FloridaCommerce and Florida SBDC Network Celebrate Success of Inaugural Florida Rural Business Resource Tour

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.— Earlier this month, FloridaCommerce joined the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, state and local leaders, and economic development partners to celebrate the success of the 2025-2026 Florida Rural Business Resource Tour—hosting the final stops in Highlands, Hendry, Glades, Hardee and DeSoto counties. Designed to meet rural entrepreneurs and small business owners where they are, Florida’s Rural Business Resource Tour and the Florida Rural Business Resource Fair’s—the tour’s signature event—mission is to connect businesses with available state-level services and partners with rural communities and businesses across rural Florida, strengthening local economies. Throughout the tour’s inaugural year, state leaders conducted visits to 40 rural businesses, workforce education, and pad-ready sites across 27 rural counties. Additionally, the Rural Business Resource Fair saw more than 300 local business owners, entrepreneurs and job seekers attend across all tour stops.

“Thanks to Governor DeSantis and his leadership, we have seen the strongest support in Florida history from this administration for our rural communities,” said Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly. “It is in partnership with state and local economic development stakeholders, Florida’s Rural Areas of Opportunity and many legislators that we have seen such success in the first year of Florida’s Rural Business Resource Tour. In establishing this outreach as a new best practice for serving our rural communities, we are meeting directly with business owners, entrepreneurs and community leaders right where they are—hearing about the challenges they face, their opportunities for growth and connecting them with resources that can help them succeed.”

“Behind every small business is an entrepreneur who had the courage to take a risk, pursue a dream and invest in their community,” said Greg Britton, State Director of the Florida SBDC Network. “We know the demands of running a business can leave little time to seek out additional support, and it can be isolating carrying that responsibility. Through this tour, FloridaCommerce, state agencies, Florida's Rural Areas of Opportunity and local partners came together to bring resources directly to rural communities and connect businesses with the tools and expertise they need to grow. Florida's rural businesses are creating jobs, strengthening communities and building a brighter future for our state, and we're committed to helping them succeed.”

“Attending these events in person has given me the opportunity to see firsthand the incredible entrepreneurial spirit that thrives in rural communities across our state, and it reinforces the importance of making sure every business owner has the support they need to succeed. DBPR’s participation in Florida’s Rural Business Resource Tour has allowed us to bring licensing guidance and resources directly to rural entrepreneurs and small-business owners,” said DBPR Secretary Melanie S. Griffin . “Our team has helped participants better understand licensing requirements, navigate DBPR’s online services and connect with the right resources to move their businesses forward.”

“Supporting Florida’s rural businesses means supporting the people and communities that make those businesses successful,” said Adrienne Johnston, President and CEO of CareerSource Florida. “The Rural Business Resource Tour gave us an opportunity to meet business owners where they are, connect them with the resources and workforce solutions they need, and strengthen the partnerships that help rural communities grow and thrive.”

Over the course of its first year, Florida’s Rural Business Resource Tour delegates visited 40 small rural businesses across Florida’s key industries—including AgTech, aquaculture, manufacturing, shipping and logistics, shipbuilding, defense and maritime—connecting rural Florida’s small business owners directly with state resources. During one stop on the South Florida swing of the tour, agency leadership was able to connect an aquaculture company with immediate working capital to support their business needs. They also visited the only vertically integrated coffee company in in Florida—handling all aspects of the business from growing their own beans to roasting to shipping. Stops in the Florida Panhandle included high-tech bottling, shipbuilding, wood manufacturing, plant tissue cultivating, oyster farming, and beekeeping and honey bottling businesses. In North Florida, delegation members toured steel manufacturing, AgTech and timber processing businesses. North Central Florida stops highlighted a high-tech and ultra-high vacuum component manufacturer for the worldwide semiconductor industry and Williston Regional Airport.

In addition to business visits and the Resource Fair, the final tour stop in Hardee County included a roundtable with Florida leadership and Hardee County business leaders, highlighting services available to Florida’s rural businesses and opportunities localities can seize to strengthen economic development across the state’s Heartland.

Florida’s Rural Business Resource Tour was made possible through collaboration with Florida’s three Rural Areas of Opportunity partners: Opportunity Florida, North Florida Economic Development Partnership and Florida’s Heartland Economic Region of Opportunity.

For more information, visit floridasbdc.org/ruraltour.