From The Editor

After owning your own home, becoming an entrepreneur and starting your own business is one of the ways Floridians strive to achieve the American Dream.  Locally, 80% of all businesses have 10 or fewer employees. So, Flagler County has its share of entrepreneurs. But simply starting a new business doesn’t guarantee success. It’s quite the opposite, we confirmed.

This month we asked ourselves:

  • What steps are entrepreneurs taking to make sure their businesses succeed?
  • In what ways has technology helped entrepreneurs?
  • What are the keys to ensuring entrepreneurs continue to find success year after year?
  • Which business trends that started in response to the pandemic will continue after COVID health protocols are reduced?

The EVOLVE Magazine team set out to better understand what drives the entrepreneurial spirit in Palm Coast. The result is the following comprehensive series of articles that offer a wide-variety of perspectives on entrepreneurism and elements to ensuring business longevity in our area.

It’s an exciting time in our region for several reasons: tourism season is under way; mask mandates are gone and the “new normal” is beginning to reveal itself.

What’s also revealing is looking back at data from one year ago, when we found ourselves at the bottom of the COVID-19 recession. From April 2020 to April 2021, Flagler County has regained nearly 7,000 jobs lost during the global pandemic, but more progress needs to be made as our region still has 1,366 fewer jobs than our highest pre-pandemic employment level.

Entrepreneurs typically cause disruptions in the marketplace, usually via innovative products or practices. Better understanding how entrepreneurs responded to the ultimate global disruption that was COVID-19 could shed light on secrets to business success.

We hope you discover those secrets in this edition of EVOLVE Magazine.

Sincerely,
Greg Blosé, II
President/CEO,
Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber
www.PalmCoastFlaglerRegionalChamber.com