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Category: Business
The City of Miami Beach Economic Development Department kicked off International Economic Development Week (May 9-13) with the unveiling of the Miami Beach Business Academy, a program designed to provide business assistance to new, aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs.
The purpose of the program is to equip new businesses with the tools to succeed during the early stages of development and strengthen the operations of more established businesses through a combination of online instruction, one-on-one counseling, peer support groups, mentoring, thought leadership and other techniques. The program is funded through the Community Development Block Grant — Coronavirus.
In October 2020, the Miami Beach City Commission approved a resolution providing $600,000 to fund small business grants via the Community Development Block Grant — Coronavirus. Throughout the process of administering the Emergency Small Business Reimbursement Grant program, the Economic Development Department encountered numerous small businesses and microenterprises in need of training and technical assistance resources.
The Miami Beach Business Academy program is offered in partnership with South Florida not-for-profit Prospera, which specializes in bilingual assistance for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The academy will offer in-person and virtual technical assistance training as well as free consulting to the city’s small business community.
Technical assistance services will be available to aspiring and established entrepreneurs from small businesses for up to eight months from now until December. The Prospera curriculum is designed to support at least 12 virtual training sessions, including topics on growth strategy analysis, best business practices, business continuity, access capital, digital presence and payroll management.
Six of the virtual training sessions will be conducted in English and six will be conducted in Spanish. The monthly programming schedule will be posted in the MBBiz electronic newsletter.
The Miami Beach Business Academy is an extension of the city’s efforts to assist the local business community as entrepreneurs and workers navigate life after the pandemic. Similarly, the City of Miami Beach Emergency Small Business Reimbursement Grant Program, supports and promotes business viability for eligible businesses, by providing up to $20,000 in expense reimbursement for expenses incurred, during the pandemic at their principal place of business.
The grant is administered and awarded on a first-come, first-qualified, first-served basis through an online application. Interested applicants should visit miamibeachfl.gosmart.org to review program guidelines and login or create a new profile to preview the application. The program will remain open until all funds are exhausted.
For additional information on the Miami Beach Business Academy, please contact Michael Rivera via email at MichaelRivera@miamibeachfl.gov or MBBiz@miamibeachfl.gov. Alternatively, visit the MBBiz.com website.
April is Tech Month in Miami Beach and this year’s festivities got underway with “Let’s Talk Crypto,” an engaging cryptocurrency thought leadership event that featured venture capitalist Jalak Jobanputra and Laura Shin, journalist, podcast host and author of the newly released “The Cryptopians — a story of the idealists, technologists, and opportunists fighting to bring cryptocurrency to the masses.”
In partnership with the Miami-Dade Beacon Council and Future\Perfect Ventures, the cryptocurrency chat was held on the eve of the Bitcoin 2022 conference. The sunset event included local, regional, and national Bitcoin enthusiasts, cryptocurrency influencers, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. It was a perfect opportunity to welcome our fintech visitors and invite them to get to know Miami Beach incentives, programs, policies, and people.
Billed as the world’s largest cryptocurrency conference, Bitcoin 2022 was held April 6-9, 2022, at the Miami Beach Convention Center campus. Bitcoin 2022 attracted more than 17,000 of the best and brightest fintech leaders and enthusiasts in the rapidly expanding cryptocurrency space. Bitcoin 2022 was welcomed to Miami Beach by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber and Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez who participated in the unveiling of a 1000-pound charging bull sculpture as well as a creative and grand activation at Pride Park.
The Miami Beach exhibition booth promoted Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County business incentives for new and startup businesses interested in relocating or expanding their operations in Miami Beach. The Economic Development Department, together with the Miami-Dade County Beacon Council and the Greater Miami and Miami Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) met with more than 500 attendees from cities as close as Orlando and as far away as Australia. Attendees saw videos showcasing vibrant neighborhoods, commercial districts, art and culture, entertainment, office space and many more assets and amenities. The city shared helpful information, maps and special offers from trendy restaurants and retail shops. Participants took home small tokens of Miami Beach hospitality — sunglasses, flip-flops, beach balls/towels and even fresh, local coconuts. The conference brought three days of engaging networking!
Tech Month continued with the return of eMerge Americas 2022 conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center on April 18-19, 2022. The venture-backed platform focuses on transforming the Greater Miami and Miami Beach community into the tech hub of the Americas. The two-day global tech conference included a welcome by Mayors Levine Cava and Gelber, who highlighted available incentive programs to support new and existing Fintech startups and entrepreneurs. The city hosted a “Suits Optional” exhibition booth to connect with attendees and appeal to business owners, influencers and talent interested in making a bold and smart move to Miami Beach.
Jolie Glassman, owner and operator of South Beach Boxing, is on a mission to make people feel good about themselves. She preaches transformation, inspiration and fulfillment.
Throughout her life, Glassman has always been a fighter. Born in Beverly Hills as the youngest of three sisters, her father passed away when she was just 2. At age 7, the family moved to South Florida to be closer to her mother’s family. Glassman’s mother was extremely strict and worked long hours to support the family.
Glassman recalls being terrible in her physical education class when she was in elementary school. She remembers having to run a penalty lap around the track because she finished behind all of the other children. It was then that she promised herself she would never finish last again. By age 15, she had become a regular at the gym.
“You cannot have a strong mind and a strong life with a weak body,” Glassman shared, “In everything I did, I chased strength. I knew I wanted to be strong in all areas.”
This philosophy has guided Glassman throughout life. After graduating from Florida International University, she was accepted into a scholarship program — For Our Children in Urban Settings or F.O.C.U.S. She taught at inner city schools, alternative educational units, detention centers and jails. She did not tolerate bullying but when her students fought, she would allow it only if she knew beforehand that no one would jump in.
So began Glassman’s mission in life to fight for the rights of children. She found the perfect avenue to help children and adults alike via boxing.
Jolie Glassman signing copies of her book, “Life According to the Rules of Boxing: 101 Rules to Being the Champion of Your Own Life”
In 1998, Glassman and her former husband founded Real Gyms for Real People. In 2001, as the company began to expand, Glassman left teaching and began spearheading the operations at the original South Florida Boxing, South Beach. After the couple divorced in 2010, Glassman retained sole ownership of South Florida Boxing and rebranded it South Beach Boxing. Many celebrities have visited the business over the years, including Muhammad Ali, Angelo Dundee, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., Lennox Lewis, Chris Bosh, Will Smith and many others.
Glassman’s passion and commitment to youth exercise has influenced the Miami Beach community. In 2010, she established her own nonprofit called Jolie’s Kids. The mission of Jolie’s Kids is to create a safe place where children can build character, find strength and succeed through the discipline of boxing and fitness. Teens are encouraged to come to boxing classes after school as a safe place to exercise and get fit.
“When children are encouraged to fight in a controlled environment, they choose not to fight on the streets,” Glassman said. “Boxing and boxing workouts make kids strong, fit, confident, humble, disciplined, focused and so much more.”
South Beach Boxing is a full-service, family style, performance training gym providing hundreds of classes each month along with a complete gym. Glassman describes South Beach Boxing as a fighting fitness school, unlike any other fitness facility, because it offers an educational, individualized and personalized experience.
Recently, Glassman wrote a book titled: “Life According to the Rules of Boxing: 101 Rules to Being the Champion of Your Own Life” which offers a curriculum for life and discusses how to live your life like a boxer and be the champion fighter of your own life.
For more information, visit:
Fat Ronnie’s Burger Bar represents five generations of gastronomic burger making — from Harlem to Martha’s Vineyard and now Miami Beach. The 1233 Lincoln Rd. culinary gem is a family-owned small business, operated by resident Reynaldo “Ronnie” Faust who has been serving the Miami Beach community with delicious creations since March 2020.
The family burger business was created by Ronnie’s grandmother, Maxine. In addition to being the first Black female union butcher in the country, she established Maxine’s in 1972, a burger joint in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. Though small in stature, Maxine was determined to succeed in the male-dominated butcher industry. From the 1950s to the early 2000s, Ronnie’s family-owned and operated top restaurants, bars and butcher shops in Harlem, include Maxine’s, Meat Masters, Twenty-Two West, Dolls Bar and Jewel’s Bar.
“From an early age, I worked with my family, in my grandmother’s restaurant and butcher shop, learning signature recipes and perfecting the craft of burger making,” Ronnie shared. “In 2013, I expanded the family burger business by opening my first burger concept, Fat Ronnie’s Burger Bar in Martha’s Vineyard.”
Fat Ronnie’s Burger Bar mixed Maxine’s signature recipes with a modern day create-your-own burger concept and became — and continues to be — a local favorite and tourist destination hot spot in Martha’s Vineyard. The success of Fat Ronnie’s Burger Bar prompted Ronnie to explore a second location. After considering another New York City location, Ronnie decided on Miami Beach’s popular Lincoln Road, which has also been his winter home since 1989.
“Unfortunately, my grand opening was set for March 2020 — literally when Miami Beach restaurants and the world — were closing due to the pandemic,” Ronnie said. That was really a rough ride because we were new to the community, and nobody knew Fat Ronnie’s Burger Bar. But we persevered and respected our ancestor’s commitment to our heritage and culture, including my great grandfather, James, who was also a butcher, and my beloved grandmother, Maxine, the matriarch of the family. Their ability to overcome prejudice and thrive grounds me. My father, Ronald, the original Fat Ronnie, and my daughter, Reyna, a fifth-generation burger maker, motivate me to strive for excellence,” Ronnie added.
Fat Ronnie’s gourmet sandwiches are fully customizable with over 32 different toppings
and can be paired with yuca fries or tostones only at the Miami Beach location
Despite the many obstacles faced during the pandemic, Fat Ronnie’s Burger Bar is still open thanks in part to Ronnie’s unique family business legacy and the support of his family and Miami Beach. Ronnie is proud to have been able to retain his Miami Beach employees during the pandemic. When asked what advice he would give to other small businesses opening in Miami Beach, Ronnie encourages entrepreneurs to find a unique niche and start small.
Today, Fat Ronnie’s Burger Bar is full and active again! The two most popular items on the menu are the Fat Ronnie 9-ounce Black Angus burger and the half-pound lobster roll made of lobster meat from Maine, and a touch of mayonnaise on a toasted buttered potato roll. Gourmet sandwiches are fully customized with over 32 different toppings. Miami Beach favorites include yuca fries and tostones, made with local, Caribbean-influenced flavors. A committed small business community member, Fat Ronnie’s Burger Bar offers discounts to first responders and local employees from Nike, Lululemon, Trader Joe’s and more.
For more information, visit their website at www.fatronniesburgerbar.com
