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Shawna Woodward

Free Access: Real Talk Real Estate: 3 tips to improve your credit score for mortgages and more!

Whether you realize it or not, your credit score matters. I wish that just being someone who pays all your bills and carries no debt was enough, but it is not. Your credit score is how a myriad of companies determine if they will let you use their services and if they will require you to pay a deposit and how much! This is one of those topics that seems underestimated until you find yourself penalized for something you really had no control over obtaining. Unfortunately, by the time you’ve

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Leanna Woodward July 7, 2022 2 Comments
Employee Benefits

Free Access: Blindly paying CSRA business expenses!

Yours truly tried to guess who the video podcast guest was and it took me a while. Here is a hint, he played on the national stage before, and now he is part of different small business teams in the CSRA! See if you can guess who it is!

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Neil Gordon July 7, 2022 No Comments
Top Story

Local fast-food restaurant owners confront labor shortage

Offering sign-on bonuses is one of the strategies many companies, including fast-food restaurants, have used to recruit employees. But Gary’s Hamburgers owner, Gary Gibson said that’s a strategy he isn’t willing to try. Gibson has owned and operated the CSRA restaurant chain for nearly 40 years, and like many other businesses, Gary’s has been hit with a serious labor shortage. There are currently three locations in Martinez, Evans, and North Augusta. He had planned to open a new location on Wrightsboro Road last year, but he said it will remain

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Josh Heath July 7, 2022 1 Comment
Consumer Stories

A busy business owners’ best friend?

Running a business is sometimes stressful and time-consuming. Downtime, otherwise, known as R and R is a valuable commodity. When you are facing a long Honey-Do list on your weekend time off, who are you going to call? Perhaps, Mr. Fix It, Dominick Cottone. He provides Aiken and surrounding areas with an extensive list of services that reads like the yellow pages, including electrical work, plumbing projects, painting, and automotive work. “In the past couple of months since I started my business, I’ve installed ceiling fans, repaired garbage disposals, faucets,

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Mitzi Oxford July 7, 2022 No Comments
Home Remodeling

Free Access: How do I make the right choice between contractors?

Sometimes, we have to hire a professional and it can be a daunting task. Even referrals are no guarantee that all will be well with your choice. The other day, a client was in my office sharing a negative experience with a local contractor. My client had gotten a referral from a neighbor. The experience the neighbor had, had been a good one. My client – not so good. When I asked what had happened, the client informed me that the job dragged on for months, the work wasn’t done

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J.D. Norris July 7, 2022 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Local businessman brings old items back to life

If you’re looking for a hard-to-find VHS tape of your favorite horror movie or a classic 1980’s toy, Angel Zapata probably has you covered. Zapata owns Dead Media Collectibles, a packed 500-square-foot business located at 2128 Central Ave. in the heart of Summerville. He sells a variety of items, such as DVDs, toys, comic books, and other collector’s items he buys exclusively from local customers, flea markets, and estate sales. Prior to opening his shop at the end of 2017, Zapata sold items at the Barnyard Flea Market in Augusta

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Josh Heath July 7, 2022 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Business Lunch Review: Monterrey Mexican

Editor’s Note: Wes Hennings never met a meal he walked away from and is an opinionated eater! Each Thursday he shares the results of a business lunch he’s had with a colleague as a way to advise our business community on the good, bad, and tasty across the CSRA. He doesn’t let ABD or the restaurant know where he is going and his opinions are his own. He grades the restaurants he visits on a 1-5 scale with “5” being outstanding. We call this our “Real Business Lunch Review”. Food

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Wes Hennings July 7, 2022 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Best labor markets in Georgia, S.C. are on the coasts

Last week, I compared the labor market in Augusta to other metro areas in Georgia. However, two counties in the August metro area are in South Carolina (Aiken and Edgefield), so how does Augusta stack up against South Carolina cities? Like Georgia, the fastest-growing labor markets in South Carolina are on the coast. The Labor Market Index (LMI) for Charleston grew at 2.5 percent over the last year and by a whopping 4.7 percent in Myrtle Beach. (The fastest growth in Georgia was Savannah at 3.6 percent). Over the past

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Economics Professor July 6, 2022 1 Comment
B2B Stories

Local business owner invests in three downtown properties

A local business owner and investor has added three more properties to his growing portfolio of dozens in downtown Augusta. Rafy Bassali has purchased 1293, 1296, and 1297 Broad St., according to the Finem Group with Meyboym Commercial Properties, which represented the seller in this transaction. Bassali, who owns the building next door to these businesses, said all three are currently occupied. “It’s the gateway to downtown Augusta, and I think in the future, it can be beautified,” he said. The Girl Cave Boutique occupies 1293 Broad St.; Johnson, Laschober

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Josh Heath July 6, 2022 No Comments
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