When her daughter was two years old, Aubrey Hinkson came up with the idea to open a toy store that offers personalized service, and last summer, she made a major career change and opened that type of store to serve the CSRA. On Thursday, Hinkson, owner of Orange Otter Toy Store located at 336 Georgia Ave., Suite 105 in North Augusta, celebrated the business’s first anniversary with a ribbon cutting by the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce. “We made it a year, and it’s been so much fun,” she said.

Many people dread cleaning their own homes, let alone doing it for others, but that’s not the case for Dejah Brown. Brown just launched Simple Touch Cleaning Services, LLC, a CSRA company that specializes in cleaning homes and Airbnb rentals. “For the past couple of years, I worked for different cleaning companies, and I found it’s something I actually enjoy doing,” she said. “I like seeing the transformation and knowing I’ve helped someone.” Brown said there’s no shortage of residential cleaning businesses in the Augusta area, so it’s important for

The Greater Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce got a helping hand for its “Step Up Program” from Georgia’s two senators. Senators, Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) secured $250,000 in funding through the Infrastructure Investment Act for the local chamber. “It helps us to just further our mission, here at the Chamber, to build our programs, which is all about making sure our business owners are getting training that will make them competitive and continue to grow or sustain their business,” said Ronic West, president and co-founder of