The girls and I went to feed the tarpon at Robbie’s in Islamorada yesterday. If you have time to do only one thing while you’re in town, feeding the tarpon should be it.
Here are some more great pics, and a live webcam, too. Select “Tarpon Dock” in the dropdown menu on the webcam page.
Never mind Disneyworld. Bring 12 quarters to Islamorada, buy a bucket of bait fish at Robbie’s and get ready to smile.
Heads-up that the Travel Channel’s Great Weekends with Samantha Brown will be featuring the Florida Keys in this week’s episode, which airs tonight, Saturday, August 1, at 10pm E/P.
In a nutshell: overseas highway, pirates, margaritas, black powder cannons and that special kind of burlesque that can only be found in Key West. Plus, bugs. This kind, I mean.
Here’s the promo:
I recently interviewed Sandra Bleser, the CEO of Key Largo-based Growing Room, Inc. I wanted to highlight Sandra and her business here for a few reasons.
Most notably, I think she’s a pretty inspiring entrepreneur. Sandra will be one of those overnight success stories that’s ten years in the making. She saw a huge need, boot-strapped her way to production, outsources her manufacturing to China, has national distribution deals with some very well known chains and has been on MSNBC. All from little ol’ Key Largo, Florida.
Sandra also makes a heckuva product. If you’re a new parent, or if you’ve ever had someone else’s baby suddenly thrust upon you, you’ve probably asked yourself, “Where is somewhere safe that I can put this little booger, er, beautiful child while I ________ (find a stamp/make a sandwich/pass out from exhaustion)?” Take the answer to that question, then throw in a crib, splash pool and changing table, and you’re there…the Room to Grow inflatable play yard.
We absolutely love ours, and so does our youngest – to the point where I seriously considered asking Sandra to see if she could manufacture one for a lanky 200 man.
Lastly, thought I’d give Sandra a plug because despite the Keys being full of small business owners and entrepreneurs, it seems like most of the local press coverage in the Upper Keys lately has been about raw sewage. (Don’t ask.) Here’s a local business story that should get more attention.
And to be clear, this is not an ad or ’sponsored post’ of any kind…though I think Sandra may now owe me coffee at the Conch House.
Here’s the general idea behind the Room to Grow…a commercial they recently taped:
And here are some of Sandra’s thoughts about being an entrepreneur in the Keys:
Q. How did the Room to Grow play yard come about?
A. We were traveling with our 6 month old daughter and needed to provide for her accomodations with something that would fit into a suitcase for the plane or car, and be easy to set up. There was nothing on the market for us or other families…so you could say “need” was the catalyst of this mother’s invention.
Q. At what point did you realize you had a serious business on your hands?
A. When we took it to our first tradeshow and heard the same comment made by so many people – “Where was this product when I had my children?”
Q. What has been the reaction from the national media and big chain stores when they hear where you’re based?
A. They are very interested, and are waiting to see what comes next. Individually they are jealous of where we live and work…especially in the winter months
Q. How challenging was it to find the right manufacturing partners?
A. We were fortunate to have an international company based in the states work with us on initial samples and then set up a meeting at their factory in China. Taking the big step of traveling there and setting up the initial order was something I will never forget.
Q. What do you find the most unique about operating the business out of the Keys? The most challenging?
A. Working and living in the same small community I have loved for 30 years helps. Most challenging? Not having the warehouse and logistics conveniences of the mainland.
Q. Where do you see the business in five years?
A. We got off to a great start, receiving awards and developing additional products to incorporate into a stand alone line that consumers want. However, given the state of the economy, we’ll need to find more working capital to continue into the next phase. Our plan is to go nationwide with a partnering company and/or licensing contracts.
Q. What words of wisdom do you have for other entrepreneurs here in the Keys?
A. Try not to let the business define the success of you or your life. Never give up, but don’t let it rule or destroy you. It’s tough unless you have ample money, time or support from others to make it work….and there’s no guarantee. Just do your best.
Q. Tell me more about your Dreamers & Doers program.
A. We work with charities and those who want to assist families in need by donating play yards for fundraisers or by offering discounts to those who want to donate to their favorite charity. It’s our way of paying forward where we can.
Q. Where’s the closest place folks here can go to check out a play yard?
A. We sell on our website www.GrowingRoomInc.com with free shipping if you need to ship one to someone directly. We also have a posted list of local stores, and do special offers to local daycare centers.
Q. Anything else you’d like readers to know about Growing Room?
A. We just received an award for Best Play Yard from Creative Child Magazine for our second year and an Award of Excellence for our Bathinet, which we will hopefully have out for fall.
For more info, visit Growing Room, Inc. Sandra is also currently looking for good salespeople. Check out her video here.
Update: Forgot to mention Sandra is on Twitter, too. She’s @GrowingRoomInc.
View of Statue of Liberty from the NYC harbor today. http://yfrog.com/5c3q5j 1 day ago
