Turning the Page to Reveal a New Group of Professionals

Mike Potthast | 37 | Owner of Potthast Studios.

Personal history: Potthast was born and raised in Winter Haven. He graduated from Winter Haven High School and studied photography at Daytona State College. He also earned a business management degree at Warner University. He returned to Winter Haven in 1995, and took over the studio from his father, Bill, in 1999-2000. He is married and has two daughters.

Community involvement: Winter Haven Hospital Foundation, Save Our Homeless Pets, Main Street Winter Haven, City of Winter Haven Downtown CRA.

What the next 10 years will bring for Polk County: "There's a lot of development we're open to on the east side of the county. Central Florida is in a position to develop into the next generation of Florida's economy. I am uncertain of what industries that might be, but I think for the most part we have an open canvas. We can create what we want in many areas."

How his field will fit into Polk's future: "The small businesses can actually be the backbone for the community. Small businesses will be poised to help even bigger ones that come in and set up shop."

What the next 10 years will mean for his field: "My studio’s focus is going to be on maintaining the quality business that we've been for the last 40 years. We're going to continue the quality of work we've been doing. My goal would be to be able to continue to bring my studio up to the level of what the larger studios in bigger markets are able to handle. I would like to attract the agencies and companies that usually automatically look to the larger markets such as New York, Chicago and Atlanta for talented image makers. I already travel a bit to go to them, but would like to bring the studio work here.”