If there’s a theme for this issue, it’s sacrifice and persistence.
It starts with our cover story on Jordan Zimmerman of Zimmerman Advertising. He sacrificed by living on his parents” couch for years and continuing to reinvest in his business, which now bills $3 billion a year for its clients. He’s religious about goal setting, metrics and results.
When we first discussed the story, he started talking about his new book, “Leading Fearlessly.” Zimmerman’s hope was that some readers would be not only personally inspired by his experience and insight, but want to share it with their children.
Having read his book, I think that’s a terrific idea. (Read our interview first, though.)
Abe Debabneh is another inspirational leader. He has 11 cigar stores under the Smoke Inn brand and has gone on to help create a cigar brand and a cigar company.
He has my favorite quote this issue: “Every little detail adds up. It’s very easy to look at the big things. Business people overlook the small things, but customers notice the small things.”
Perla Lichi has gained renown as an interior designer in South Florida, but our story shows how she has grown her business in Dubai as well. My favorite part of the story is how she stayed there when the global economy sputtered and other designers went back to where they came from. Now that’s persistence.
A secondary theme this issue is the amazing amount of world-class architecture and interior design going on in our region. Thanks to these efforts, we are able to present what I think is a visually stunning issue.
On a personal note, the SFBW team would like to thank everyone that gave such positive feedback for our first issue. We have put in a lot of hard work and your support is extremely gratifying.
An extra special thanks to members of our editorial advisory board, who are listed to the left. They have stepped forward to play a vital role in supporting the launch of SFBW.
As always, I welcome your feedback. Please email me at kgale@sfbwmag.com or call me at 954.377.9566. ?
Kevin Gale
