"As long as they're not a Gator," Jim Voyles laughs, when asked what he'd tell a fellow Seminole about joining the Seminole Business Network.
For Jim, that loyalty runs deep. Florida State wasn't just a school, it was a family legacy.
"FSU was always my dream school. Growing up, my dad and his twin brother both played golf there. I grew up watching Florida State football during the Bobby Bowden era. As a baseball player, I watched Buster Posey when I was 12 years old. It was always where I wanted to play baseball."
That dream became reality in 2012 when Jim and his twin brother were recruited to play at FSU. Years later, as part of the leadership team at Ed Voyles Automotive Group, he found a way to give back to the university that shaped him while also solving a problem that had frustrated the business for years.
Like most dealerships, Ed Voyles Automotive Group processes millions of dollars in transactions every month. Credit card processing fees had become one of the company's largest operational expenses – and not for lack of trying to fix it.
The challenge wasn't identifying the problem, it was finding a solution that actually worked.
"They approached us with a solution to a problem that we'd been having for years. We've tried to switch to different credit card processing companies twice before," Jim explains. "Both times, something went wrong in the transition and we ended up paying more in fees somehow."
That history made the leadership team cautious when the Seminole Business Network introduced them to MiCamp, a vetted payment processing partner.
"The executives and the Voyles organization were very skeptical," Jim recalls. "We'd been burned before. But we figured we'd give them a shot."
This time was different.
“MiCamp made it a very seamless, easy transition. They’re saving us a lot of money and fortunately it’s benefiting us and Florida State.”
The results came quickly. Jim saw savings the next month.
"We cut our credit card processing bill in half. Which is a big win for us."
Less than a year into the partnership, the cumulative impact has been significant.
"It's saving north of a half-million dollars, conservatively, and it hasn't even been a full year yet."
What began as a routine operational fix became something more meaningful: a way to align everyday business spending with an institution that had played a defining role in Jim's life. A portion of the savings is redirected to support Florida State Athletics and Seminole student-athletes.
"It's been a great partnership. We're really thrilled with how it's going."
Jim believes the Seminole Business Network has built something genuinely valuable. Not just for the bottom line, but for how alumni think about giving back.
"They are onto something great. Making charitable giving easier."
Rather than writing separate checks or searching for new ways to contribute, businesses can leverage spending they're already doing to support the university and student-athletes they care about.
"Having that legacy of Florida State in the family is definitely why I wanted to give back. The Seminole Boosters approach has made it make sense."
Every business relies on essential operational services, and payment processing is almost always one of the largest and least-examined expenses.
The Seminole Business Network helps Florida State alumni and supporters take a hard look at what they're already spending, identify opportunities to meaningfully reduce those costs, and direct a portion of those savings back toward Florida State Athletics and Seminole athletes.
For Ed Voyles Automotive Group, a frustrating, long-standing expense became an opportunity to save hundreds of thousands of dollars while strengthening a connection to Florida State that was never just about business.
Your business may already be spending the money. The question is whether those dollars could be working harder.
