Jessica Clarke has always been enterprising, born with the same entrepreneurial spirit as her father and a knack for updos that was all her own. At fourteen, she could be found working at the local salon after school. By eighteen, she was licensed and well on her way to establishing a name for herself as a talented and creative stylist. Not five years later and determined as ever, she became a business owner when she opened her very first salon. After relocating to Florida in 1992, Jessica yet again saw the opportunity to build something special for her community. Fueled by a business acumen that only experience provides and an intrinsic ability to envision what others cannot, Jessica ventured to create a business that was equal parts luxury and hospitality. Opening in 2013, The Salon at JW Marriott Marco Island has been benefiting locals and visitors alike and has helped establish Jessica as a highly respected mentor and business owner in Southwest Florida.

Like Jessica, Al Wagner chose Marco Island to develop a successful business of his own. Having worked as an accountant since the early nineties, Al launched a payroll division at his accounting firm in 2007. However, in order to break into a market saturated by big-box payroll companies, he knew he had to be creative. 

Equipped with a binder, calculator, and a stack of prop cash, Al went door to door – using his connections when he could and honest charm when we couldn’t – in order to get in front of employers. After he’d asked them his questions and crunched their numbers, Al would pull out the wad of fake cash from his binder and begin to count. Once finished, he’d hand over the exact amount the employer would be saving by working with him. Meeting by meeting and stack by stack, Al’s payroll clientele grew. With his customer-driven focus and creative approach, Al launched his own business devoted to payroll services in 2012: TruPayroll.