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Lifelong entrepreneur Thomas Contreras wasn't about to let a storm, even one as destructive as Hurricane Charley, wreck his window-tinting business.

So Contreras got creative. When local homeowners and business owners called glass contractors to replace their windows in the aftermath of the storm, which bombarded Charlotte County in 2004, Contreras would follow the companies out to the worksites. Then, right after the new windows were installed, Contreras would knock on doors for work.

The aggressive move worked. Contreras's business, Port Charlotte-based Glass Master Tinting, survived the storm, and more recently, it survived the recession.