31/10/11 - 12h00

Kay Tracy

Kay Tracy is serving as Business Development Specialist and former Interim Director of the Charlotte County (Florida)Economic Development Office.

Background

• Business relations between Brazil and Florida
• Taxation systems
• Improvement of local economies
• Job generation
• Sense of community and business culture
• Business partnerships between Brazilians and Americans

Interview

Tom Reaoch:

Today we’re going to talk about business between Brazil and one of its largest trading partners, the State of Florida. I’m happy to have with us Kay Tracy. I met Kay recently in an event sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce here in Brazil. First we met in Campinas and then in São Paulo. She was part of the Florida delegation’s visit to Brazil with Governor Rick Scott. Kay Tracy is serving as business development specialist and was former interim director of the Charlotte County Florida Economic Development Office. So with that Kay, I want to say welcome and thanks for being part of Talk2Brazil.

Kay Tracy:

Thank you for having me Tom.

Tom Reaoch:

Well I said you had a world-wind tour here in Brazil and finally made it back home; how is it being part of a delegation and what was your general feeling about Brazil?

Kay Tracy:

Well it was definitely a whirlwind tour and they worked me to death but it was a great feeling. We had a wonderful experience in Brazil; I had never been there before. The people were definitely warm and welcoming, very hospitable and generally pleased to see us I think.

Tom Reaoch:

Oh, without a doubt. Actually you came before the delegation itself arrived, is that it? Because we made [over-talking] and the delegation came the week later.

Kay Tracy:

That’s right, that’s right. We had - we had an opportunity to visit with a number of communities including Campinas and we had, like I said, a very warm welcome from everybody who attended our meetings and lots of questions about the U.S. and Florida specifically. It was very fruitful I think; we have a lot of interest in doing trade back and forth.

Tom Reaoch:

One of the things we mentioned, Campinas obviously, I have the – I guess we probably share a similar feeling that Campinas, because of its proximity to São Paulo, many people coming to Brazil sort of overlook Campinas and I guess that might be a feeling when Brazilians go to Florida they’re generally stopping in Miami and going up to Orlando and don’t realize there’s a whole lot more to the State.

The feelings I had with Campinas because of its proximity to São Paulo that when business persons come to Brazil, sometimes they overlook Campinas, spend their time either in São Paulo or Rio and I sort of get that same feeling when Brazilians go to Florida. Obviously the main points of interest generally tend to be Miami, then up to Orlando, but sometimes they don’t realize that there’s a whole lot more to the State of Florida and a lot of other opportunities.

Kay Tracy:

That’s absolutely right; in fact our region of communities here in Southwest Florida has really put together a marketing plan basically to come to Southwest Florida. People know geographically where Southwest Florida is better than Charlotte County Florida, but once they get to Southwest Florida we want to steer them right here to Charlotte County so that they can see all the amenities and beautiful living that we have here.

Tom Reaoch:

Yeah, well I see some of the information that you forwarded me that obviously lifestyle, you focus on the more secure, a more – a safer environment that’s only for living but is that the same for a business environment?

Kay Tracy:

Absolutely. Another one of the advantages of doing business in Charlotte County Florida is that our taxes are so low – well for the whole State of Florida there is no personal income tax and for businesses, corporate tax is only 5.5%, which is quite a difference from Brazil.

Tom Reaoch:

Well, that’s a huge difference from Brazil. [laughs] As you’ve seen and heard, I’m sure from your various visits here, but what are the other advantages other than tax, what does Charlotte County have offer?

Kay Tracy:

Well, Charlotte County is a pretty close-knit community in that we have a great group of business leaders that help – is willing to help any business with some expertise, advice, you know, how to progress, how to move along, how to grow their business. We have a lot of support organizations, entrepreneurs, support organizations, university systems that work very, very well together and we also have a government that supports businesses and I have five commissioners on the Board of Commission that want to work very closely with economic development and the businesses to help them grow, listen to what they have to hear as far as issues and problems that they’re facing especially in this down economy, and doing what it takes to spur business on and if it takes – if it means taking issues to the Federal levels, they will assist. My job is to help businesses in the area of putting the network together as far as employment, hiring people, skills, training, working with the universities to help the businesses with their curriculum, vice-versa; working with businesses so that they can train people and they’ll alter their curriculum to do so.

Tom Reaoch:

But is labor available in the area?

Kay Tracy:

Oh yes, absolutely, we have – it’s kind of like is your glass half-empty or half-full scenario. [laughs] We do have a very high unemployment. Unfortunately with the economy taking a tailspin downward we were heavy into construction services and so since the economy…

Tom Reaoch:

But in construction?

Kay Tracy:

[Over talk] anymore, people aren’t building as many homes and businesses.

Tom Reaoch:

When we were talking off line we were mentioning the availability of labor in the area of Charlotte County and you were mentioning the fact that there was a lot of business, a lot going on in the construction area.

Kay Tracy:

Yes, due to the downturn in the economy our construction services industry was hit very hard and that was one of our largest sectors and unfortunately we have very high unemployment as far as – I want to say right now it’s hovering around 11% unemployment in Charlotte Country and Florida. The State of Florida is hovering around 9% so we’re higher than the State average and also the national average due to the downturn in the construction services basically.

Tom Reaoch:

But if somebody were to set up a manufacturing installation in your area there would be readily available labor for that, then persons that specialize that could get into a factory-type situation or even into a technology-type situation and start working.

Kay Tracy:

That’s right, and our university system too, if it’s a specialized company or trade that they are looking for employees to be trained in, the nice thing about the State of Florida and our area is that our university systems and our technical schools will work – even our high schools will work closely with the businesses to train in the area that is needed and we do have also a lot of State incentives that will help the business owner with the training costs.

Tom Reaoch:

And I also see that in your area you have a foreign trade zone?

Kay Tracy:

Yes!

Tom Reaoch:

So a company could come in, establish itself, it’s a [inaudible] Brazilian company - export into the area and then from there re-export to the Caribbean or to other points?

Kay Tracy:

That’s right, the nice thing about our foreign trade zone is that a company that is located – this is specifically on airport property where it has a great infrastructure of air, rail and international highway system that goes through it – this area allows for a business to bring in raw materials from say from some other country, let’s just pick Brazil, and then they would import their raw materials. The company would then produce whatever it is they’re producing and if they’re going to be exporting it then out of the United States to another country, say it’s to, I’ll just pick Great Britain, say it’s going to Great Britain, the company does not need to pay any type of tax – duty on that material, that raw material that came into the country initially; as long as it’s not sold to any American or U.S. entity, it’s free trade.

Tom Reaoch:

And this zone is up and functioning - it’s operational?

Kay Tracy:

Yes, it is - it’s called a subzone so it floats around the airport and the main zone of this foreign trade zone is located in Fort Myers which is our neighboring community.

Tom Reaoch:

And I also saw on the information I received, you have shovel-ready building sites…

Kay Tracy:

Yes.

Tom Reaoch:

So if somebody does need to build something, if there’s not space available, then you would also help in that.

Kay Tracy:

Well, what the shovel-ready sites means is that this is land that’s ready to go, ready to be built on and it has all the infrastructures in place, all the fiber and electrical, the water, the master storm-water for the property, the streets, roads, you have it; all of that is already in place so all they have to basically do is concentrate on building their building.

Tom Reaoch:

And is there any help in the building that portion of it? Does the government offer any assistance in that?

Kay Tracy:

Yes, we do have – not as much of assistance per se as we do have incentives for the right companies and depending on what the return of investment is for the community. We look at all of our projects as a business proposition, just as a business would, you know, as they’re going and developing a new program. We look at each project as a business opportunity and we look at the return of investment. If the return of investment is there within a ten year period if we were to put money into a project, then we would look to that project bringing back to the community within a ten year period.

So those types of incentives could be – it could be cash, it could be property, it could be tax reimbursements, it could be – depending on where it lands in the county, it doesn’t have to be in the shovel-ready area but it could be infrastructure grants and things like that.

Tom Reaoch:

Okay, but what are the type of businesses, type of companies that you’re looking to attract to the area?

Kay Tracy:

Well you know it’s very interesting, I learned a lot when I was in Brazil, I was looking at the best prospects for Brazil and I think that we pretty much mirror what Brazil is looking for to come into their country; and that is the aerospace aviation, technology companies, telecommunication companies, security and safety, we call it Homeland Security over here. Environmental technologies - any type of really manufacturing, medical equipment, that sort of thing, that’s very good for us as well.

Tom Reaoch:

Now those are all, each of those that you mentioned are real sweet spots and many of them specifically are also growing so I could also see from what you just said, even of the Free Trade Zone of a Brazilian company, or even an American company having installations here and there and taking advantage of both scenarios.

Kay Tracy:

That’s right and you know my goal was twofold, I mean I was looking to, number one, look to Brazil to form somewhat of a delegation. I was looking for business leaders, educational institutions and government representatives to see if we could form somewhat of a delegation over there, maybe representing a region and Campinas was definitely an area I think that we could work with. The business leaders, the government entities and the universities that represented that area are very, very willing to work with us. From that standpoint we were looking to form a delegation so that we could work on issues and areas of interest, I think more in the energy efficiency area, sustainability area, where we could take real-life problems that the world is facing right now and how can we collaborate together in the U.S and Brazil and form a delegation that can solve some of these problems, so research and development and et cetera and we could do this in both territories.

Tom Reaoch:

Right.

Kay Tracy:

And then the other area of interest that I had in Brazil is that, you know, I have been finding that once you’re past first phase in a business in Brazil it seems like it almost gets cost-prohibitive because of the taxing that happens, to get to the next level then that’s you know, 50 to 100 employees for a business. So, they’re going to have to look to another market; they’re going to have to try to expand their market outside of Brazil, but how do you do that?

Tom Reaoch:

Right.

Kay Tracy:

So my answer to that would be, okay, well let’s look at the U.S. market and perhaps we set up a U.S. headquarters so the businessman then can set up the U.S. headquarters and work on other world markets and it’s more cost-efficient I think.

Tom Reaoch:

I think that’s a selling point, the viable selling point that you have when you speak to Brazilians because obviously the bureaucracy here is one and from what I found out even Governor Rick Scott mentioned, starting a business in Florida and I’m sure starting a business in your area seems to be something easy, rather quick to do, is that true?

Kay Tracy:

Right, well yeah. I mean…

Tom Reaoch:

Because when you mention to a Brazilian setting up his headquarters in the States, sometimes they shake because they feel that the bureaucracy is similar or the same as it is here in Brazil but that’s probably not the case.

Kay Tracy:

No, I don’t think that’s the case at all, I think that the biggest obstacle that business owners today, be it America or Brazilian, I mean they have to be educated; they just have to know their business. They need to know how to market it, they need to know, you know, what it’s going to take and they need to have the financial capability to do their business. Nothing’s going to handed to them of course, but I think the nice thing about the U.S. and setting up a U.S. headquarters is that you do have this network of business – our business leaders here understand, they get it – not saying that the Brazilians don’t…

Tom Reaoch:

Right, right.

Kay Tracy:

But I know that American business people here, leaders here, they’ll do what it takes to help the next guy and so will the government, you know as far as intellectual property, you know, this is how you do it, these are the people that you need to contact, this is the paperwork you need to file, et cetera, et cetera. But I think where people fail is that they may bring the wrong business here; they may not know what their market is.

Tom Reaoch:

Right.

Kay Tracy:

And - or who - the contacts, they may not have the contacts on this side of the water.

Tom Reaoch:

Right, that’s the other side of networking too is develop that to generate those contacts and get the valuable information that you’re mentioning.

Kay Tracy:

Right.

Tom Reaoch:

But one of the things too that was mentioned during the during the presentation that the governor made, business between Brazil and the State of Florida is above 15 billion dollars, so when you just look at that, there’s a lot of business, a lot, you know, across a wide spectrum of things happening. So as a focal point and as a point of entrance for a Brazilian company wanting to test the waters in the States, I think from what we saw and what I heard, Florida certainly is a great example for that.

Kay Tracy:

Yeah, absolutely and I think U.S. businesses are very, very interested in the Brazilian market as well, I mean, it’s projected 2014, 2015 that Brazil is likely to become the world’s fifth largest economy.

Tom Reaoch:

Right.

Kay Tracy:

So I think it’s in the best interest of American companies to figure out, “How can we trade with this country? How can we trade with Brazil and get into their market as well?”

Tom Reaoch:

Do you think Brazil is the great unknown for most American companies?

Kay Tracy:

I think so, I think it’s kind of under the radar, I don’t think it’s gotten the notoriety that it deserves, I mean it is really – I want to tell you about a year and a half ago, maybe two years, our – Manny Mencia who is the head of Enterprise Florida International, he was talking about Brazil and that Brazil was coming up and their strong economy, they’re outliving this downturn of the economy and like the only one, a sole survivor type of a thing. I don’t think people really took him seriously and here we are two years later and Brazil in another two years is probably going to be the fifth largest economy. I think that’s absolutely phenomenal.

Tom Reaoch:

Right. Well yeah I guess you felt that during your visit here and just seeing and feeling the different environment, the business environment, you could see that that is actually happening; Brazil is very strong, the economy is very strong.

Kay Tracy:

Yeah. I know that Brazil has its challenges but I think that one of the biggest challenges that it has overcome already is that the willingness of people wanting to look outside of Brazil for worldwide trade, and that might be what’s building them up, I’m not sure, you know, I’m not an economist, I’m an economic developer, but I think that that’s half the challenge, is that mind set, you know, “We can do this!”

Tom Reaoch:

I agree with you and I think of that – obviously the recent success in Brazil, much of it is coming from the local market and I think that did help the country and has helped companies get through, say this recent global recession…

Kay Tracy:

Right.

Tom Reaoch:

And part of that, that the wealth is being shared throughout the different levels here in Brazil and also throughout the different regions because most of the development was concentrated in the southern part but now we have a lot of development throughout the country which is good. But even to that I do think that Brazilian business persons are now looking to the world as a business opportunity, obviously many Brazilians look to Florida, rightly so, as a recreational and a vacation resort and we saw how much of that is an influence for the Florida government and for Floridians, that’s where business is coming from. But now the challenge I think for the Brazilians is that; to establish themselves as a business partner once they’ve seen it and even in visiting Florida they do see the opportunities, so I’m sure it’s organizations like yourselves of helping companies understand how to do business in the States, that’s really what they need.

Kay Tracy:

Absolutely, and you know, I think that, going back to one of your first questions in that, “Why Charlotte County?” You know, “Why Florida?” Florida is quickly approaching – they’re going to be the third largest economy in the States in probably another year. They have 18 million residents here in the State of Florida. The neat thing about Charlotte County where I am is that you can reach two-thirds of that population within 150 miles. Which is just huge, I mean when you’re talking about manufacturing and transportation, that’s huge. If you’re in the food industry, if you’re in the entertainment industry, any type of retail business I think that’s a huge statement.

Tom Reaoch:

No, that is a huge statement and not only, I think, the affluence in Florida is also noteworthy.

Kay Tracy:

Oh yeah, yeah. I think that’s largely due to the…

Tom Reaoch:

18 million people who spend money as well.

Kay Tracy:

Yeah, that’s right. [laughs] And it’s a little older population too so they, you know, they’re not worried too much about the future [laughs] [inaudible]. But no, I mean -

Tom Reaoch:

It’s not that they’re not worried about the future, they’re living the future.

Kay Tracy:

True, there you go, I like that.

Tom Reaoch:

They’re taking advantage of this lifestyle, I think I saw in one of the magazines that I picked up through the delegation, the exposition, The Business Florida and the five reasons why you belong here in Florida and what the governess says; business friendly climate which is true, global connections, vital industry clusters, America’s number one work force and I think the exceptional quality of life and so I do feel that, and that’s amongst anybody. Everybody’s looking for a better quality in life, you know, it’s not all hard work all the time, you do have to enjoy yourself. And I think work and pleasure does melt itself together very well in Florida.

Kay Tracy:

And a part of that pleasure and comfort is that - is the reason why people come to Florida, I mean there is no personal income tax here. That’s huge, when you retire and you’ve got your money in the bank and you’ve worked so hard to get that money, you don’t want to be taxed again to take that money out of the bank, so there’s no personal income tax here and I think that’s why so many people retire here in Florida; and they’re active people, it’s not like it’s a lot of old people here, It’s a very active community.

Tom Reaoch:

No, I think also in the size of the community I saw that your region’s about a million and half people in the area.

Kay Tracy:

Yeah, two million.

Tom Reaoch:

So that’s very similar to what Campinas is so I think there are a lot of similarities there that we can share Campinas to Charlotte County.

Kay Tracy:

That’s right, that’s right, and a lot of people I think were thrilled to you know – Miami’s a great place to visit and I certainly love to go to South Beach on the weekends but it can be a challenging place as far as crime goes, it’s high cost down there too and it’s kind of nice to be able to step back on a day to day basis and be in a community such as Charlotte County where it’s safer, you know, I think we’re the second lowest crime area in the State, which is huge. And the first is an Island [laughs] with one way off and one way on [laughing]. But yes, so you have that – we are a coastal community so we have the water, we have fishing and boating and everything that you can imagine, hunting here there’s agriculture here – we have it all really; very lucky.

Tom Reaoch:

Even for a Brazilian then to have his second home that would be the place to be.

Kay Tracy:

Oh absolutely, absolutely. Again and if you like nature, you know there’s all sorts of wild-life. I think it’s pretty similar to Brazil, we don’t have the parrots flying around like you guys do [laughing] which I found very fascinating, but we do have…

Tom Reaoch:

Well sometimes I wake up with the parrots here in my backyard, so it is fascinating [laughing]. It’s good – best way to wake up.

Kay Tracy:

That’s right, that’s right, but we do have pelicans which are kind of interesting to watch and flamingos and egrets and all sorts of really very beautiful wildlife here.

Tom Reaoch:

Good. Well, let me say, what were your takeaways from the Brazil visit?

Kay Tracy:

Like I said before, I mean I was overwhelmed at how warm the people are in Brazil, they’re just such nice, warm hospitable people that which I don’t think you find everywhere you travel in the world you know and so I was really taken aback by that. I do think that there’s a lot of advantages of working with Brazilian companies , in fact I think that from everything I’ve heard during my visits it sounds like when an American business wants to do business in Brazil their best bet is to have a Brazilian partner, a partner that’s going to, you know, know the rules of the road and tricks of the trade so to speak when they come down and want to trade back and forth, there’s ways around not eliminating the tax burdens entirely but there’s ways that you can go around it to ease that a little bit I think.

So there are challenges but there’s definitely opportunities as well and on the flip side I think that Brazilians are smart business people, I think that they have a lot to offer the world market, I think that there is a lot of opportunity. A lot of people are very eager to reach out to better their business and provide a better opportunity for their families.

Tom Reaoch:

Now that’s true.

Kay Tracy:

And I think that shows sunny Florida is the answer for them.

Tom Reaoch:

And throughout the whole group is the Florida delegation is one of the largest State delegations that I’ve seen recently, there were I guess 187 persons coming and 100 different businesses, so it was a sizeable delegation.

Kay Tracy:

It was.

Tom Reaoch:

And your feeling I guess as you travel, you met your other Floridians, is that impression about the same amongst everybody?

Kay Tracy:

Oh yes, I think so. I didn’t meet one person that didn’t have a positive thing to say about the whole trade mission, I think that everybody had a very good experience and made some very good connections.

Tom Reaoch:

Good. Now I also think in part of our conversations you mentioned that a group of Brazilians who will now be going to the States and also visiting your area.

Kay Tracy:

Yes, we’re really excited. We have about 24, 25 business leaders and folks from educational organizations that are coming up to visit us on Friday and they’re going to stay for a couple of days. We’re going to show them around the area and hopefully they’ll go back with some great ideas and opportunities that – and we’ll see them again real soon [laughs].

Tom Reaoch:

No, that was good, this is also organized through the delegation that came or was this a separate matter?

Kay Tracy:

This was a separate matter. A fellow by the name of Jefferson Michaels had arranged it. He was a contact through the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce in Tampa, we had a connection with and Jefferson really made all of that happen. In fact when we came to visit Campinas he’s the one that put us in touch with all the folks in Campinas, the business leaders et cetera. So prior to our trade mission going down this is separate and different than that trade mission altogether and it was planned months in advance, so we’re real fortunate to have had made that connection, but this is what I’m talking about, you know. This is what I was looking for, I was looking for connections, I was looking for these types of things and I certainly plan on having more of these trade missions coming back and forth.

Tom Reaoch:

Right. That’s true, there’s no secret, but the secret is connections.

Kay Tracy:

That’s right; absolutely.

Tom Reaoch:

And that’s on both sides, as you mentioned, it’s good to have a connection here but it’s also good to have connections in Florida; wherever you’re having business, so connections make things happen.

Kay Tracy:

Absolutely. We’re also having some – I have a sprinkling of business now that are coming to the Unites States through January. Talking with some folks at the trade show in other places, they couldn’t make this trade mission this week, but they’re going to – inbound for us – but they’re going to be coming to see me several weeks for the next two months.

Tom Reaoch:

Right. So that’s the positive pickup from the delegation visit?

Kay Tracy:

Absolutely.

Tom Reaoch:

Okay, what will your suggestions be to Brazilian business persons looking to start business in Florida? What are the tips that you can help them?

Kay Tracy:

Well, as I’d mentioned I think that they need to be educated. I think that they’ve got to really understand their market, they’ve got to create relationships within the community and they have to have their funding in place. That’s for Brazilians, now for Floridians I would say that they also would have to be educated and they‘ve got to find their Brazilian business partners understand the ins and outs and it’s not very likely that they would be successful doing business on their own in my opinion. They’ve got to have those connections and they have to understand that there are also some ways to offset the heavy tax burdens.

Tom Reaoch:

Right. Well, I look at business, I don’t feel business is solitary anymore. It has to be, you know, [not] necessarily a group process but the more sharing that you have, I think the better the business becomes.

Kay Tracy:

I agree.

Tom Reaoch:

That’s not only Brazil / Florida; I mean there are so many different cultural aspects. Also talking about the size of Brazil, even Florida is not a small state, I’m sure there are cultural differences throughout the state and there are consumer habits throughout the state as there are here and the way business is done, you really need more allies in the process than trying to go it alone.

Kay Tracy:

Right, and you know Florida, a lot of people may not understand it, there’s very few born and raised Floridians, and we all kind of chuckle when we find one [laughing] because they’re a rare breed. So we’re all - the nice thing about it is that we’re all from somewhere else, I’m from Chicago you know, I mean and people who understand the United States each one of the states are so different than the next, you know…

Tom Reaoch:

That’s true.

Kay Tracy:

So in Florida we’re just thankful we have nice neighbors and we kind of take them in as a relative because nobody has any relatives that live nearby either [laughing]. So the Brazilians that come here and have a second home, if they, you know relocate here or whatever their situation is, I think they’ll be very well-received and they’ll find friends very fast.

Tom Reaoch:

Well as I understand you do have the beginning of a Brazilian community and a business community already starting in Charlotte County.

Kay Tracy:

We do, we do. A lot of them have their own businesses, they’ve been here for several years and the nice thing about it is that when the inbound delegation comes in, our trade mission comes in from Brazil, we’re going to have several interpreters; at least four in every group. So we’re very, very fortunate to have them and they’re coming in donating their time. That’s just one example of what I was talking about before. Everybody’s eager, they want to see things happen, they want to see our community grow and they want to see people successful here.

Tom Reaoch:

And there’s a lot of opportunity for that.

Kay Tracy:

Absolutely.

Tom Reaoch:

But I want to pick up on that point that you said that you know, everybody in Florida is from somewhere else. That does make Florida the melting pot of the United States, so for a business wanting to start in Florida, it also helps to understand about how to do business in the rest of the United States. Get all those different cultures and meet different persons from different areas.

Kay Tracy:

That’s right, and lots of contacts down here; it’s amazing. It’s a great opportunity for new businesses, new budding businesses.

Tom Reaoch:

So if I did ask you why Florida and not Chicago would it be the lack of wind or the wind’s just a little bit warmer?

Kay Tracy:

Well, yeah the climate had a lot to do with it for me, but also my husband has retired and so you know, we had a very short list of where do we go and we both picked Florida. We took a little survey ourselves and we both ended up in Florida, so it was really very good for our family and I just wanted to be warm, that’s all I wanted [laughing]. Chicago’s a great place three months out of the year and that’s it.

Tom Reaoch:

Well, I was born in Pittsburgh so I know what you mean and I do have to agree that climate, I mean you talk about business climate but the real climate has a lot to do with business.

Kay Tracy:

Right.

Tom Reaoch:

I think business is better where it’s warmer, that’s just the way I feel.

Kay Tracy:

I think so too.

Tom Reaoch:

It’s hard to do business when you’re cold.

Kay Tracy:

It is, that’s true. [laughs] And you know what, the way that I look at it is, you know, I’m working, well okay it’s a nice day today but you know what tomorrow’s going to be great to, so I don’t feel guilty about it. [laughs].

Tom Reaoch:

Right. Now I was looking at the site for the airport and it’s what, 73 degrees and it’s really nice, it seems to be a very pleasant day there today huh?

Kay Tracy:

Oh, it is, it is. We’re coming into our cooler temperatures and so it will probably hover between 78 and 73 probably throughout the winter and the nights might get a little cold and we say cold is probably 40. [laughs]

Tom Reaoch:

That’s not cold.

Kay Tracy:

No.

Tom Reaoch:

One more thing, what are the advantages of the west coast or the east coast of Florida?

Kay Tracy:

Well you know what I think that the west coast of Florida is a lot more affordable, we’ve got beautiful beaches and warmer water. The east coast is colder Atlantic water. We’ve got the Gulf of Mexico of course on the west coast.

Tom Reaoch:

Right.

Kay Tracy:

And it’s more expensive on the east coast.

Tom Reaoch:

So is the similar lifestyle and quality of life, less expensive on the west coast versus east coast?

Kay Tracy:

Absolutely, yes. I think it’s probably because the east coast was developed first before the west coast, people settled on the east coast of Florida before the west coast and so it’s been built up and it’s just more expensive. In my opinion I think – you know I tried to get away from that coming from Chicago, very expensive real estate properties, high taxes. I didn’t want that so the gulf coast of Florida is just a better bargain, you know, for your dollar.

Tom Reaoch:

Brings it all together, right.

Kay Tracy:

It sure does.

Tom Reaoch:

Good. And from a business for Brazilian or anyone wanting to start a company that’s the same answer; it would be less expensive to start a company there.

Kay Tracy:

Yeah, right. Exactly.

Tom Reaoch:

Very Good. Well Kay I want to thank you for being part of Talk2Brazil today, we’re running towards the end of our program and I want to thank you for your time and I want to wish you good luck with the Brazilians and all coming up to visit Charlotte County and hope for success amongst everybody.

Kay Tracy:

Well I’m flattered for the opportunity Tom, thank you so much and I look forward to a future call and perhaps we can talk about some of the successes that come out of this.

Tom Reaoch:

We’ll do that. Now for our listeners what I saw was the best site to direct people to would be Floridasinovationcoast.com would that be it?

Kay Tracy:

Yes. Absolutely.

Tom Reaoch:

Again repeating, it’s Floridasinovationcoast.com and you’ll be able to find a lot more information about Charlotte County and the economic development and find your way to Kay, okay?

Kay Tracy:

Thank you so much Tom.

Tom Reaoch:

Thank you.