Lending and Marketing Assistance Help Put Augusta Meat Market on the Map

Man in collared shirt resting his hand against a large white plaster bull.

Meat markets and butcher shops nationwide are losing more and more customers to competition from traditional grocery stores, super centers and nontraditional food retailers like Target. But don’t tell Wayne Lanier’s customers in Augusta. They wouldn’t believe it. In fact, they know if you don’t get to Lanier’s Meat Market early enough, you’ll have to […]

New Processes Recharge Profits For Cornelia Business

A&A Electric has supported the needs of Cornelia and the town’s surrounding counties since Herschel and Runette Ansley opened it in 1969. When Hershel retired in 1991, the next generation of Ansleys stepped in, running the multi-pronged business while their mom continued as comptroller. Greg Ansley took over as general manager of A&A Electric’s HVAC […]

Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Georgia’s Sugar Bowl Loss

Let’s be honest… most of Dawgnation is waking up this morning like: But you know what? Failure happens. It happens to us all… especially to entrepreneurs… it’s inevitable. The worst part about failure is the feeling of being crushed, defeated, and as if you’ll never be a successful entrepreneur (or a National Championship winning football […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Answers are Different This Week…

Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” For many of us, allocating time to plan becomes a significant challenge of priorities. Do we work on the urgent or the important today? Frequently, this becomes the question of the day. In most cases, […]

Careful Planning Gives Award-Winning Savannah Dessert Bar Owners Room to Expand

From their beginning, Janine Finn and Rebecca Radovich had the right ingredients for a successful dessert enterprise, mixing Finn’s solid business experience with Radovich’s creative food and catering expertise. Starting small with an online cake business in 2006, the business partners quickly decided to sell their confections out of a storefront in downtown Savannah. “We […]