At an early April reception at AMPLIFY Clearwater’s offices, Lori Lenhart, owner of Allori Blow Dry Bar in Bellaire Bluffs, spoke candidly with the entrepreneurs who make up the business organization’s second tourism incubator cohort. He gave words of encouragement.
The next 10 weeks of hard work and homework will be tough, but it will be worth it to build your business and sustain it in the long run. Lenhart speaks from experience. She won her second place prize of $10,000 at her first group pitch night in December 2023.
The diverse mix of businesses in the second group shows that tourism has a widespread impact on the local economy.
There are beach businesses such as the two that offer water sports rentals and boat tour charters. Clearwake Watersports in Clearwater Beach and Wakesurf Tampa with locations in Clearwater Beach, Tampa and Lake Tarpon.
I Love Clearwater is a website and blog that markets and promotes local businesses and destinations.
Way2GoRides is a transportation service that provides transportation to and from the airport, Clearwater Beach, a night out, or your daily commute. We are also expanding into marketing through vehicle wrap advertisements and in-vehicle videos. AMPLIFY Clearwater President and CEO Amanda Payne describes Way2Go owner Jasper Klein as a “serial entrepreneur.”
“He is a great homegrown entrepreneur and I look forward to his continued success,” she says.
The tourism incubator will also feature the first business from the North Greenwood community, with a planned wine bar called Wine Down Blue.
“Soon to open in North Greenwood, Wine Down Blue is a unique, modern take on the traditional wine bar,” the owners said in the AMPLIFY Clearwater description. “There are other wine bars in the area, but none offer wine slush, live music events, and diverse wine and charcuterie board pairings like we do. By offering options, we aim to stand out from the competition and attract a loyal customer base. ”
Baez Family Enterprises operates multiple businesses along Cleveland Street in Clearwater, including Senor Bubbles, Senor Subs and Gyro, which provide laundry services to commercial and residential customers.
Ryan Jesse, who owns Jet’s Pizza franchises in Clearwater, Largo and Dunedin, is part of the group focused on the restaurant’s Gulf to Bay Boulevard locations.
Downtown Tampa-based BayWest Digital is a digital marketing and solutions company that launched SalonX, a service designed specifically for high-end salons. St. Petersburg’s Street Level One is building his hub for street-level digital marketing, including interactive touchscreen advertising for store windows. Largo’s Style City Music provides audio and video services and solutions for corporate events.
“We are very excited about the second group,” Payne said. “I was very excited because we have a diverse group of companies, with a variety of locations, industries and backgrounds,” says Payne. “We were really excited to see the area of town we started from. The North Greenwood community is represented in this cohort, and we also have the entire Tampa Bay area represented. That’s what we wanted to create. It’s great to see it come to fruition.”
Joe Lugo, AMPLIFY Clearwater’s Chief of Staff, joined the organization as an alumnus last year and has decades of professional experience in small business consulting and runs a tourism incubator program.
“I think we have the right people in the right seats to do the best job,” Payne said. “It’s exciting to see where it goes.”
Going forward, AMPLIFY Clearwater hopes to target economic development by attracting some businesses from other parts of the state and other parts of Florida to relocate or expand to Clearwater, Payne said.
For more information, visit the AMPLIFY Clearwater Tourism Business Innovation Incubator.
This article was produced under an underwriting agreement between AMPLIFY Clearwater and 83 Degrees Media and focuses on entrepreneurship, small business success stories, and programs that help businesses thrive.
Enjoy this story? Sign up for free solution-based reports delivered to your inbox every week.
Source link
