Consumer Stories

Local workshop to help businesses find and retain quality employees

If you’ve tried offering sign-on bonuses, flexible schedules, remote work options, and other incentives, but you’re still struggling to find and retain employees, the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center may have the workshop you need. The Center’s Augusta office will offer a Recruit and Retain Employees Workshop on Thursday, September 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 2907 Professional Parkway in Augusta. The in-person workshop will cover a variety of topics, including workforce changes, effective hiring strategies, and employee retention, as well as ways to promote your

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Consumer Stories

Downtown restaurant survives Covid, revamps menu

Covid nearly forced a downtown restaurant to close its doors, which prompted its owners to make some changes. For many years, The Bee’s Knees located at 211 10th St., was a tapas bar, but it’s now a gourmet tea and coffee shop that serves vegetarian and vegan comfort foods, according to General Manager, John Porter. The eatery also sells a variety of non-food items, such as vintage vinyl records, CBD oils, and houseplants. The Bee’s Knees menu includes biscuits, burrito wraps, hummus, and baked goods. The restaurant also serves alcoholic

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B2B Stories

$20,000 donation helps job skills training program keep running

Last year, 40 people graduated from the Salvation Army Kroc Center’s Job Skills Training Program, and of those, 80 percent found immediate employment, according to Chris Bailey. Bank of America recently donated $20,000 to the program. Bailey, the Center’s marketing and public relations manager, said Bank of America’s donation will probably be used to update equipment and keep the program running. “Workforce development is key to advancing economic opportunity and we look forward to seeing the positive impact of this program on our region for years to come,” said Marissa

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B2B Stories

Entrepreneurs getting help through Congressman Allen’s new bill

Starting a new business can be hard even in the best of times and even tougher in a distraught economy. But entrepreneurs could soon have some good news if legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga) is adopted into law. The legislation, called the Startup Act, would amend the current Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to include entrepreneurs and startups. The WIOA, passed in 2014, requires states to align their core workforce development programs to coordinate the needs of both job seekers and employers through combined four-year state

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B2B Stories

Thoughts from the General: Stories from the remarkable life of Bill Russell

I will never forget the day that basketball great Bill Russell visited the Air Force Academy. He was serving the U.S. State Department as a special envoy to Africa. The year was 1973. He had retired from playing basketball and would soon move on to full-time coaching. When he arrived at the Political Science Department his handshake was memorable. Bill’s hand seemed to be twice the size of mine; it surrounded mine. He visited a class with about 20 cadets who were taking a course in international relations. An introduction

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Consumer Stories

Business Lunch Review: Cheeseburger Bobby’s

Editor’s Note: Our regular lunch reviewer, Wes Hennings, is taking a few weeks of paternity leave. While we assume he is still eating something, somewhere, he won’t be writing about it while he’s off duty. Meanwhile, ABD editor, Gary Kauffman will pinch-hit with the reviews of his lunches with a colleague, as a way to advise our business community on the good, the bad, and the tasty across the CSRA. He doesn’t let the restaurant know where he is going; his opinions are his own. He grades the restaurants he

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Closings

Women’s fitness center to replace Martinez yoga studio

Running a business is hard in the best of circumstances, but opening a business less than six months before the pandemic began made things harder. That’s what happened to Bethany Roley, co-founder of Good Vibes Yoga, Fitness & Wellness located at 4111 River Watch Parkway in Martinez. Now Roley and her business partner, Michele Guest, have decided to close Good Vibes, which will offer its final class on Saturday, August 27. They founded the studio in November 2019 and were forced to close it in spring 2020 due to Covid.

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Consumer Stories

Paint and body shop to give Visa Gift Card to one local teacher

Many local teachers are already back at work preparing for a new school year. But a local paint and body shop wants to help one lucky teacher get the classroom supplies he or she needs. Kendrick Paint & Body is giving teachers from all CSRA schools the chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card simply by texting their name and school name to 706-724-4071. A valid teacher ID is required to win. The giveaway began Monday, and all entries must be received by Sunday, August 7 at 11:59 p.m.

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Although technically not a recession, U.S. economy is slowing

There was a great debate last week over whether the U.S. economy was in a recession. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or the total final value of all goods and services produced in the economy, fell by 0.9%. This was the second consecutive quarter of declining GDP after the first quarter contraction of 1.6%. However, the United States does not define a recession as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP. Instead, a private group of economists at the National Bureau for Economic Research (NBER) determines recessions in the United States based

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