By SARAH LARACUENTE
It’s all about the women this month! May is Women’s Health Month. It is also the month we celebrate Mother’s Day. I’ve had the opportunity to get to know many strong, amazing women through the years, many of them are business owners.
Robin Miller, the President and CEO of your Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce for over 10 years, has a huge impact in the community we live and play in. Ester Venouziou has created a business that also fills a gap for small businesses throughout Tampa Bay. Let’s dive in to what they do and see how they keep a “healthy” perspective.
Robin Miller – A woman of few words and a huge impact.
Q: When did you begin your journey with the chamber?
January 2008
Q: What business(es) did you own prior and what prompted the change?
I started as a software developer. I wrote code. I was laid off and developed Tranquility Day Spa in 2003. When the market started to crash and having a strong pulse on business in downtown, I opted to list the business for sale. With 23 employees and $1.3 mm I successfully sold within a month and was recruited by the TBBCoC. My third career and very rewarding thus far!
Q: What do you do to relax?
I box and spin and watch Netflix and LMN (Lifetime Movie Network).
Q: Name one thing you do for yourself and no one else.
Example, exercise an hour a day. Yoga, etc. I purposely schedule my exercise at 5 am and 6 pm
Q: What is one thing you want everyone to know about the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce?
Our culture and how we thrive on helping people and business connect appropriately to have impact on their pathway to success. Our entire team is extremely hardworking and humble.
Our community of businesses are the backbone of our economy and livelihood; imagine your community without them. My passion and our team passion is to make sure we have given 100% to anyone that walks in our door to help them be successful and our communities thrive.
Q: What is one thing you want everyone to know about yourself (personally)?
Even though I am very stern I am a softy and love people and I want to make sure everyone is happy all the time and I am obsessed with LMN.
Q: What are your summer plans?
Take a 7-day cruise alone and enjoy a good James Patterson book.
Ester Venouziou – Creative Writer & “Live Local” Expert
Q: What inspired your business idea?
In the late 1990s I moved to Fort Lauderdale, and I noticed how much it was changing from the first time I lived there, just a few years earlier. What used to be a fun, funky downtown with local shops and restaurants was becoming a fun but sterile downtown, filled with national brands and trendy restaurant chains. I made it my personal mission to shop/dine at local places, whenever possible. But by the time I left to come to St Pete to work for the Times in 2003, my favorite local bookstore in Fort Lauderdale had closed, and my favorite local coffee shop had been turned into a Starbucks.
I didn’t want that to happen here, but didn’t know what to do about it. Then my parents came to visit from New Jersey, and when I was at work they would go to the mall or chain restaurants, because they didn’t know where else to go, and those were the “safe” choices. So I started giving them lists of my favorite local places, and then I started a group on Facebook, asking friends for suggestions on places to add to my list. That list grew into a website, and that grew into the “live local” movement that it is today.
Q: When did you get launched?
Our official launch was August 2008, but at the time I had another full-time job. So my second launch was October 2011, when I was laid off from my job and decided to focus entirely on LocalShops1. In 2016 we opened the LocalShops1 storefront, which now carries the work of about 40 local makers! And attached are photos of the shop. If you use them, can you credit Rob Moorman of Moorman Photographics?
Q: What has been your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
When I started LocalShops1, I’d get suggestions from friends, members and even strangers on things I should do — marketing ideas, new events, all that. And it was so nice that so many people seemed to care, that I wanted to accommodate all their ideas. But that got me going into so many different directions, and it made it tough to stay focused. These days, I welcome ideas and love collaborations, and if it’s something that sounds good but not amazing, and I don’t have the time to do, I’ll ask whoever is suggesting if he/she would be interested in leading the project, and ask them to come up with a proposed budget for it. Most of the time that’s the end of the conversation, but it might be something I’ll revisit at a better time.
Q: What is one thing you want everyone to know about your business?
LocalShops1’s goal is to promote local businesses throughout the Tampa Bay region, as well as the “live local” movement in general, but we are not preachy and we have no problems with larger businesses that are socially conscious. We believe we can all happily co-exist. Also, though hyper-local pride is important, we believe we need to think regionally, rather than in a bubble, and work together to make all our communities even better.
Q: What do you do to relax?
I like to hang out on my back porch with my cat, BW! One of my friends revamped the porch a few years ago, with a colorful Bohemian vibe, and it has since become one of my favorite places.
Q: Name one thing you do for yourself & no one else.
I love to play with colors, from crayons to paint and anything in between!
Q: What is the one thing you want everyone to know about yourself (personally)
Tough one! But I guess I’d have to say/warn people that I’m not an extroverted social butterfly, even though it might seem that way through my social media pages. I’m really more of a behind-the-scenes kind of person!
Q: What are your summer plans?
On the business front, LocalShops1’s anniversary is in August, so we typically have a big party to spotlight local businesses. On the personal front, my three best friends from college are coming to visit! Definitely looking forward to that! PN
We all are lucky to have women like this in our community, helping others thrive to be their best, live their best lives. Don’t forget the overall mission for these organizations is to keep your money where your heart is, shop local, help your neighbors, and embrace our beaches.
Until next time, friends. – Sarah Laracuente