News Item

back to News Page

Norman Love's confections and business drive brought him sweet success at the Small Business Development Center's 2012 Distinguished Entrepreneur Awards on Wednesday at FGCU.

More than 220 businesspeople turned out to show their support of the small business community at the Small Business Development Center's inaugural event, which recognizes a small- to mid-sized Southwest Florida business for its accomplishments, but most of all the evening zoned in on the achievements of the local business community as a whole.

The program was designed to instill a higher appreciation for the hard work and drive of small business owners in Southwest Florida, said Dan Regelski, director of the Small Business Development Center at FGCU.

"They have really received minimal assistance," he said. "They've done it mostly with their own ingenuity, their own intelligence and their own hard work to continue to survive and continue to grow in our area."

Love, owner and president of Norman Love Confections, started his company in 2001 in a 700-square-foot medical building owned by a friend. Over the past 11 years, he has developed a reputation for his handmade ultra-premium chocolates and grew the company from two to 57 employees and three retail stores plus more than 200 hospitality industry accounts.

"I'm humbled, I'm so honored to be even considered with such three great entrepreneurs in our community," Love said as he accepted his award.

Love was picked from four finalists for the award, which also included Steve Marino, president and CEO of Home-Tech; Ben Fleischer, CEO and founder of Pyure Brands LLC; and Scott Fischer, owner of Scott Fischer Enterprises, which operates Harley Davidson dealerships in Southwest Florida and other markets.

Those finalists were chosen from 32 nominees from the five-county area by a panel of expert judges headed by Tim Cartwright, chairman of Tamiami Angel Fund I LLC.

Love thanked his wife, Mary, and Sharon Arnold, for helping him build brand a wareness in the community, but for Love, the award meant recognition of the employees "who come to work every day to be great, to do something good and be excellent," he said.

Regelski, who runs the SBDC office, said it was challenging to pore over the 32 different nominees and select one business from the bunch.

"It really was a review, not just of what they've done in the community, but also of what they're going to continue to do," he said.

Carl Gould, a business coach and founder of CMT International, was a guest speaker at the event, and shared his knowledge on the cycle of business success with the crowd.

In his 21 years working with business executives, Gould stressed that the story for the business ends however the owner wants it to end.

"You don't have to be at the mercy of anything," he said. "You are not the cause of your experience; you are the effect of your experience."