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Vistage Florida is returning to Sarasota.
Vistage provides a forum for business leaders to confidentially chat about issues they face in and out of the office. Vistage groups, which meet 11 times per year for daylong sessions, are made up of 12 to 18 members from non-competing industries. In addition to learning from each others’ experiences, they also exchange business advice and learn from outside experts.
Vistage Florida appointed area entrepreneur Kimberly Martinez to head up the Sarasota chapter. Martinez is co-founder and president of Bonitas International, parent entity of BooJee Beads, a line of fashion-forward lanyards, necklaces and other accessories for holding ID badges. BooJee Beads are in over 7,000 independent boutiques and gift stores nationwide, in addition to Amazon and Walmart.
Bonitas International is based in Ohio, and was previously based in Sarasota, where Martinez spends a lot of her time. The company is a five-time Inc. 5000 honoree for fast growth, and does some $5 million a year in sales. Martinez also has experience in corporate America, in leadership roles at Progressive Insurance and Prudential, the latter of which she oversaw profit and loss for a billion-dollar unit.
Martinez was part of Vistage Sarasota from 2008-2012. She remained close with some group members, she says, who helped her through a difficult period in her business. "I'm motivated to bring back the group here, provide the value it did me for others," Martinez tells Coffee Talk. "Being an entrepreneur or a business owner can be a lonely gig."
Vistage Florida, based in Jacksonville and an affiliate of Vistage International, last had a group in the Sarasota-Bradenton region about five years ago. Vistage has chapters in Tampa and Naples, among others in the state. "My goal is to make this chapter one of the highest-performing Vistage groups in the state," Martinez says.
Martinez is currently interviewing potential charter members of Vistage Sarasota. For more information, call Martinez at (941) 539-5467 or email her at [email protected]
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