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Last week I was witness to two excellent events. Different in so many ways but similar in one very important aspect.
Last Thursday (September 5, 2024) was the long-awaited official ribbon cutting/grand opening of the South Dade Amazon Logistics Facility in the Homestead area. The length of multiple football fields, this center will employ over 1,000 associates once it is fully operational. This facility is the result of a lot of hard work and multiple conversations among a number of people and offices and agencies. Something this large certainly doesn’t happen overnight. Impossibly complex solutions were developed for very real concerns. There were dozens of very dedicated people involved and, in my imagination, I like to think that what began as an assignment became a goal, an objective, a mission. Amazon knew that this was a market that needed to be served. The County wanted the jobs the center promised as well as the jobs tied to the development of the site. In the end…magic. The grand-opening event was attended by multiple elected officials who had helped bring this project home as well as a number of stakeholders from the community. The mood was one of celebration, and again, justifiably so. It was a big win for everyone and a big bump for the community.
The second event was on Saturday (September 7, 2024) at Cutler Bay’s Town Hall. This was the Small Business Expo hosted by the EDC of South Miami Dade. The goal of this event was to educate owners or prospective owners of small businesses on the resources available to them and ready to help them succeed and flourish. I counted just under 20 entrepreneurs who were treated to a motivational speaker who not only encouraged them but shared with them some tools they will need to stay motivated as they embarked on their journey. Then the participants engaged in some networking and gathering information from Strive 305! – Miami-Dade County’s educational and support site for small businesses – banking institutions, marketing companies, and other resources that an aspirational business owner will eventually need access to. And these were all people who didn’t just have stars in their eyes but were intent on creating something for themselves and their families. There was one young man who was accompanied by his parents. This young man only knew that eventually, one day, he wanted to run his own business. And he was there, supported by his family, to meet as many people as he could to get information and insight into what he might want to pursue in the (very near) future. Wow.
So, the contrasts between the two events are clear. One is the result of many, many months of planning and negotiations involving multiple agencies and interested parties. The other was a much smaller scale. One was attended – and rightly so – by several dignitaries celebrating the accomplishment. The other – well, I first need to celebrate that there is never an event in Cutler Bay where the mayor and manager and council members aren’t in attendance – but after their comments it was the business owners, the aspiring entrepreneurs, the future community movers & shakers – it was just them, their dreams and the folks who were there to help them. The difference between the two events were dramatic and wide…but there was one similarity. And that was that both believe in this #southdade community. Both groups know that this place merits a better way of shopping, new places to dine, more efficient marketing services, a quality place to take care of our elderly, access to a world-class dojo and an as-of-yet-to-be-determined business. By the way, everything mentioned above represents some of the business owners in attendance. Imagine if they are all successful. Where better to do it than home?
Richard Candia is a Business Consultant and a Realtor with Avanti Way Realty. He is a tireless advocate for South Dade and welcomes you to take a drive south to see the “other” Miami. richdia@gmail.com / 305-984-1645 / https://richardcandia.com/blog
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