotguns, etc.), a bucket truck, log splitter, Corvette and the list goes on....

Friday & Saturday

Preview at 8AM, Auction at 9AM
1098 McKenzie Rd
Cantonment, 32533


Don Cotton
Cotton & Associates
Auctions & Appraisals, Inc.
www.CottonAuctionsAppraisals.com

An MIT Online Degree for Free?

At our last meeting the topic of MIT's free online coursework came up. This is one heck of a resource for an education and I'll repeat... it's free! The link is below. Almost any course they offer is available online and anyone is encouraged to participate! No, you can't get a degree... but you can review all the courses, the material and the notes!







This was featured in the book Wikinomics and it is practicing what they are preaching, opening up their entire education to everyone is going to be an experiment in Wikinomics. This might be the beginning of a huge step forward in my opinion and if nothing else it's one heck of an opportunity!


MIT free online courses

Friday, November 12, 2010

Event: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Escambia County Central Office Complex

The new 79,000 square foot Escambia County Central Office Complex (ECCOC) located at 3363 West Park Place will be officially opened at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, November 15 at 2:00 p.m.  The new complex houses members of the Escambia County Building Inspections, Environmental Enforcement, Fire Safety, Community and Environmental Services, Geographic Information System, Animal Control, Engineering, Development Services and Transportation offices.  The consolidation of these services that were once housed in three separate buildings provides a “one stop” complex that meets the public’s needs.  Now residents and business owners can have their plans reviewed by the necessary entities and pull a permit all under one roof.   

The complex, Escambia County’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certified building, has one of the largest green roof systems in the State of Florida.  In addition, the building boasts pervious concrete paving, energy-efficient construction and natural light that, according to studies, improves employee productivity.  It is estimated that the building will use 22 percent less energy and 38 percent less water than current building codes allow.


The building also has bicycle racks to encourage residents and employees to ride their bikes instead of driving a car, special parking for low-emitting and fuel efficient vehicles and native vegetation that require no irrigation.  Thirty-four percent of materials used to construct the building were purchased from regional vendors and 43 percent of the total value of materials installed were manufactured from recycled content.

The construction of the new ECCOC was funded through grants from Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Florida Division of  Emergency Management and the Department of Environmental Protection at a cost of approximately $11 million.     

For more information, contact the Public Information Office at 595-3476.

One stop building, eco-friendly  PNJ

Thursday, November 11, 2010

New Memory loss book - Caregiver Tools

Derek Ferebee, one of our most esteemed members is an author. Believe it or not he's authored three books. A children's book and two that involve helping people with memory loss. His latest work is entitled "Caregiver Tools: Bridging Memories".

It's a new memory loss adult read out loud book available at Books as Bridges.

It offers a great way for caregivers to communicate with persons with memory loss issues. This book allows the caregiver to sit down with their loved one and reminisce by looking at very memorable photos and asking questions that will spark memories.

To contact Derek about this book or about his other businesses, visit his website.

Tune into Cat Country 98.7 on Monday November 15 at 9am, Mary Beth Sloan and Derek Ferebee will be interviewed about their new book, Caregiver Tools.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Event: Public Forum - Oil Spill Recovery and Restoration

As part of its ongoing commitment to keep Floridians informed about the recovery and restoration after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP has planned a number of public forums across the Panhandle during November.
Anyone can attend these meetings.  Topics to be covered include:
  • Beach cleaning activities:  Shoreline clean up, monitoring and maintenance, and subsurface assessment.
  • Seafood quality:  What testing has been done, what are the results, who's done the testing, future plans for testing.
  • Wildlife and natural resources:  What have the wildlife impacts been here in Florida, updates on animal rescues, future projects.
Representatives from BP, the United States Coast Guard, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Fish & Wildlife, GCIMT - Environmental Advisors, and Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Protection have been invited to attend and participate in the forum.
See the list of forum dates, times, and locations below:
Walton County

Date:
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Location: 
Walton County Sheriff's Sun Station
133 Sheriff Drive
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32439
Time:
6 pm (CST)
Okaloosa County

Date:
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Location:
Destin City Hall Annex
4100 Indian Bayou Trail
Destin, FL 32541
Time:
5:50 pm (CST)
Escambia County

Date:
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Location:
County Chambers
221 Palafox, #400
Pensacola, FL 32502
Time:
2:00 (CST)

Friday, November 5, 2010

Event: The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival

Derek Ferebee, one of our distinguished members, would like everyone to know one of the biggest and most well attended events for young and old and everyone in between will be going on this weekend right in downtown Pensacola's historic district. Derek has authored and published several books and has even had his photographs circulated around the globe!


The festival will be going on Friday and Saturday 9am - 5pm and Sunday 9am - 4pm.


For more on the festival

Festival is an annual pinnacle for visual arts in Pensacola

 For more information on Derek's participation

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Event: Another solution to the cost of Health Care?

Paul Lukkar of Gulf Coast Financial wants to let everyone know there are alternatives to rising Health Care costs. Another one of the many benefits of spending time in Costa Rica.

A online seminar Tuesday, November 9th 2010 at 9pm CST.



Join Hacienda Matapalo Executive Vice President Brian Albury, as he gives an overview of Health Care in Costa Rica.

Learn why the universal health care system in Costa Rica is considered one of the best health care systems in the Americas and why the cost of health care in the small Central American nation can be as much as 50% less than what you will find in the U.S.

Learn why large pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers are setting up in Costa Rica and what the changing face of health insurance (for the better) is for expats living in the land of Pura Vida.

If you would like to know more about the benefits and opportunities of owning property or the businesses of Costa Rica, please call Paul.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Business Spotlight: Linda Harrington - Pre-paid Legal

Friday, I met with Linda to go over Pre-paid Legal's Business Plan (Video). Prepaid Legal was recently listed 23rd on Forbes' list of Best Small Companies in America.


I originally met Linda at a Business NetLink meeting back in 2008 and eventually purchased a individual plan. She has a great 'no pressure' sales technique and she spent a great deal of time and effort to get me to the information I thought was most important for me. Needless to say, I saw the value!


For a small business, a monthly fee gets access to a myriad of legal services from legal consultation, to debt collection, to contract review, to trial defense services, just to name a few.


What I was surprised to find was even more business benefits from a collaboration with a company whose affiliated with a man familiar to many NFL football fans... Fran Tarkenton. The company provides a myriad of services important for a small business person. The website is gosmallbiz.com


And what might be even more interesting to a business owner is the Small Business Toolbox. An integrated small business software suite that covers 10 specific areas. A individual can design a company website, track the sales performance of their sales force, or do a risk analysis of their business based on the latest laws and regulations. And that is just a small glimpse of the potential.




With the difficult economy and the odds of success in opening and operating a small business. This may be a invaluable tool to improve efficiency and productivity and at the same time reduce the risks of doing business!


Contact Linda or learn more about Pre-paid Legal.


Summary of benefits for GoSmallBiz.com Tool Box


Entrepreneur Magazine article on Pre-paid Legal

Thursday, October 28, 2010

An experiment in self-organization... Networking in the blogosphere

Today we kicked off an idea. An experiment. Maybe even thinking outside the box...

Business Netlink on the blogosphere.

An attempt to add some innovation to our group and allow each of the members to potentially reach out to new markets and audiences. An opportunity to collaborate on ideas. To demonstrate their expertise and possibly help others understand their business better, the benefits they bring and the potential. As a group combining to creatively solve problems and help each other might just spring new opportunities unforeseen. Effectively making the networking experience more productive! This might even save people some time!

Over the next two weeks members are encouraged to add their two cents! Discuss positive experiences our group has created. Business successes. Expert advice and opinions. Surveys. New opportunities and even lessons learned. If you read a article in the newspaper that you feel is relevant and want to share your opinion or want others opinions... this might just be the avenue. The sky is the limit!

Build a better mousetrap... and the world will beat a path to your door!

In two weeks we will Observe, Orientate, Decide and Act!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Technology... what a Wonderful thing!

Certainly there's always room for change. Sometimes change can be difficult. But this change is going to be for the better.

An opportunity to share, educate and enlighten each other as well as the viewing public to the member's businesses, opportunities and ideas that might just be the catalyst to even more exciting experiences, opportunities, innovation and enlightenment.

A simple blog, with relatively common information, formulated and contextualized by people might just change the world!