October 2014 Features

• 10 Ways to Keep Up With Your Professional Network Online

  October 31, 2014

  Cultivating a wide professional network is great for business. However, the real key is keeping these relationships alive beyond the first meeting and connecting on LinkedIn. But how do you keep track of everyone in your network when you’re busy with your business?

• Wynfield Plantation Gives Guests a Little Something Extra

  October 30, 2014

  The South Georgia plantation belt running from Albany to Thomasville is home to the long traditions of hospitality and hunting. At Wynfield Plantation in Albany quail hunting and gracious hospitality merge into the picture-perfect setting for formal corporate events and informal business strategizing. Leaders in Georgia’s and the nation’s agricultural, banking, oil and gas, medical, chemical, trucking and private equity industries, as well as others, reward their best salespeople and top clients with excellent accommodations and guided hunting experiences.

• What’s the Biggest Influencer in Consumer Purchase Decisions?

  October 29, 2014

  There’s a lot of discussion about the ever-changing evolution of sales strategy. This evolution is strongly driven by one important factor – the customer. Have you ever wanted to know why people buy? And what influences consumer purchase decisions?

• Startup Spotlight: IS3D Interactive Science in 3D

  October 28, 2014

  A recent start-up company originating from UGA research, IS3D is developing interactive software tools to help K-12 students learn STEM concepts by applying critical thinking skills to solve real-world problems.

• Hannah Solar Ensures Georgia’s Place in the Sun

  October 27, 2014

  Georgia is one of the fastest growing solar markets in the country and Hannah Solar, winner of the 2014 Champion of Change Award, is accommodating commercial-industrial and agricultural demand for solar energy. We talk to CEO of Georgia-Based Hannah Solar Pete Marte about the growth of the industry in the state.

• Economics of Emotions: The Vital Role They Play In Business

  October 24, 2014

  Let me illustrate a problem that many small businesses can relate to. When we were just starting out as a “little-tech-company-that-could,” we struggled to properly market ourselves right out of the gate. For example, we once had a customer tell us, “If your company designed a Coca-Cola can, it would be a white can with black list of ingredients.” Let me be the first to say – ouch. But why did that impression exist?

• Wells Fargo Supports Georgia Small Biz in Post-Recession Economy

  October 23, 2014

  Wells Fargo serves 2.9 million Georgians with deposits of $29.6 billion. The reach of Wells Fargo, however, extends far beyond the customers who use its 281 bank stores distributed across the state. The bank’s leaders and staff are committed to positively impacting the whole of Georgia’s economy through small business programs available both to customers and non-customers.

• University of Georgia- An Economic Engine for Athens-Clarke County and the State

  October 22, 2014

• GaMEP Positively Impacts Georgia’s Manufacturing Sector

  October 21, 2014

  U.S. manufacturing is experiencing a renaissance, and the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Program (GaMEP) is ensuring that Georgia’s manufacturing industry resurges with the nation’s.

• Power Partners Celebrates Manufacturing Day

  October 20, 2014

  Manufacturing Day, MFG DAY, is nationally recognized on the first Friday of October each year. MFG Day addresses common misperceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is — and what it isn’t. Power Partners invited the community to visit their facility for a plant tour on MFG Day and learn about a wide variety of career opportunities available in manufacturing.

• 6 Nifty Invoicing Solutions for Small Business

  October 17, 2014

  Small businesses have needs that are unique and vary from business to business. Close to 90% of all functional businesses comprise less than 5 employees, and hence cannot work with accounting solutions tailor-made for gigantic companies. Invoicing and accounting solutions specifically designed for freelancers and small businesses have grown in popularity over the last few years.

• When to Give Business Gifts and Who to Give Them to

  October 16, 2014

  You don’t have to wait for the holidays to send out business gifts. There are several different groups of people that might warrant gift giving. But if you’re wondering when to give business gifts and who to give them to, a general rule of thumb is to send gifts to the people who help make your company great.

• Case Study: Reimagining Our Downtown, How Greenville SC is Building One of the Best in America

  October 15, 2014

  In Savannah, a Critical Issues presentation by HunterMaclean featured the successful and now famous revitalization efforts in Downtown Greenville, South Carolina, and its mayor, Knox White. White, the featured presenter at the seminar held at Savannah Technical College, said, “We’ve worked very intentionally with planners to create a great city.” And a great city they did make.

• TAG Athens Hosts Technology Town Hall

  October 14, 2014

  The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), the state’s leading association dedicated to the promotion and economic advancement of Georgia’s technology industry and the TAG Athens Chapter, will be hosting a Technology Town Hall meeting 3:30 PM Tuesday October 14th at FourAthens.

• Georgia's Credit Union Celebrate International Credit Union Month

  October 13, 2014

  Credit unions statewide are celebrating International Credit Union Month this October. In Athens, its no different, with Robins Federal Credit Union branches in the Athens area joining in the celebration.

• Rob Betzel: Could You Take a Month of Vacation Without Work Stress?

  October 10, 2014

  Many of us dream of getting away to someplace exotic and staying there for weeks if not months, but most never do. There are many reasons: too expensive, not enough saved up vacation time, family obligations or our pets/plants/gardens, but the biggest reason for most of us do not take time to enjoy ourselves is work.

• Brenau’s Business School Adopts Entrepreneurial Strategy

  October 08, 2014

  Education costs are rising and the skills demanded in the 21st-century workplace are changing at a rapid rate. Institutions of higher education are challenged with aligning academic programs with the tuition charged and the knowledge and skills desired by employers.

• Merial Celebrates 25 Years of Animal Health Innovations & Manufacturing in Athens

  October 07, 2014

  Merial, the animal health division of Sanofi, is celebrating 25 years since opening its first U.S. facility in Athens, Georgia. The anniversary is an important milestone in the history of Merial in Athens and the state of Georgia – and of the company’s impact on global animal health and the local economy.

• University System of Georgia Studies Demand for Georgia Film Academy

  October 06, 2014

  The University System of Georgia trademarked the name Georgia Film Academy as a proactive measure in its process of determining whether the state of Georgia has need – and the exact nature of the need – for such an institution.

• Economic Impact of Athens Tourism & Hospitality Awards Celebrated at CVB Annual Meeting

  October 03, 2014

  The Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) held its annual meeting yesterday, highlighted by the release of new economic impact figures for Athens-Clarke County and the presentation of the annual Athens Hospitality Awards.

• Delta Community Credit Union CEO Lends an Ear and a Hand to Members, Employees

  October 02, 2014

  Chat with Delta Community Credit Union CEO, Hank Halter, about auto financing, mortgages and commercial lending, and he’ll give you his full attention and impart a wealth of knowledge about the industry.

• Lights, Camera, ATHENS!!

  October 01, 2014

  Just a few short years ago, if you wanted to work in movies or television you had to move out to Hollywood. But that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore as it appears that Hollywood has come to Georgia.