Lovely Vilnius Strange Little Uzupis

July 14, 2016July 18, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Lovely Vilnius Strange Little Uzupis.

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and was chosen as my post Riga next stop on my Summer 2016 Entrepreneur Social Club travel adventures. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, which, when you plan weddings and complex events for a living (NOVA 535 Unique Event Space) it’s nice to just let things happen as they happen. Minimal planning involved. So I took the 3.5 hour bus ride from Riga, easy peasy, and landed here in lovely Vilnius, on a beautifully sunny day. And Sunny night as this part of the world seems to enjoy looooooong days. Let’s explore!

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Just the Fax Ma’am

July 13, 2016August 25, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Just the Fax Ma’am. Fax? Don’t you mean Facts? Er, nope. Read on… Spending a day experiencing the Belarus Consul (and their delightful 1950’s style of customer service, brought to you by Stalin.Inc) to a modern, friendly, tech savvy Latvian Entrepreneur named Dovainis Sinkevičius, owner of a new, really cute cafe, Localt. End to end of the spectrum here ladies and gents. See while traveling through the delightful Latvia and Lithuania, I decided to pop over to neighbor Belarus, into the capital Minsk….but not before a few days here in lovely Vilnius!

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Design and Decisions. Good Bad Ugly Beautiful.

July 5, 2016August 25, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Design and Decisions. Good Bad Ugly Beautiful.

What goes into decision making? Does it feel good or bad? Is it beautiful or ugly? Would you do it again? Ultimately, for me, it’s would I do it again? Yes or No. It’s a binary answer to a complex set of questions. Would I go back to a restaurant? Take someone out for date #2? Watch a film again? Buy a 2nd bottle of that same wine? Take a 2nd or last bite??

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entrepreneur social club lietains riga retains kool

Lietains Riga Retains it’s Vess

July 4, 2016July 4, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Lietains Riga Retains it’s Vess.

Day two in Riga, the capital of Latvia, sandwiched between Lithuania to the south and Estonia to the north. As recently as 1991, all formerly controlled by Russia. Lietains, in Latvian, is rainy, and Vess means cool. Today Sunday July 3, 2016 it rained (lija) all day, yet the charm and vess of Riga, Latvia never diminished! Just like while under Russian authority, the sparkle of Riga remained strong, even when soaking wet. Better, brighter and more beautiful days are here for this gem of a city. So after a hearty (and included) breakfast in the swanky cellar of this renovated, historic structure, the Royal Square Hotel, I borrowed an umbrella and headed off for my Lietains Riga adventure!

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Entrepreneur Social Club Hello Riga Latvia

Off to Casablanca Whoopsie Hello Riga

July 3, 2016July 10, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Off to Casablanca Whoopsie Hello Riga!

Our aloha pos system went down at my main gig, wedding and event venue NOVA 535 (ugg, hard drive crash, quickly fixed by fellow ESC member Justin Petro of Advanced Millennium Computers, he’s fabulous!!). Too bad the NRC team wasn’t as great as Justin, they got 50% right then I left, and well the crazy busy night we have every First Friday was rocky. The POS wasn’t returned to “good to go” condition as planned. Luckily my amazing brother Chris Novilla and big Nick Mazeika were there to lead our team NOVA and our 100s of partying guests to victory, rough night but they got things done! Bravo guys!!

This was followed by our sound system crashing at NOVA, (a HUGE thanks to Chuck Taylor of Production Source, [he’s the Gandalf of the AV world] for saving our arses, THANKS CHUCK!!). Plus my packing and the usual craziness inside the NOVAverse. My original plan of going Tampa Airport to JFK to Casablanca got scrapped yesterday due to bad weather around JFK.

My heart dropped upon seeing this delightful update…

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2016 Entrepreneur Social Club at Souzou DTSP

Sushi Night at Souzou Downtown St. Pete

June 17, 2016June 17, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Sushi Night at Souzou Fusion Restaurant Downtown St. Pete

Tonight, Thursday June 16, 2016 we are off-site at Souzou Fusion Restaurant, located at 435 5th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. Call (727) 823-4050 for reservations. Typically we are at my historic wedding and event venue NOVA 535, but tonight NOVA is booked for a private affaire, a glamourous wedding ceremony and reception. So we’ve ventured out to my pal Mike Harting’s (owner of 3 Daughter’s Brewing) swanky spot Souzou for our meeting, dinner and drinks. A night filled with sushi and sake! Compi!!

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Why we should not discount our pricing

June 10, 2016June 11, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Tonight we are delving into “Why we should not discount our pricing when asked by a prospective client.” Aside from the fact that it’s irritating – like when you’re in Outback Steakhouse and you offer them $15 for their $23 Ribeye. Huh? My mortgage holder, tax collector and insurance men would laugh in my face if I suggested 15% off. When you agree to give a client a discount, you are undermining your business, value and reputation. You are now open to negotiating everything, including the value you place on your time and efforts. Once you know, really know your costs and value, then you set your pricing to where it needs to be at and that’s that.

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Where Science meets Science Fiction

June 3, 2016July 14, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Tonight June 3, 2016, here in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida at the award-winning, historic venue, NOVA 535 Unique Event Space, we gather once again to enjoy, celebrate, network, schmooze, teach, learn, and blow off steam. Who are we? We are the Entrepreneur Social Club, aka the ESC. We are the risk takers, the dreamers, the inventors, and the doers. Where is the place where science meets Science Fiction? Read on and find out!

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Hot Pucks and Cold Fish

May 26, 2016May 28, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Tonight Thursday May 26, 2016 we decided to stay at historic event venue NOVA 535 for our post meeting dinner and drinks so we could watch our local hockey team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, play in game 7 of the Stanley Cup semifinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Hence the title Hot Pucks and Cold Fish. This was a smart suggestion made by Nick Mazeika (Business Consulting and NOVA 535 Sales) in our weekly meeting with Chris Jenkins (I’m Their Web Guy and CTO Symphoni Media), so we were sure we’d have plenty of space and be able to watch or schmooze or both, right here in the comfort of our NOVAverse. We love frequenting the many fabulous restaurants, cafes and nightlife options here in Downtown St. Pete, aka DTSP, but it’s also nice not to have to drive anywhere. You all are welcome for the extra 20 minutes and free parking!

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Filmmakers, Funny URLs and Getting Drunk with the Queen

May 18, 2016May 26, 2016 Michael Scott Novilla Leave a comment

Tonight, Thursday May 12, 2016, for the Entrepreneur Social Club, affectionately called the ESC, we had a really good crowd and some Funny URLS. This included a group of local film makers (Ondric Lavon and Daniel Michael, below) of Red Polar Studios, brought in by returning owner Ricardo Duval, below light blue shirt. On their right is the always fun and witty Julia Haddad of Fruityz All Natural Skin Care. Julia’s great, just don’t leave your unfinished wine bottle near her….haaha.

Tonight I’ve titled our Entrepreneurial Adventure “Filmmakers, Funny URLs and Getting Drunk with the Queen”. Read on at your own risk!

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