Features
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Scott Hunter on How Changing Interest Rates May Affect Your Investments
July 18, 2013
Even if you didn’t take Economics 101 in college, just navigating through the past several years has given you hands-on experience with one of the course’s most valuable lessons: The rise and fall of interest rates is one of the biggest factors influencing global economies, financial markets, and our daily lives. That’s why it is important to have a basic understanding of how interest rate changes could affect not only your wallet but also your investment portfolio.
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Joel Wernick Celebrates 25 Years as Phoebe CEO
July 17, 2013
When Joel Wernick was still in high school, he was lucky enough to get a summer job mowing the grass at his local hometown hospital. And while he mowed, he realized he wanted a life job that was never about the day of the week, or making it to the week’s end. He wanted to run a hospital and be around like-minded professionals with a goal of helping their fellowman.
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Are Tough Times Inspiring Better Leaders and Increasing Engagement?
July 15, 2013
Are your employees engaged in their jobs? A Gallup poll measured the growth of employee engagement and which of 12 different occupations tend to boast the highest engagement.
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How Seamless is Your Company?
July 12, 2013
In this months article, Doug Robinson examines what type of employees are found in today's marketplace, and what you can do to make your company and employees more seamless.
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Darton, ASU Economic Impact Totals $286M in FY12
July 11, 2013
In a study released by Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, both Darton State College and Albany State University contribute $286 million in economic impact and generate 3,443 jobs both on and off of their campuses.
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SafetyMax of Albany Sees Economic Uptick
July 10, 2013
Sales at SafetyMax, a distributor of workplace safety, first aid and fire extinguisher products, are up 15 percent so far in 2013 over the same period in 2012. The company serves numerous, diverse industries including agriculture, service and manufacturing as well as local, state and federal government entities.
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Do Small Business Lending Programs Work?
July 08, 2013
You gotta love the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Their job is to do the research requested by Congress or written into legislation in order to makes sure that government programs are doing what they are supposed to be doing. The GAO was just doing its job when it recently released a report on the implementation of a couple of new Treasury Department small business lending programs created through the Small business Jobs Act of 2010. The finding were so-so.
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Mediacom/Raycom Negotiations Part of High-Stakes Industry Dynamic
July 03, 2013
On June 21st, Mediacom Communications Corporation and Raycom Media, Inc., owner of WALB TV, reached agreement on a contract that had been the subject of several messages broadcast to WALB viewers. For weeks, WALB warned Mediacom cable customers they could lose access to the station if an agreement wasn't reached by June 30th, the expiration date of the existing contract.
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Commentary: Why Government Is Essential, Yet Inefficient
July 01, 2013
Aaron Johnson's motivation for this post stemmed from a funny analogy made by Thomas Sowell, whose simple, yet outrageous example, speaks to the inefficiency of government.
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How to Select the Right Name for Your New Business
June 27, 2013
While the right name can make your business popular within a short time, the wrong one can doom your prospects. The right name can create a unique business identity, but the wrong one can mar it, along with your chances of success.
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Knight's Appliance Offers Latest Innovations
June 26, 2013
French door refrigerators with instant hot water dispensers. Ball-bearing oven glide racks that can be self-cleaned. Water dispensers with auto-fill capability. Knight's Appliance and Electronics offers appliances packed with the latest technology innovations.
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Commentary: If Bernanke’s Superman, Then…
June 24, 2013
The U.S. economy is his kryptonite. On the other hand, Al Lewis of MarketWatch apparently believes that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is the “Man of Steel”. Darton State College Economics Professor Aaron Johnson examines Ben Bernanke's performance.
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6 Steps to Help You Get Started in Exporting
June 21, 2013
Are you interested in growing your business in a global economy? Today, nearly 96 percent of consumers and over two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power reside outside the United States. Small businesses now constitute 34 percent of total export dollars, and comprise approximately 97.8 percent of all exporters. If you’re considering exporting as a way to expand and grow your business in new markets, where should you start?
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Commentary: Time for Deal on Immigration
June 20, 2013
The remaining political oxygen for a debate leading up to Congress's summer recess will be used to fuel the debate on immigration. While it seems like the "debate" over this issue has gone on forever, it really hasn't. The knowledge that America has a huge number of people living and working here illegally has been with us for decades, and many have used the issue to fuel political campaigns and other talking points. Debate on how to actually fix the problem, however, has been sorely lacking -- until now.
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New Chick-fil-A Generating Strong Customer Traffic
June 19, 2013
On May 9, Chick-fil-A opened a freestanding restaurant at Lee Crossings on U.S. Highway 19 South. The new location is Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator, K.J. Wari’s third restaurant, and the first freestanding unit in the Albany trade area.
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How the IRS Scandal Might Benefit Small Business
June 17, 2013
A few weeks ago, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) admitted that some of its employees improperly subjected to disproportionate scrutiny to conservative groups seeking to set up non-profit status. While you might think that the scandal has little to do with small business, in the strange world of Washington — where everything influences everything else — the scandal has the potential to benefit small business owners in several ways.
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Top Small Business Stories for June
June 14, 2013
Smaller smartphones, cheaper tablets, and Vine for Android — they’re all top stories for small businesses this week. You’ll also learn about a new acquisition by sales and CRM software giant Salesforce.com that adds email marketing and marketing communications to the company’s offerings. As always, the editorial team gives you the news important to small businesses — and puts it into context for what it means to you.
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Scott Hunter Shares Why You Shouldn't Overload Your Portfolio with Company Stock
June 13, 2013
Many companies offer their employees a stock purchase plan, enabling them to purchase company stock at a discounted price and invest in the company they work for. While this can frequently be a great way to invest in the stock market, as an investor you need to question whether it’s good to load up too much on your company’s stock — or any company’s stock, for that matter.
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The Internship: A Lighthearted Movie About Google and The Changing Business World
June 11, 2013
”The Internship‘ is a new movie that follows two laid-off salesmen as they attempt to start over in their careers through an unpaid internship at Google. It comes across as a feel-good movie with special relevance for anyone interested in the inside workings of Google.
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Your Attitude in Life Determines Your Altitude in Life
June 10, 2013
Your attitude is how you look at life and the way it looks back at you. Doug Robinson this month relates a story to the sales process, and gives a take away to help you and your team share the same outlook and optimism.
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Commentary: Why Japan’s Currency Devaluation Is Worrisome
June 06, 2013
Japan has been in an economic funk since the 1990s. It was at that time that many speculated that they would overtake the U.S. as the global economic superpower, rather than China. However, a poorly regulated financial system led to a housing crisis that they have yet to recover from.
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Franchise Ownership: When Can You Expect The Payoff?
June 05, 2013
In most cases, the payoff is not instant. Once in a while, it comes faster than expected but, on average, not fast enough. And, in a few rare occasions, it never happens. I’d like for you to avoid that.
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Albany Doctor-Farmer Phil Hajek Brings Preventative Care to Ag Workers
June 03, 2013
Phil Hajek is the type of doctor you go to when something already is broken. The Albany, Ga., orthopedist is a farmer himself, but most of the guys he sees in his office have injures. He grew even more intrigued by the thought of bringing preventative care to farmers when his own friend had a heart attack.
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How Would Your Hospitality Rate?
May 31, 2013
Your brand goes far beyond a name and logo. It is your entire image and the way you are perceived. It’s your reputation, and the emotions and attitudes that are associated with everything you do and all that you stand for. Rita Suiter with FiveStar Customer Service Strategies gives some ideas and examples on how to make sure your hospitality exceeds your customers expectations.
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How to Use Knowledge to Connect to Your Customer
May 29, 2013
Knowledge is dead. Have you heard this? Any question can be answered with a quick web search. We don’t have to know anything, we can Google it. Well, I’m here with good news for you. Knowledge isn’t dead. Knowledge isn’t even sick. What knowledge is, however, is fundamentally misunderstood.