Seth Mattox says some smart stuff

Tonight is Thursday, June 20, 2019, and I’m at my historic downtown St. Petersburg, Florida wedding venue and unique event space NOVA 535, here a bit early for improvement design time. We have a newcomer, new to the Entrepreneur Social Club (that’s “The ESC” to us regulars) and newish to St. Pete. She, Jenifer Madson, is friendly and engaging and as we close in on 6 pm maybe only 10-12 members have trickled in. So far. Jenifer asks about attendance, and I laugh that it’s never predictable, but to relax, guests and members will continue to saunter in. When we sit down about 6:40 pm for the “formal” meeting time (we aren’t formal, though we have strict rules and procedures, like NO religion and NO politics), our huge table is almost full.

Then our notorious “late” comers, (one of their names rhyme with He-He) those in by 7 pm, fill up almost every spot. After each meeting, we head deeper into Downtown St. Pete (that’s DTSP to us locals) and it’s always a wild-card as to how many say they are coming to dinner (I’d guess 2/3), how many of them actually show up (most of that 2/3) then of course we have the “even laters”, like Sir Jzon Livingston, some of our most favorite peeps, who swing in just for dinner. Well, dinner and a long night of deserting. Tonight as Chris and Kym Jenkins are both out parenting, luckily Seth Mattox says some smart stuff to cover for Chris’ missing technobabble. I love the ESC!

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June 13, 2019 Entrepreneur Social Club at St. Pete venue NOVA 535 where Michael Scott Novilla shares "A healthy man has 1000 wishes a sick man has only one"

A healthy man has 1000 wishes a sick man has only one

Tonight is Thursday, June 13, 2019, and it’s been a difficult week for me. I eat a lot of raw fruits, nuts, and veggies, plus coffee, alcohol, stress, and occasionally popcorn and potato chips. Almost everything is organic, all my products are green, clean and all-natural. But with the combo of too much RAW veggies, plus seeds (tomatoes, strawberries, blackberries, breads, etc) with that occasional movie popcorn (covered in organic olive oil) all topped with endless stress and a few too many late nighters (I’m blaming Joe, Trevor and Seth THIS week, ha-ha) that combo CAN, wreak utter havoc on my (and yours) iLeocecal valve. Which can, and did, painfully shut down my back and legs. Like TILT on a pinball machine. 

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June 6, 2019 Entrepreneur Social Club at historic venue NOVA 535 in downtown St. Pete where founder Michael Scott Novilla proclaims 1, 2, Thuy Tequila Shots

1, 2, Thuy Tequila Shots

Tonight is Thursday, June 6, 2019, and we’re gathering at my historic DTSP venue NOVA 535 for our weekly Entrepreneur Social Club [tm] meeting time. A fun couple of hours spent with fellow visionaries, business owners, smart alecks, dreamers, gurus, and mentors. From pre startups to industry titans, they all swing by to share their newest ideas, what they’ve heard around the web and offer smart advice and wisdom. Those of us who follow that good advice, who keep at it with hard work and continuous improvement, we find success. And out of all this, we also find friendships, connections and shared moments too fabulous to ever make it onto the screen here.  Sometimes those friendships turn into delicious Vietnamese Fusion dining, offered up by one of our favorite hospitality Entrepreneurs herself, Thuy Le.  So let’s celebrate our shared Entrepreneurial life, with a rousting 1, 2, Thuy Tequila Shots Tonight!

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Mimi and Maria exclaim Sushi Saké Kanpai during Entrepreneur Social Club downtown St. Pete venue NOVA 535

Sushi Saké Kanpai

Tonight is Thursday, May 30, 2019, and we’re gathering at my historic DTSP venue NOVA 535 for our weekly Entrepreneur Social Club [tm]. Fast-forwarding a bit, we’re enjoying a fun, lively, delicious dinner time full of Sushi Saké Kanpai at downtown St. Pete restaurant and bar Saké 23. I’m filming around the dining table, talking “Salad”, an expression my brother Chris Novilla uses when I’m talking funny nonsense. Funny to me for sure. Which I do, as any true and proper April Fool born should be doing; trying to stir up some fun, general class clown tomfoolery, while our social club dinner is happening! Here’s to Sushi Saké Kanpai! (more…)

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Double Bubble with the Entrepreneur Social Club

Double Bubble

We all (should) know that a recession is coming. Not if, when, and just how deep and nasty will it be? We are looking forward, doing our best to grow sustainably, to be ready willing and able to weather this next economic downtown. Tonight, Thursday, May 23, 2019, we spend some quality time during our weekly Entrepreneur Social Club [tm] discussing the Double Bubble. The Double Bubble we refer to is not from the infamous bubblelicious gum that I chewed the hell out of when I was a teen, in fact, no more gum for me at all. Mostly because it’s plastic and poison, a definite lose-lose. That Double Bubbe was that rare moment when you blew a larger outer bubble then a smaller bubble inside of your first bubble. Hence the Doube Bubble. As Roger Curlin III, our resident restaurant guru describes, the Double Bubbe of the overbuilt local restaurant industry and the impact of the forthcoming recession will be providing a much much less friendly version. I hope we are all ready, though I know we are for tonight’s fun and productive time spent together. So let’s get things rolling! (more…)

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Harvey Photos Naked Ladies at TRYST downtown St. Pete Florida

Naked Aspirations

Today started out with me arriving at my historic venue NOVA 535 a bit earlier than usual. To meet Harvey, of Harvey Photos, plus a handful of soon to be birthday suit wearing models, and a nice photographer and a reporter combo reporting for the Tampa Bay Times. What used to be the St. Petersburg Times when I was a kid. Harvey Drouillard is a talented fine art photographer, with an extraordinary flair for surprising us. In some of the most pleasant of ways. After solving (most) all of the (foreseeable) logistical issues, he stages beautiful and unique locations, like historic venues, airports, public sidewalks, and such, with his naked models. They pop in quickly and unexpectedly, Harvey watching and photo-capturing those precious moments, then whoosh, the show is over. Nakedness dissolving like a noontime fog. After a long day filled with 5 separate shoot locations, Harvey returns to join us, his fellow Entrepreneurs, for our weekly gathering. Yup, it’s Thursday night again, this one is May 16, 2019. After some initial schmoozing and sipping of cocktails, we’ve settled into the sit-down, meeting part of the night. To discuss many things, including our Naked Aspirations. (more…)

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three Kathleens and a Robot at downtown St. Pete venue NOVA 535 for the weekly Entrepreneur Social Club

Three Kathleens and a Robot

It’s funny. I’m standing at NOVA 535’s beautiful 60 foot long ‘S’ bar (S is for Sexy and St. Pete), awaiting my fellow Entrepreneurs to roll in. Yea it’s Thursday night, May 9, 2019, and 6:00 pm approaches, and now has past, while new and familiar faces line up at the bar. One of the newcomers is Kathleen Logan, a local Family Law Attorney. One is Kathleen Seide, founder of Seide Realty and another Kathleen has a most wonderful Hat-a-Tude. And one is a robot. Three Kathleens and a Robot. Well, maybe one of the lovely, smiling ladies pictured below is not a robot… or is she? We do meet a robot tonight, before dinner even.

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Gosh dorn Clean at Entrepreneur Social Club downtown St. Pete at historic venue NOVA 535

Gosh Dorn Clean

Wow!, these busy weeks just fly by. It seems that our 7 day week has been reduced to about 3, maybe 4 days. Blip blap bloop and it’s Thursday night again. This one lands on the 25th of April, 2019, scarily at the almost halfway mark into 2019. Gratefully we are gathering, once again, for networking, biz dev, tom-foolery, blowing off steam, ordering cocktails, and just about anything we can do to help lower the stresses of running your own business. No matter what size and scale, they are all difficult, mine included. I’m the super insane guy who has been trying, thankfully somewhat successfully, to manage the live event business. Weddings, Celebrations, Fundraisers, Celebrations, Meetings, and Film Shoots. Several events each and every week, here at my historic downtown St. Pete venue NOVA 535. Between that and running this ESC Klown Show, I am actually making progress on my first book, It’s 5 am Go Home, a wild, crazy and informative peek into my life, as a guy making his living hosting amazing parties and weddings. 

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The Comfort of Friends and Good Food with the Entrepreneur Social Club [tm] at historic downtown St. Pete venue NOVA 535 then dinner at Callaloo

The Comfort of Friends and Good Food

Tonight is Thursday, April 18, 2019, and our weekly gathering for networking, biz dev, socializing, mentoring, learning, growing, fooling around, acting silly, blowing off the pressure and steam of running your own business enterprise has arrived. Our special time, when we gather to share and celebrate the comfort of friends and good food, is upon us. We need this, because when the entire responsibility flows through you, the visionary, the founder, the center core, you never get a break. Running your business “show” is 24/7/365, and we, the Entrepreneur Social Club [tm] are here to help you improve in all aspects while you have a really, really good time. Tonight we enjoy the comfort of friends and good food.

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Xpress Yourself

Let’s Xpress Yourself tonight, with your movements, words, actions, business and playing cards, your dinner and drink choices, and whether you follow me along to the after party.  Let’s see if you can hang with el Globetrotter!! OH and welcome to the Entrepreneur Social Club [tm], the ESC is open and it’s time to Xpress Yourself!! (Just keep the religion and politics out.)

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