Minority businesses in Florida given boost

TALLAHASSEE — Despite “gloom-and-doom stories” about the economy, the chairman of the Florida Public Service Commission told minority business owners Tuesday to be optimistic about doing business with Florida government.

Tallahassee Mayor John Marks, a utilities lawyer who served eight years on the PSC, said minority contracting has come a long way in 30 years. Marks and PSC Chairman Matt Carter were among speakers at a matchmaker session for small businesses and officials of electricity, gas, telephone and other utility companies arranged by the Department of Management Services’ Office of Supplier Diversity.

“In these times when everybody is running around with their gloom-and-doom stories, look — my wife says that when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping,” Carter said. “That’s actually the truth. ... How do they go shopping? If you’re a major corporation and you say, ‘Look, there’s an opportunity out there but it’s only for $100,000 and that won’t help me with my cost of operation.’

“But if you’re a small business with two or three employees, doing maybe $1 million a year business, then $100,000 is 10 percent of your total business for the year.” READ MORE

BY BILL COTTERELL • NEWS-PRESS.COM