Foundations for a Successful Business can be found at the Entrepreneur Social Club at wedding and event venue NOVA 535 downtown St. Pete DTSP

The Foundations of a Successful Business

May 6, 2016May 6, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Foundations of a Successful Business. May 5, 2016. Entrepreneur Social Club.

Many people start something, print business cards and think they are on their way to success. HOLD YOUR HORSES. Starting and growing a SUCCESSFUL business takes a whole lot of smart planning, tons of hard work, patience and good listening skills, plus some good luck along the way. So let’s start at the beginning.

Why are you starting this business? Read the Book Start with the Why. What problem are you solving? Find a niche, one that is focused on the customer (the demand) that you are solving the issue for. Go after and master a specific niche. Make sure that enough people are ready, willing and able to pay you for your solution.

Naming your business. Iamtheirwebguy.com is an example of a great name. Is your name clear? Does it describe what you do? Is it searchable?

Be consistent with your name, using the exact same name everywhere – website, social media and email. Business Cards are to be created by a seasoned PROFESSIONAL designer.

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ESC enjoys the DTSP 2016 Sunscreen Film Festival

May 1, 2016May 1, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

ESC enjoys the DTSP 2016 Sunscreen Film Festival. Tonight, Thursday April 28, 2016, was the opening night of the 11th Annual Sunscreen Film Festival, one where I and my venue NOVA 535 have sponsored since the beginning. So tonight as my fellow Entrepreneurs gathered here at NOVA, for our weekly meeting, I informed them we were going on a field trip. Just around the corner to the Palladium, to enjoy the red carpet and the opening night Film, “Spare Parts“. The carpet was electric, the film charming and delightful. Spare Parts is what all film makers try to accomplish – a film (and story) with heart! We cared about the characters and their struggles. We laughed and cried. We cringed and cheered. What a wonderful film to have shared with my fellow Entrepreneurs – a film about Mexican and Mexican American kids, who were “troubled” each in their own way, that found a bond of friendship and mutual respect via a underwater robotics challenge. Spare parts was based on a true story, and that story and film are certainly worth your time – enjoy it and, you’re welcome!

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Stay Authentic to Yourself

April 24, 2016April 25, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Another beautiful Thursday night here in Downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, aka DTSP, as we gather once again for the ESC. It’s a great evening to Stay Authentic to Yourself, while learning and growing. The Entrepreneur Social Club, meets every Thursday since 2009 – except when colliding with a major holiday like Thanksgiving – most always at historic DTSP venue NOVA 535. Tonight, Thursday April 21, 2016, NOVA was booked all day for a film shoot with the fabulous Sullivan Productions, So around 6pm, Team NOVA just finishing up and heading out as we Entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, start-ups and students strolled in. My NOVA 535 Unique Event Space project, now 10+ years in the works, allows me the opportunity to give back a bit each week, gathering like-minded humans who want some fun, time to unwind, plus a chance to earn, grow and evolve.
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Entrepreneur Social Club at venue NOVA 535 in DTSP

Entrepreneurs Stick Together in Sickness and in Health

April 16, 2016May 5, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Entrepreneurs stick together in Sickness and in Health. Tonight we shared that we’re creating a series of live events here at NOVA 535 called “St. Pete Healthy Lifestyles” while our favorite John with a “Z”, haha, Jzon, has made much progress into his speaking publicly to those also afflicted with MS. We Entrepreneurs, dreamers, visionaries, creators, risk-takers are the ones who push evolution forward, the problem solvers, we who make our world a better, smarter, nicer place to live work and play! That’s why we meet weekly, every Thursday night from 6pm to 8:30 pm, followed by dinner and (more) drinks here in beautiful Downtown St. Pete (also known as DTSP). Speaking of dinner, tonight here in beautiful Downtown St. Pete DTSP we visited the delicious Italian Restaurant, Il Ritorno , owned by hubby and wife team, Erika and David. IL Ritorno is located at 449 Central Ave #101, DTSP, and I’d strongly suggest making reservations via (727) 897-5900, as they are usually quite busy. We rolled in about 9pm, fully lubricated and ready for the 2nd half of our ESC weekly adventure! Oh do read on!!

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Entrepreneur Social Club downtown St. Pete DTSP at Queenshead Restaurant Word of Mouth

Word of Mouth leads into the Tastiest of Ports

April 13, 2016April 14, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Word of Mouth leads into the Tastiest of Ports! Huh? Read on my fellow Entrepreneurs, business owners, startups, students and mentors! Welcome to another chapter of the wild, crazy and always fun and productive Entrepreneur Social Club, held every Thursday night, 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm, most always at downtown St. Pete historic venue NOVA 535. We had several newcomers tonight, and I always ask them how they heard about the ESC. Tonight, it seemed that there was a magical hot tub experience where the secrets of the ESC were revealed…

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ESC Advisory Board Entrepreneur Social Club for MIchael 48th

Rainmakers Join our Foolish Celebration

April 7, 2016April 22, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Rainmakers Join our Foolish Celebration during our weekly Entrepreneur Social Club gathering here at the historic downtown St. Pete venue NOVA 535. We meet every Thursday night, since 2009, most always at NOVA, occasionally offsite when NOVA 535 Unique Event Space is booked for a wedding or special event. Tonight is March 31st, and since I run the meetings, (tomorrow April 1st being my 48th birthday), I wanted to make this a 100% social event. No sit down meeting meeting, just music and drinks and laughter and friends and food and some QT with my fellow Entrepreneurs. Plus we had just met Architect Larry Ladelfa, of The Rainmakers, another club, a pure business one, last week. He said he’d bring his group here to check out the ESC and NOVA, and so here’s our story of just that! Remember, my birthday is on April 1st, yes April Fools day….you’ve been warned!

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Food Porn and 5 Dollar Facials

March 26, 2016April 15, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

One of my favorite components of The Entrepreneur Social Club is my fellow Entrepreneurs and the things that come out of their mouths. We had several newbies tonight, Thursday March 24, 2016. They ranged from pre-start-up to successful business owners. Julia, a newcomer, was offering organic facials, 5 Dollar Facials, and the double entendre was enjoyed throughout the evening. We enjoyed it so much that after several drinks during dinner, we purchased the url http://5dollarfacials.com. Yes we risk takers and visionaries, those of us who create and lead and make the world a better place,we need to blow off a lot of steam and stress, and the ESC is a strong dose of that healing medicine. We need to laugh, and joke and be silly to rebalance our inner cores, from the ever present over-tilt of too much work, not enough play. So tonight I’m titling “Food Porn and 5 Dollar Facials.” Read on at your own risk!

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Entrepreneur Social Club in Las Vegas for Catersource 2016

Our Fellow Entrepreneurs at Las Vegas Catersource 2016

March 19, 2016March 19, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Every year here in Las Vegas, or as my late father always said, Lost Wages, there is a gathering of business owners and Entrepreneur for a convention called Catersource. This year was March 15 and 16th, 2016, and my long time business associate, adventure chef and brother from another mother Chef Brent Shaver, aka A Chef’s Adventure, decided to join me on this culinary world adventure for Las Vegas Catersource 2016. See my primary business, the historic wedding and event venue NOVA 535 Unique Event Space, located in beautiful downtown St. Pete, Florida, allows outside catering for our events. I want to stay up to date with how the best of the world creates, serves, presents and stores is food offerings, plus I’ve been hankering to do more on-site cooking as well. Las Vegas Catersource 2016 sounded like a great way to accomplish all these goals plus spend some time in a fun city with one of my favorite humans. Here’s the story of Our Fellow Entrepreneurs at Las Vegas Catersource 2016. PS we always review people’s business cards – at least 10 a week since 2009. So please take our advice with a smile, we’re only trying to help. (more…)

Entrepreneur Social Club every Thursday NIght at downtown St. Pete DTSP venue NOVA 535

Pitching at the deep end of the Artpool

March 12, 2016April 15, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Thursday, March 10, 2016 was another exciting gathering of our weekly social club for business owners and Entrepreneurs. The last few meetings had people squeezing in here and there, while this week was a bit smaller. Size matters, and when we have smaller groups (under 25 guests) we can spend a bit more time drilling down, vs with larger groups, we only have about 90 minutes for everyone. They both are great and I enjoy each for what it offers. Tonight we dug deep: Pitching at the deep end of the Artpool. But before tonight’s ESC, I spent some time in DTSP, short for Downtown St. Pete, getting my hair cut at world-famous VLVT Salon on Central Ave, then “lunching” (always sounds so cool vs “having lunch”) at the always delicious Gratzzi Italian Restaurant. Earlier, while I was showering, I used the great smelling, all-natural soaps from local, fellow Entrepreneur Kim, founder of Bodhi’s Basics. A day full of Entrepreneurs creating wonderful things for us all. When’s the last time YOU THANKED an ENTREPRENEUR for all they do? =D

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entrepreneur social club at nova 535 st pete dtsp

A Delightfully Unexpected ESC Reunion then Oyster Bar and Ruby’s Elixir

March 4, 2016May 17, 2017 Michael Scott Novilla

It’s Thursday night again, which means the Entrepreneur Social Club, which meets most always here at historic venue NOVA 535 in beautiful downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. Occasionally we’re offsite when NOVA is booked for a private event. we had a packed house. I LOVE seeing the entire table full, tonight was a delightfully unexpected ESC reunion, so many faces returning from their busy lives. Tonight was unusual as several, independent clumps of friends and Entrepreneurs randomly show up for this Thursday’s Entrepreneur Social Club. Plus there was around ten newbies. I asked all the newcomers how they heard of ESC, and EVERYONE said from a friend or business associate. I then asked who spent time today on social media and EVERYONE raised their hands. I wanted to drive home the point that Word of Mouth is still the most powerful way to gain new business.

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