My Grandfather ingrained in my brain that when Cuba opened
up, the opportunity for business would be amazing. My family was in the garbage
business back then. I grew up learning about trucks, front loaders, rear
loaders, containers, roll offs, and most importantly the service business. He
told me about Cuba in 1988 and how the infrastructure of the country would need
to be rebuilt when Castro passed away or the government changed. It is 26 years
later and part of the world is about to change from the news yesterday about
President Obama ending the Cuba embargo.
I am a native South Floridian. My best friend growing up was
Cuban. I learned all about his family’s culture and my upbringing had those
influences. Cubans and Cuban Americans are a proud people with deep culture,
family values, and strong work ethics. Throughout my life in South Florida I
have seen how great of a people they are. I am not in a position to comment on
the politics, there will be raging debates in the coming months, but I am
interested in the opportunity that is in Cuba.
My Grandfather spent a significant amount of time in Cuba in
the 1950s and he described how beautiful of a country it was. Towards the end
of his life, he taught me about what Cuba would need when the time came; they
would need a full rebuild of their infrastructure. Of course, he was interested
in the garbage business side of things, but he also schooled me on the roads, their
electricity issues, outdated telephone technology, old cars, lack of modern construction,
opportunity for increased tourism, and some of the best fishing in the world!
What he did not know when he passed away in 1989, was the coming digital
revolution and how it could fuel future relations.
Now I look at Cuba in 2014 and I can see everything that I
always knew was coming, and more. If this happened 10 years ago, I could see my
Dad already on his way there to open a company. I have to look at the search
marketing opportunities. Tourism is going to be the first area that needs
search marketing, which is a no-brainer. What about all of the businesses that
are going to rebuild the country’s infrastructure? Now we are talking real
money, real investments, real jobs, and a dire need for marketing.
Tandem Interactive has three bilingual employees; South
Florida is already the corridor to South America and now it will be the
corridor to Cuba. We are ready to work in tandem with companies on both sides
of the Gulfstream. The next decade should be incredible for both Cuba and South
Florida. I will do my best to contribute and I believe…fulfill part of my
Grandfather’s dream.
