Remembering Former UGA Business Dean and National Legacy
Former University of Georgia business dean, William C. Flewellen, Jr., 100 years-of-age, passed away Tuesday, March 12, 2019. He leaves behind a national legacy for business education and small business assistance as he was the driving force behind the creation of the national Small Business Develop Center (SBDC) program. Flewellen, who was named dean of […]
Knowledge, Networking and Persistence Bring Disaster Relief to Mid-Georgia Manufacturer
MF&H Textiles is Taylor County’s largest single-point private employer with nearly 50 employees. Its 19-acre campus between Columbus and Macon was dead in the path of Hurricane Irma on September 11, 2017. Irma’s gale force winds damaged the roof surface of MF&H’s main production facility. “Irma ripped off 20 percent of the synthetic roofing membrane […]
2018 Flewellen Award Winners
Throughout the year, there are many consultants that go above and beyond “the call of duty,” to ensure that their clients are taken care of and succeed. Each year at our Annual Awards Banquet, the UGA SBDC names deserving consultants, “Flewellen Award Winners.” This recognition is named for Dr. William Flewellen, who is considered to […]
Why Small is Great
Entrepreneurial ventures provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in Georgia for both business owners and employees. Small businesses not only supply principal income for families, but they also meet unique needs for part-time employment, temporary employment, supplementary income, or, particularly for many young people, that first job opportunity. The innovation and creativity that entrepreneurs deliver […]
5 Steps to Strengthening Your Cyber Presence
“If you are not concerned about cybersecurity, you don’t know enough about the topic yet.” – Raef Meeuwisse Strengthening your online, cybersecurity presence is a balancing act along a continuum: On one end lies convenience, using technology to manage our lives by the simplest and quickest method possible and, at the other extreme, security, protecting our […]
40 Years of Small Business Development Center at UGA
Who would have thought that an idea in 1975, promoted by William C. Flewellen, Jr., former Dean of the University of Georgia College of Business Administration, would flourish into a network of almost 1,000 service centers at colleges and universities across the country. With Flewellen’s vision and former UGA President Fred Davidson’s support of what […]
Continual Learning Leads to Continual Growth for Columbus Sign Business
Richie Grantham first came to the UGA SBDC in Columbus in 2008. He had purchased Sunshine Banners and Signs and was seeking guidance on how to best structure this business and prepare it for growth. The SBDC’s GrowSmart program was accepting applications, so Grantham applied and was accepted. After attending the five-week program, Grantham learned […]
SBDC Training Shows Columbus Businessman Several Best Practices for Growth
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Terry Wiggins had worked his way up to district manager of a major insurance firm when it was purchased in 1996, and the new company wanted him to move. Rather than leave his beloved Columbus community, he purchased a small local agency with one agent and two part-time employees, renamed it Wiggins Insurance and quickly […]