Features
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The Importance of Education
July 27, 2012
With another school year right around the corner, Sheriff Kevin Sproul talks about the importance of education, and challenges parents, students, and educators alike can better themselves this school year.
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Landers Boldly Goes Where No Business Man Has Gone Before
July 25, 2012
Managing Fast Copy, Inc., a digital copy service provider, doesn't keep Randy Landers from spending time on his passion – creating Star Trek fan films. Landers and about 36 other Star Trek hobbyists debuted their sixth short film on YouTube this past month.
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Ways to Succeed When Starting Up in a New Region
July 23, 2012
Entrepreneurs usually sprout ideas from what they know best—current occupations, lifetime hobbies, subjects they’ve unknowingly studied for so long before starting up. Most of the time, they know who their target audience is. Which is why they feel so comfortable when taking such a big risk in order to serve them with something new.
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Undeveloped Potential: Listen To Who’s On Your Team
July 20, 2012
Whether it’s 10% of your brain or 10% of your potential or no known percentage at all, most of us live without tapping into everything that we have. And for the independent minded small business owner that usually means there’s a team that could help us pursue a new project or develop a new portion of the business — if we knew how to tap into them.
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Albany Tech Recognizes Albany Mars Chocolate Plant With Local Manufacturer of the Year Award
July 19, 2012
Albany Technical College presented Mars Chocolate North America, Albany Plant, with a Manufacturer of the Year award on Wednesday. Earlier this year, Albany Tech nominated Mars Albany for the state Manufacturer of the Year in the medium- sized company category. Although Mars Albany was not the state winner this year, Albany Tech still recognized them as our local winner.
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Thrush Aircraft Employs Hundreds in Skilled Manufacturing Jobs
July 18, 2012
One of every six jobs in production, craft, repair, and machine operation was lost in the first two years of the recession, according to a 2010 white paper by MIT economist David Autor. While the rest of the country struggles with the loss of middle-class manufacturing jobs, Albany is home to a thriving company that employs hundreds of skilled workers – Thrush Aircraft, Inc.
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Price Goes Door to Door to Win School Board Seat
July 16, 2012
After completing another media interview, Lane Price, M.D., was headed for another evening of walking door to door to ask residents for their vote in the July 31st Democratic primary for the at-large seat on the Dougherty County School Board. The election will be decided on the 31st, as there will be no vote in November for this race.
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Keep Your Employees Motivated This Summer
July 13, 2012
Summer’s here in full force and, no matter where your business is located, chances are your employees have caught summer fever. How can you keep employees motivated, engaged and present when beautiful summer days are calling them away?
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Expansion in the Works at Flint Community Bank
July 11, 2012
Flint Community Bank is planning to break ground on August 1st on a new operations center located on the lot behind the bank's current facility. The 3,500 square foot center will house deposit and loan operations, regulatory compliance and IT support.
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Small Businesses Pay More For Health Care Coverage
July 09, 2012
In a 2009 study by the White House, small businesses pay 18% more in premiums for health coverage than their big box competitors per employee. As a small business owner are you surprised by this statistic? Of course you’re not. Small business owners have been living the health benefit nightmare for many years now, perpetually caught between a rock and health coverage.
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Sam Shugart Discusses Planning For Upcoming Music and Arts Festival
July 03, 2012
Sam Shugart, president of Reynolds, Shugart & Associates, and his partners – Justin Andrews, Jeb Tabb, and Evan Barber of Threeforty Creative Group, and Bo Henry – expect to announce this week the first national acts for the inaugural Sowega Music & Arts Festival to be held at The Exchange Club Fairgrounds this October.
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It’s Half-Time!
July 02, 2012
Congratulations. You’ve made it through the first half of 2012 and I’m sure you are more than 50% complete on all the goals you set for 2012…right? If you are like me you might be surprised to find out that the year is half way done! Curt Fowler examines some ways for you to help see your goals through the rest of 2012.
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Have You Reinvented Your Business Lately?
June 29, 2012
What has it taken to keep your small business thriving—or even just surviving—for the past four years since the U.S. economy crashed? For my business, it’s been an ongoing process of reinvention.
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New Albany Ga Biz Directory Goes Live
June 27, 2012
Glennette Goodbread, owner of Premium Web Design and Hosting in Albany, launched a new online directory of Albany-based businesses this month. The Albany Ga Biz Directory, is a categorized, searchable listing of hundreds of area businesses that includes links to their websites, contact information as well as mapped locations.
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Outdoor Network to Create 112 Jobs in Albany-Dougherty County
June 26, 2012
The Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission announced that Outdoor Network, one of the largest online suppliers of parts and accessories for marine and powersports enthusiasts, will relocate its Internet fulfillment center to Albany, creating 112 jobs and investing $3.2 million.
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Measuring Your Financial Progress
June 25, 2012
Many times people measure their financial progress by how much money they make, the things they acquire, or their ability to pay off debt. Although all three of these measures can contribute to a person’s financial progress, none is an accurate measure to actually determine if progress is truly being made.
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U.S. Presidential Candidates And Their Small Business Records
June 22, 2012
Focus on small business has been growing more intense as the U.S. Presidential election heats up, with each candidate stressing what they can do for the that sector. But attention to small business in U.S. policy and abroad seems heightened, too. Here’s a look at the debate over the kinds of policies that affect small businesses the most.
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Fullerton Offers Wrap-up of Legislative Session
June 20, 2012
Carol Fullerton announced last month her re-election bid for the Georgia House of Representatives, District 153. During her terms in the House, she has served on five committees for the betterment of Albany, and offers a recap of the most recent legislative session.
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Love Works at Wild Adventures Theme Park
June 18, 2012
Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta will host a special guest on Wednesday, June 20 – Joel Manby, president and chief executive officer of Herschend Family Entertainment, the owner and operator of the theme park. Manby is promoting his newly published book titled "Love Works: Seven Timeless Principles for Effective Leaders," which details the HFE framework for leadership.
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7 Ways to Make Your Small Business Stand Out Online
June 15, 2012
Fighting for mindshare in a crowded market? You’ve been fighting against your local competitors for years, trying to convince customers that your business can better serve them and that you meet their needs better than that other guy. But then the Web and social media came along and now it feels harder than ever. Whether you’re just starting out or you’d like to increase your presence in your market, we talk about seven tips to help your small business stand out on the Web.
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Large-Format Printing on the Rise at Matrix Department
June 13, 2012
At Matrix Department, Inc., a large-format printer in Leesburg, business activity is up according to President John S. Bell II. Matrix prints signs, banners, displays, posters, wall graphics and its most popular item, vehicle graphics.
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Building a Team of Professionals for Independent Business Owners
June 11, 2012
When was the last time you met with your team of professionals to help you with a key business decision? If you're like many independent business owners, you may be thinking “What team of professionals?” As a business owner, you probably handle the running of the business yourself. We highlight 4 key players to help you as a small business owner.
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Sleeping With Your Smartphone Makes Productivity and Life Balance Possible
June 08, 2012
Extending the charge for new life balance is the new book Sleeping With Your Smartphone: How to Break the 24/7 Habit and Change The Way You Work by Leslie A. Perlow. This brief book speaks to large business, but also works for small business networks that are emulating big business processes more by the day, and take a look at rethinking your professional availability.
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ANABCO Grows With Focus on Nuts and Bolts
June 06, 2012
With a new branches opening, a new status as a Bosch Systems Specialist and recent designation as a General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule contractor, business is booming at Albany's ANABCO Fasteners, Inc., formerly Albany Nut and Bolt Company.
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Does Flextime Benefit You More Than Your Employees?
June 04, 2012
Are you resisting offering employees at your small business flexible working hours because you think it’ll give them an excuse to slack off? Well, some new research should convince you otherwise. It seems flextime may actually be less flexible than a regular schedule.