What Banks Look for When Deciding on a Business Loan

I spend a lot of time here at the SBDC working with clients on financial issues for their businesses.  A lot of the time, it involves applying for a business loan.  Folks often don’t have a good understanding of what a bank will be looking for when making a lending decision.   The basic idea […]

Assistance with the Lending Process Aids Growth of Murray County Manufacturer 

PolyTech Fibers LLC is a minority- and employee-owned manufacturer of recycled polyester staple fiber. Launched in Chatsworth in 2014, it runs three production lines in three plants and employs more than 100 local residents. Its historical revenue growth is more than 10 percent annually.     Polytech is an economic development success and a beacon of […]

Business Basics Plant Seeds for a Successful U-Pick Flower Startup

Kedron Nicholson’s father, a florist, arranged flowers into symphonies of sight and scent. Her grandfather, a horticulturist, made simple grafts that would change the floral destiny of a camelia bush. As a young Episcopal seminarian, Kedron regularly filled campus with beautiful, joyful flowers.   So, when she and her husband James had their “what’s next” […]

Do you have enough capital to start your business?

  One of the things we talk about as a significant failure factor for new businesses is being under-capitalized when they start.  Undercapitalizing is simply a fancy finance term for underestimating how much money it will really take to (1) get the business started and (2) to cover initial losses while sales ramp up before […]

Small Business Fuel Podcast

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”104px”][vc_column_text]   [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”115px”][vc_column_text]   [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”77px”][vc_column_text]   [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”140px”][vc_column_text]   [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”78px”][vc_column_text]   [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”105px”][vc_column_text]   [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text] Episode 033121, Doing Business with the City of Atlanta Small Business Fuel Host, Paul Wilson, Jr. sat down with Bruce T. Bell, Interim Director of the Mayor’s Office of Contract Compliance, discusses how to […]

Photographer pivots business amid pandemic, with help from UGA SBDC

In the spring of 2020, photographer Diane Dodd’s business came to a complete halt due to COVID-19. Dodd is the owner and photographer of Diane Dodd Photography, a Savannah-based business focusing mainly on family, elopements and engagement photography.     “When the Coronavirus hit, it completely canceled all of my bookings in the spring, I […]

Peter Williams is UGA SBDC “Consultant of the Year” | 2019 Awards

Peter Williams, business consultant in the UGA SBDC in Macon office, received the SBDC’s “2019 Consultant of the Year Award” during our digital award ceremony this spring, after being nominated by a group of his peers.         The Consultant of the Year Award (COY) is given to a business consultant based on […]

A Successful Startup Amid a Pandemic

When Atlas Medical Services opened in December 2019, they had no idea a worldwide pandemic would strike a few months later.   Atlas Medical Services is a medical transport company, but their services also include providing educational classes, hydration services and home fall prevention inspections for their customers.   “I first heard about [the UGA […]