Top 10 Reasons

TO DO BUSINESS IN METRO ORLANDO
Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission

There is a reason that Metro Orlando is consistently named among the hottest markets in the nation for business and job growth. In fact, there are many reasons! Here are our top ten for companies located here:

1. Young, Diverse, Educated Workforce
2. Access. Access. Access.
3. Top Location for Entrepreneurs
4. Real Estate Variety
5. Tech Industry Hub
6. Innovation Economy
7. Nation's 3rd Largest University
8. Great Neighborhoods
9. Partnership Philosophy
10. The "Livability" Factor


1. Young, Diverse, Educated Workforce

Talk about the creative class ... Metro Orlando's population diversity leads the rest of the nation by 35 years. Two-thirds of our residents are under the age of 44, and nearly a third has obtained a college degree. People from all backgrounds and walks of life call Orlando home.

BENEFIT: The diversity of this region's workforce impacts its ability to nurture innovative thinking and offer companies a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. No matter what level of skill is needed, Metro Orlando's labor pool is well prepared. The region is home to the kind of well rounded and highly-skilled employees that companies seek to help their business thrive. And employers have access to state-sponsored workforce training grant programs that allow them to keep their talent sharp and on the cutting-edge in their respective fields.


2. Access. Access. Access.

With almost 50 million visitors a year, Orlando has perfected the art of getting to and from here. The region is home to three international airports, including Orlando International Airport which is the fourth largest origin & destination airport in the U.S.; proximity to two deep water ports; and extensive road and rail systems that connect here, in the heart of the nation's third most populous state. All of that connectivity is invaluable for business.

BENEFIT: From exporting products to meeting with clients throughout the world, Metro Orlando offers businesses the efficiency and access they need to grow.


3. Top Location for Entrepreneurs

From Walt Disney to Glen L. Martin, Metro Orlando has a long history of entrepreneurial activity. Unique resources such as the Disney Entrepreneur Center – one of only two such centers in the nation – and the University of Central Florida Technology Incubator – ranked as one of the top incubators in the nation – help keep this community among top locations for innovative companies and entrepreneurs.

BENEFIT: Metro Orlando's support for entrepreneurs doesn't stop with start-up companies. Metro Orlando is home to GrowFL, the state of Florida’s pioneering "economic gardening" program, which is focused on identifying and nurturing high-potential, mid-sized businesses in the second-stage of development.


4. Real Estate Variety

From ultra-modern high rises in downtown Orlando to undeveloped acres in Lake and Osceola Counties and everything in between, Metro Orlando offers a diverse array of commercial and industrial real estate options. This region's robust inventory includes over 150 million square feet of industrial space and over 77 million square feet of office space. And, unlike many other established business centers, Orlando can still accommodate build-to-suits with a variety of developable land parcels in the region.

BENEFIT: The sheer quantity and diversity of commercial and industrial property in Metro Orlando means that companies growing in or relocating to the region are virtually assured existing space or developable land suitable to their specific needs. The amount of space and current associated costs are very competitive with other regions around the country – making Metro Orlando an affordable and attractive business location.


5. Tech Industry Hub

Known across the globe as a world-class place to visit, it comes as a surprise to many to discover that our region's second largest industry is technology. In fact, the region boasts a high-tech ecosystem that has been building here since the 1960s, and which today boasts a $13.4 billion technology industry that employs close to 53,000 people. Top sectors include film and digital media; modeling, simulation and training; optics and photonics; aviation/aerospace; and information technology. With the coming of the UCF College of Medicine and emergence of our new 'medical city', we are also gaining a reputation as a thriving center for the life science/biotech industry.

BENEFIT: An established technology sector means that companies growing or relocating to the area have immediate access to a high-tech infrastructure that has been in place for decades. This includes immediate access to a tech-savvy workforce, renowned university research and development, unique partnership opportunities and a wide variety of organizations and facilities dedicated to helping technology-driven companies flourish.


6. Innovation Economy

From training systems keeping our soldiers and sailors overseas out of harm's way, to medical advances in the treatment of diabetes, to software driving financial institutions worldwide ... Metro Orlando lives up to its reputation as a place that is "putting imagination to work." Groundbreaking research at the University of Central Florida has earned that institution its Top 10 ranking on IEEE's Patent Scorecard, which ranks technology innovations gained from patents. But this culture of innovation doesn't stop at UCF ... it continues through the region's modeling, simulation and training companies who perform research for the Department of Defense and into the life sciences industry at places like the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and M. D. Anderson Cancer Research Institute. In addition, the region is helping to prepare the future workforce through initiatives like the STEM initiative – science, technology, engineering and math; through Florida High Tech Corridor Council's "tech path" program; and through magnet schools that offer advanced technology based curriculums beginning at area middle and high schools.

BENEFIT: Today's global economy is driven by innovation. Here in Metro Orlando, we get that. So we could not be prouder to have been called "most wired", "most connected", "fiercely competitive" and "a mecca for geeks". This region provides the right mindset, along with the virtual and real world connections, ideal for businesses to capitalize on new ideas and new opportunities.


7. Nation's 3rd Largest University

The University of Central Florida, with over 50,000 students, is now the third largest university in the United States. The University is also home to one of the nation's top Tech Incubators and boasts more than $122 million in annual research dollars, many of which are matched with company dollars in joint research projects. And, the news gets even better; UCF is only one of more than 35 post-secondary institutions based in the area. Also here in Central Florida are Rollins College – ranked #1 regional university in the south and #1 MBA program in the state; and three of the state's best in the growing state college system –Valencia Community College, Lake-Sumter Community College, and Seminole State College; as well as Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, the Florida A&M University School of Law, Barry University School of Law, and the first stateside campus of Puerto Rican-based Ana G. Mendez University.

BENEFIT: Metro Orlando's strong higher education system provides companies with a steady flow of trained employees and access to a variety of research and development opportunities. From technical to doctoral levels, the many post-secondary institutions provide educational programs in a wide variety of fields. Companies that need employees with specialized skill-sets can also be confident in the community's long history of partnership between academia and business.


8. Great Neighborhoods

From rolling hills and lakeside lots to a downtown core that boasts $1.8 billion in new residential development – Metro Orlando truly offers a variety of lifestyle options that meet just about everyone's needs. Long called "The City Beautiful" – Metro Orlando's namesake city is known for its brick-lined streets, green space and eclectic housing options. Further west and south are Lake and Osceola counties respectively, which still offer "elbow room" and are committed to preserving those environments. Heading north, Seminole County is a thriving suburban area offering beautiful communities, including two of Money magazine's top 100 places to live – Lake Mary and Oviedo.

BENEFIT: With over 4,000 square miles, Metro Orlando offers a variety of lifestyle options and neighborhoods to choose from – whether you seek a sophisticated urban highrise or a relaxing countryside retreat – or both!


9. Partnership Philosophy

Orlando is a young, welcoming community. Many newcomers to the region are surprised at how fast they become "plugged in" to the community. Business leaders and elected officials have time and again proven their willingness to work together for the greater good of the entire region, whether the shared goal be commuter rail, a College of Medicine, or a Performing Arts Center. In fact, there's even a regional approach to economic development as the Metro Orlando EDC serves Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties and the City of Orlando.

BENEFIT: Companies that thrive on collaboration – whether it’s with other business leaders, academia, or local governments – find no better place to do so than here in Metro Orlando.


10. The "Livability" Factor

Year-round sunshine. Outdoor recreation. Proximity to beaches, lakes, springs, parks, trails, and fields. World-class entertainment. Distinctive neighborhoods. World-class shopping. (Closets free of winter coats, scarves and gloves!) The region's amenities – natural and "man-made"– make Metro Orlando a great place to work and to live.

BENEFIT: Companies of all types and sizes find that Central Florida's unparalleled "livability" enhances employee recruitment and retention.

Hard Rock debuts touch technology

Orlando Business Journal

Hard Rock Cafe Orlando debuted a new multimedia technology on Feb. 17 that allows guests to explore the restaurant chain’s rock ‘n’ roll collection.

Among the new technology:

• An 18-foot-wide, 4-foot-tall Rock Wall touch-interface allowing guests to look at the company’s 72,000-plus memorabilia collection. Users also will be able to look at archived rock music videos that can be expanded as large as the wall itself for viewing.

• A Microsoft Surface community table unit, which is a horizontal touch-interface table that allows guests to digitally tour the rock memorabilia or other 162 Hard Rock properties internationally.

The Orlando Hard Rock Cafe was one of a select few Hard Rocks to debut the technology.

Orlando-based Hard Rock International has 162 venues in 52 countries, including 130 cafes and 13 hotels/casinos. Additional hotel and casino projects have been announced in Punta Cana, scheduled to open in 2010; Panama, scheduled to open in 2012; and Atlanta, Hungary, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, scheduled to open in 2013.

Laugh Your Way to a Happier Workplace

Joanna Boydak, LiveCareer, Yahoo! HotJobs

Recent studies reveal that laughter can benefit your health and your job performance: it boosts your immune system and increases blood flow to promote alertness and relieve stress and tension (for up to 45 minutes after you crack up). Ten minutes of laughter can also burn up to 50 calories, so you can even work off those cookies you succumbed to in the break room! And laughter has social benefits too: increased communication, enhanced teamwork, group bonding, and conflict diffusion.

Laughter in the workplace
Introducing fun into the workplace isn't entirely new. Southwest Airlines' president Herb Kelleher is known for his light-hearted approach to business, with stunts like settling a legal dispute with a public arm-wrestling match (which he won) or going to work on a random day dressed up as Elvis. And Ben and Jerry's has a Joy Gang, a group of self-selected employees who encourage morale-building activities like performing humorous skits and preparing themed staff meals.

Even if your company doesn't have a Joy Gang, you can still have fun at work, laugh more, and really love your job. Here's how:

1. Offer a Laughter Yoga class. Sounds unconventional, but Dr. Madam Kataria's Laughter Yoga is a hot new trend, integrating unconditional laughter with yoga breathing. Since the body can't differentiate between real and simulated laughing, you get the same psychological and physiological benefits. Many companies are taking advantage of the more than 6,000 social laughter clubs in over 60 countries.

2. Add humor to office communications. Introduce cartoons, news clippings, photos, and appropriate jokes into office memos or emails. Start every meeting with a joke or funny story about something that recently happened at work.

3. Start fun office traditions. Start meetings with an ice breaker, taking turns to come up with a fun activity. For example, everyone could anonymously write their one "guilty pleasure" on an index card, and then the team could try to match each guilty pleasure to the "guilty" party.

If you run your own company, you can introduce fun work customs and create a pleasurable work environment. (An entrepreneur test can help you find out if you have what it takes to start your own successful business.)

4. Inject humor into lunch hour. Invite a stand-up comic to come into the office to relieve some stress--new comedians need to practice their material, so you can often make inexpensive arrangements for one to come in and lighten up the mood.

5. Laugh at yourself and (gently!) at others. Letting your coworkers know you don't take yourself too seriously promotes a comfortable work environment that can lead to greater productivity.