Business Coaching

B2B Stories

Businesses needed to help support parents and teens have a resilient future

A Metro Augusta organization wants to give parents and their children skills today that will teach leadership for tomorrow. Your company can help as well. Resilient Communities of East Georgia (RCEG) is holding the 2026 Resilient Teen Summit this Saturday, Aug. 29th. The summit will examine challenges facing teens as they prepare to be the next generation of leaders. The organization began the Resilient Teens program six years ago, and this will be the 14th cohort. The summit is for students in grades six through 12. Best said, a goal

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B2B Stories

Cultivating the next generation of entrepreneurs

Metro Augusta businesses are being invited to join a local nonprofit organization for a workshop targeting a unique type of student. Cura Community Outreach, Inc. is preparing to launch The Power of YEP (Youth Entrepreneurship Program). While organizations offer workshops and boot camps to introduce students to opportunities in cyber and technology, YEP wants to reach the students who want to create the next wave of businesses. “We can educate and train our youth to become entrepreneurs, and the biggest reason I’m focusing on that is to be able to

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B2B Stories

Consumer Lessons Learned on My Summer Vacation

Publisher’s Note: Dr. Rick Franza and his wife hiked Danali, visited sea lions, “held up” the Alaska pipeline, and spent a lot of time as customers mostly focused on the hospitality sector. Here are Rick’s lessons learned from his 17-day trip to the Northwest, starting with his daughter’s wedding in Seattle and concluding with an escorted tour of five cities in Alaska BELOW. We spent much of our time as customers of service businesses, often focused on the hospitality sector (e.g., guest stays, food, drink, entertainment, fun). Such a trip

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B2B Stories

$17.9 million up for grabs for CSRA companies

While the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is soliciting input on road projects for east-central Georgia, the City of Augusta and Accelerate Augusta have teamed up to help small businesses reap financial benefits from the projects. A key meeting is set for next Thursday. The State Supported Funding Program (SSFP) Workshop will connect local businesses, contractors, consultants, and service providers with GDOT contracting opportunities. It was organized by Dr. Yolanda Jackson, the city’s Compliance Director. “The exciting thing about it is it doesn’t require the local businesses to have any

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B2B Stories

Part 1: Business Lessons from a “Wedding CFO”

I’m back! You may have noticed my absence from the Augusta Business Daily (ABD) for a few weeks. My first week away was spent in Seattle, Washington, primarily for the wedding of the younger of my two daughters, Augusta Jayne, better known as AJ. As the father of the bride, I was primarily responsible for paying for the wedding (i.e., ceremony, reception, photography, florist, etc.). My trip to the Pacific Northwest yielded a chock-full of lessons on running our businesses. (Note: The groom’s family paid for a splendid rehearsal dinner

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B2B Stories

Business and career education at your fingertips

Bank of America (BofA) has kicked off its latest series of virtual workshops, teaching everything from growing your career to financial wellness and critical thinking. Tomorrow is the next one. The goal of the broad spectrum of topics is to empower individuals, communities, and businesses with education, developing skills, and career advancement. “At Bank of America, we believe in investing in people, and it’s just as important as investing in business,” Marissa Smith, SVP and Market Executive, explained for ABD. “So, we hold these community education workshops to build on

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B2B Stories

America at 250: The Greatest Country for Business

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Saturday night, I took my daughter to a birthday celebration like none other at Truist Park in Atlanta. WOW! She may be a little young to be reflective of our country’s special independence. I am not. Nor is Dr. Rick Franza.  RICK FRANZA: Such is the time for our country’s reflection on the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence from England. I will attempt to explain why the United States is the best country for business, using the spelling of A-M-E-R-I-C-A to provide my rationale. While I

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B2B Stories

Teaching small business managers tools to succeed

The Augusta office of the University of Georgia’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) wants to help managers build the bridge between generations in the workforce. The event is coming up next week. It has scheduled Supervisor Skills for the Modern Manager, a one-day workshop to learn new management and communication styles, along with discipline processes. Rebecca Mixson, area director for the Augusta office, will be one of the instructors. She told ABD that business owners have hired younger employees who have stayed with the company but have not had training

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B2B Stories

It is your brand, be sure to protect it

An Augusta attorney has advice about an often-overlooked step for every fledgling entrepreneur and individual thinking about starting a business or protecting an existing one. There is a laundry list of top-of-mind steps, including financing, licensing, location, and competition. But just as important is protecting your name and brand. Attorney Rachel Ray with the Enoch Tarver law firm told ABD that a vital, but overlooked step is the need to copyright material for the new business, even something as basic as the name of the business. “If you file that

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B2B Stories

Management “Weiss-dom”: Walt’s Lessons for Leading People

When the Atlanta Braves hired Walt Weiss to be their on-field manager, replacing the retiring Brian Snitker, some fans found the choice to be uninspiring, while some others were upset.   Snitker’s tenure as manager was highly successful, highlighted by six consecutive division championships, seven consecutive playoff appearances, and a World Series championship in the 2021 season.   However, many fans saw his final two years as a downward trend. In 2024, the Braves barely made the playoffs, and in 2025, they won less than half of their games and failed to

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