Doug Sullivan, a successful Florida businessman, joins Buddy Foy Jr. in this episode. Doug helped build the Olive Garden restaurants to over 400 locations, which led him to the Outback Steakhouse family of restaurants, where he was pivotal in their aggressive expansion throughout the state of Florida. Eventually, Doug would launch his own restaurant concept, Stonewood Grill & Tavern (https://www.stonewoodgrill.com/). Doug grew Stonewood to 18 locations and $60+ million in sales. Currently, Doug focuses on helping Florida businesses expand and exit as a commercial real estate professional for one of the most prestigious and largest realtors on the west coast of Florida, Ian Black Real Estate. Doug is the father of three daughters, a husband, and an avid sailor. Doug is passionate about his community, local businesses, and the education of our youth. Doug is more than happy to share his experiences with those who need guidance along their business journeys. As Buddy says, "Doug is one of the most diverse businessmen I have ever met, quick to lend a hand and give a word of advice. His character is beyond comparison."

You can find Doug Sullivan at https://sullivanrpa.com/ or contact Ian Black Real Estate out of Sarasota, FL.

Buddy and Doug quickly cover the history of Florida's economy, then dive into Florida's explosive growth and what we can expect over the next decade: where to invest and what's happening in the housing market, at the ports, and with commercial real estate, technology, and manufacturing. We dive into small community businesses and SBA-backed loans to acquire local small businesses and much more.

• $1.3 million dollars in spending power is coming into Florida every hour of every day.
• FL is the 15th largest economy in the world.
• 350,000 people move to FL every year.
• 188 million tourists visited FL in 2021. That number will grow by a minimum of 50 million over the next 5 years.
• Florida is the #1 state in start-up businesses.

How will FL handle this growth? What is the Florida Chamber of Commerce doing about it?

• Hubs of self-driving vehicles
• Single-passenger flying vessels
• Expansion of the ports

Doug and Buddy Foy Jr. also dive into the educational challenges under the current stress of the tax system and the retirees not voting for school budgets or acknowledging the need to focus on our youth.

Florida Economic Stats (https://www.ibisworld.com/):

• Retail Trade Total Employment: 1,331,337
• Accommodation and Food Services Total Employment: 1,076,302
• Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation Total Employment: 369,033
• 8% of all employees in Florida are employed in sectors that have a high or medium-high level of economic exposure to COVID-19, totaling 5,387,333 employees.
• 14% of all employees in Florida are employed in sectors that have a low or medium-low level of economic exposure to COVID-19, totaling 1,492,790 employees.

Visitors to Florida grew by 54.6% year over year in 2021. For more information on recent statistics, visit https://www.visitflorida.org/resources/research/.

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Welcome back to the Buddy Foy Jr. Show, here is Buddy.