November 6, 2009

Dear Friends:

Yesterday, I was honored to join Governor Charlie Crist, Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, the Governor's Director of the Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development Dale Brill and more than 20 small business owners from across the state. We convened for the Governor's Small Business Summit, a day of discussions and workshops aimed at establishing ideas that can foster and promote free competitive enterprise for Florida's small business owners.

Topics ranged from challenges small business face to the state's economic gardening program and from sharing best practices to the importance of connecting businesses with Florida's workforce. I participated in a session on cutting red tape for Florida's small businesses.

DBPR has been working to streamline processes and reduce regulatory burdens. I discussed highlights of legislation from last year and measures we're currently taking to help Florida's businesses and professionals. One of the initiatives I shared was the "You Save the Day" program, which I wrote about several weeks ago in the "Bottom Line." In short, everything we do at DBPR to provide better customer service, faster processing times and better user experiences is working toward providing businesses with the support they need to thrive.

The Governor's Small Business Summit was a great opportunity to interact with small businesses and share what we’re doing to help and listen to ideas on how we can better support the economy. Listening and engaging in the dialogue with our businesses is the best way to move forward for better business ahead.

The Governor has created a way for you to share your ideas on how to best stimulate Florida's economy—just complete this PDF form.

Sincerely,

Charles W. Drago
Secretary

Department of Business and
Professional Regulation
1940 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
Customer Contact Center:
850.487.1395
www.MyFloridaLicense.com