Cape Coral is a  

Top Digital City

The City of Cape Coral has been recognized once more as one of the top digital cities in the country by the Center for Digital Government in their 12th Annual Digital Cities Survey. Cape Coral placed 2^nd behind Salt Lake City in the 125,000 - 249,999 population category.  

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Cape Coral-Fort Myers Among Fastest Growing Metro Areas

According to statistics released by Pitney Bowes Software. Cape Coral-Fort Myers will be the 22nd fastest growing major metro area in the country, growing at a brisk 1.2 percent annually over the next five years.

The company's inaugural Metro Magnet Index lists Cape Coral-Fort Myers with 262,941 households now, which will grow to 278,347 by 2017, a total increase of 5.9 percent. (Pitney Bowes, Nov. 2012)

Lee Hospitals Ranked Highly by Healthgrades

Hospitals in the Lee Memorial Health System ranked high in a recent Healthgrades Report to the Nation. 

In the American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013 report, Cape Coral Hospital received the Pulmonary Care Excellence Award and ranked among the top 10 percent in the nation for overall pulmonary services in 2013.

In addition, the Lee Memorial Health System received the Joint Replacement Excellence Award,

the Coronary Intervention Excellence Award, and awards for pulmonary care.

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Economic Development News

Sincerely,

Dana Brunett

City of Cape Coral

Economic Development Director

VA Clinic Welcomes Veterans

The new Lee County Veterans Affairs Healthcare Center is greeting its first patients this week. The state-of-the-art primary and specialty care facility at 2489 Diplomat Parkway East in North Cape Coral will provide care for over 200,000 veterans from five counties.

"This will be a very proud cornerstone of Cape Coral and Lee County," Bob Koenig, President of Manhattan Construction, said in his speech at the official dedication ceremony last week. Four times larger than the Fort Myers clinic, the 220,000-square-foot outpatient center cost $53.1 million to build.

Operations at the Fort Myers Veterans Affairs Clinic officially ceased with the opening of the new clinic. Suzanne Klinker, director of the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System, said the much expanded facility will employ more than 400 professionals.

Click here to learn more about the services provided at the center.

The VA Healthcare Center will be the nucleus of the Cape Coral VIZ, the Veterans Investment Zone - a corridor of economic development in the Cape that also includes Patriot Plaza, Hope Hospice and the new Army Reserve Center that is expected to open next year. "The Healthcare Center will draw development to the northern part of our city, opening the door to building a campus of complementary businesses and services in the area," said EDO Director Dana Brunett.

ADA Compliance for Small Businesses

If you own, operate, or lease space to a business that serves the public, then you are required to comply with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in daily activities. Businesses that serve the public must modify policies and practices that discriminate against people with disabilities, comply with accessible design standards and remove barriers in existing facilities.

Trained volunteers of the ADA Advisory Board of Southwest Florida work closely with city and county municipalities to advise compliance and investigate complaints. The Board's intent is to help the business community to avoid becoming the target of costly litigation. Inspection services and recommendations can assist businesses and organizations in becoming more accessible and in compliance for their customers and employees with disabilities. They also make suggestions on ADA-required improvements that are "Readily Achievable" and "Reasonable Accommodations".

Use this self-inspection checklist to evaluate your businesses and contact the ADA Advisory Board for the "Disability-Friendly Business" recognition decal for your door if you qualify. Our website's download center contains several other documents that can help you to educate yourself about ADA requirements.

To contact the Lee County chapter of the ADA Advisory Board, call (239) 260-4575 or email ADA Consultant Kevin Berry.     

Celebrating Business Successes

Fresh Coffee Brews Success for Java D'Oro

What began as a home-based frozen beverage business in 1995 has grown tremendously since the owners switched to gourmet coffee as their specialty. Over the last nine years, Tony and Antonella Latassa have become experts at selecting and roasting only the finest brews. The couple now owns three buildings in a Cape Coral Industrial Park, providing coffee and equipment to more than 50 restaurants and popular coffee shops.

"Our biggest attribute is the freshness of our coffees," said Tony. "We found our niche by taking custom orders and delivering the coffee just one day after roasting. This makes for an incredible difference in taste. Many people don't realize that 90% of coffees' flavor is lost within two weeks."

Now, the Latassa's have opened their doors to the public, offering a wide array of choices as well as tours for those who would like to see the coffee roasters in action.

"We have one machine that can roast 250 pounds of coffee in one hour," said Antonella. "We also offer private labels, and training for coffee shops on how to properly make cappuccino and espresso. We are truly a one stop shop."

Java D'Oro is located at the corner of Viscaya Blvd. and SE 14^th Place. For more information, visit: javadoro.com.

Growing Business Through Referrals

A proven method for growing your business is to effectively capture referral business from existing clients. The harsh reality is that few businesses leverage this critically important potential. However, your business growth depends on it.

Asking for referrals is a practice that requires careful analysis and a systematic approach. Are you asking each of your customers for referrals, and further, do you give them repeated opportunities? And secondly, do you ensure that each of your customers is truly satisfied with the level of service and/or quality of products that they receive? This is important. Take the extra time to improve your product or service delivery in a way that radically promotes the possibility of gaining additional business.

When you are asking for referrals, develop a system that ensures that each customer is encouraged to provide specific names and contact information for anyone they believe would benefit from your product or service. For some businesses, this will mean re-orchestrating the methods used to open and close sales or visits with clients.

Remember that it is worth the time to develop a process for gaining referrals each and every time a transaction takes place. If you haven't done it before, start with your current clients. It never hurts to ask!