Entrepreneurs

B2B Stories

Bagel business heating up in the CSRA

It’s a bagel lover’s dream. A few weeks ago, Straight Outta Brooklyn opened in Aiken, and now Oh Mie Stella Bakery is open for business as of May 6. For the record, Oh Mie Stella is Italian for Oh My Stars, thus the name. Italian bakers are known for their unique baking techniques and passion for the art and craft of breadmaking. Crissy Kuhl didn’t start out as a baker. Her background is in law enforcement and as a project manager for the Savannah River Site. But she was bitten

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ABD Extra

Mondays with Rick: Use your pain points for new business opportunities

Dr. Rick Franza, Professor of Management at the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he talks about how and when to take advantage of business opportunities. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: Several weeks ago, we talked about the importance of innovation in business success, but often, innovation involves taking advantage of new opportunities. What should we view as opportunities? Rick: Author, Clayton Christensen, who developed the idea of “disruptive innovation,” said that business opportunities

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B2B Stories

Local entrepreneur turns hobby into unique outdoor business

Shane Johnson has always loved science and nature, which led him to launch his own outdoor business at age 15. Johnson owns Johnson’s Critter Control & Predator Management, LLC, which is based in Hephzibah and specializes in trapping wild animals, particularly coyotes and beavers, for farms and hunting clubs. Occasionally, he captures raccoons and other animals in urban areas, but he primarily works in rural areas. One of his customers is Padgett’s Farm in Waynesboro, where he got married last fall. “My friends have told me I should start trapping

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B2B Stories

Crowdfunding event provides financial assistance to local startups

By 2030, Frederick Griffin wants to provide enough healthy food to feed 100,000 people in Georgia and South Carolina, and his business just received funding that will help him turn that goal into reality. Griffin and his wife, Anna, own and operate a new business called Ebony Tree Farms, thanks to a 12-week entrepreneurial training program called Make Startups, which is offered by theClubhou.se. “We are a social enterprise and hydroponic farm system,” Frederick said. Hydroponics refers to growing plants in water-based nutrient solutions, not soil. Ebony Tree Farms is

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B2B Stories

Local agency reports tremendous business growth last year

Natonia Tillman loves owning and operating a downtown business because it’s not too far from other parts of the city, such as South Augusta. Tillman owns 10Twenty-Eight, a business center and networking lounge located at 1028 Broad St., which was one of 47 businesses that opened in downtown Augusta last year. Those openings contributed to more than $93 million in private investments in that area. “It puts us in an area that’s centrally located,” she said. “It’s also an area where there’s a lot of foot traffic, because people are

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B2B Stories

Entrepreneurial training program helps establish new CSRA businesses

When Benjamin Ross established a counseling business with his wife, Vivian, they had no employees and saw clients in a small office on Wrightsboro Road, but they now have 10 staff members and a larger office on Central Avenue. The couple owns and operates Elephant in the Room Counseling Services, LLC. Benjamin attributes much of their success to his completion of a business training opportunity offered through a partnership between the Greater Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce and Bank of America. Last year, he graduated from the Intensive Entrepreneurship Training

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B2B Stories

Local photographer takes shot at business success

When she was in high school, Savanna Sorrells became interested in photography, but more than 10 years later, she turned her hobby into a business. In March, Sorrells launched Shots by Sav, a home-based photography business. She takes various types of photos, including professional headshots for local business owners, maternity sessions, and graduation sessions. “I love capturing memories and special moments for people to have the rest of their lives,” Sorrells said. She wishes she had her baby pictures, but they were destroyed in a house fire when she was

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B2B Stories

Local university organization helps launch student businesses

Kaitlyn Le has always enjoyed sales, which is why she set up her own Etsy shop that sells Asian-inspired tote bags. Le, a pre-med major, serves as co-founder and co-president of Augusta University’s Young Entrepreneur Organization, which was founded in the spring of 2022 to help students either start or grow their businesses by providing marketing and funding. One of its members, who sells crochet plushies and keychains, made $400 in a single day by selling her items on campus. She said the businesses are a great way for students

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B2B Stories

Local business incubator to host crowdfunding event

It’s not every day that you get to invest in local startups, but a business incubator is hosting an event that will offer the CSRA community the opportunity to fund the business ventures of budding entrepreneurs. On Wednesday, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., theClubhou.se located at 100 Grace Hopper Lane in Augusta will host a Beer & Bytes Crowdfunding Demo Day, which will allow seven new business owners to pitch their companies to attendees and possibly receive funding to help them grow those companies. All the owners have recently

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B2B Stories

Local legislators celebrate business wins and discuss future challenges

The 2023 legislative session that just ended revealed great strides for CSRA businesses through small business and workforce development and growing educational opportunities to accomplish those goals, but there is much more to be done. Dozens of business and government leaders met with Columbia County’s local legislative delegation at a breakfast held yesterday morning for a post-session recap. Representatives Jodi Lott (R-District 131), Barry Fleming (R-District 125), Dr. Mark Newton (R-District 127), and Senator Lee Anderson (R-District 24) attended and much of the focus was on ways to encourage existing

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