Current Gig: Chief Executive Officer and President of Naples-based Gulf Coast Commercial Corp., which comprises McCabe Brothers Steakhouse, McCabe's Irish Pub and Grill, the Inn at Pelican Bay and the Inn on Fifth. Phil McCabe says he has been working since age 12, when he was a golf caddie. "I carried two bags and I would make $3," he says. "Even then, I saved. At 12 I was the cheapest person in the world." As soon as he was old enough to make minimum wage, McCabe was introduced to the hospitality business at one of the first Howard Johnson's in Boston.

"I remember I made something like $1.25 an hour and I did everything. I worked in the front, in the back; I washed dishes and I was a pot washer. Actually, I even remember being fired at Howard Johnson. I was in the back, prepping in the kitchen, chicken or turkey, and I was goofing around and messing with the turkey with some of the other guys in the kitchen. The chef turned the corner and saw me and fired me on the spot. I still remember that today, and it was almost 40 years ago.

"Later, I was in the Air Force for four years and then got recruited for the CIA. I was in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. At that time, while you were overseas, they gave you a per diem. That gave me the opportunity to be where I am today, because I was able to save 100 percent of every paycheck. I saved and saved every cent the CIA paid me and that gave me the opportunity to get started when I left. After leaving the CIA, I bought a bankrupt lodge on the coast of Maine. It was completely in disrepair and looked awful. I used every penny of my savings to completely rebuild it myself. I turned the main house into one of the first bed and breakfasts on the coast of Maine. But I decided to head for a milder climate and heard business opportunities were abundant in Southwest Florida. Throughout my career, being able to save was big. I credit my success to saving. After all, life is cash flow."

-Interview by Katie S. Betz