Entrepreneurs

The City of Augusta and the Greater Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce have unveiled plans for their new CABE Fund (City of Augusta Business Equity), an Augusta $425,000 Guaranteed Loan/Grant Training Program, funded by the City of Augusta. This program will provide entrepreneurs and minority small business owners with the needed training and capital to be successful. The program is funded through Augusta’s allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act. The CABE Fund Program will offer a comprehensive approach to assist both new and existing entrepreneurs with the following: Four

Running a business or a household and don’t have time to shop or to do a laundry list of necessary tasks? Help has arrived. Carol Shikle knows what it’s like to be a working parent with a never-ending to-do list, but she now helps her clients check off items on their lists. Shikle owns Hop 2 It Errand Service, a business she established in Nov. 2021, offering a variety of services, including picking up prescriptions, mailing packages, buying gifts, making gift baskets, and scheduling home service appointments. She also helps

If you’ve considered launching your own business but have no idea where to start, the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center can help. The Center will offer a webinar called Starting a Business on Thursday, Jan. 5, 1-3 p.m. It will cover a variety of topics, including determining the feasibility of your business idea, financing, building a solid team, and planning, as well as market research and competitive analysis strategies. The SBDC offers the webinar multiple times throughout the year. Registration is required, and the cost is $39. For

Michael Schiebel already owns a local painting company, but he’s excited to announce he’s bouncing into a second business in the party rental industry. Schiebel, owner of A Cut Above Painting Co. in Evans, is launching A Jump Above Party Rentals. The new business will rent out various items, such as bounce houses, cotton candy machines, tables, and chairs, for birthday parties, weddings, and other events. Prior to going into business for himself, he worked for Rainbow Play Systems. “I enjoyed working with families with kids in that industry,” Schiebel

For the past five years, people have flocked to Evans on Ice for family entertainment, but its owners, Mike and Christine Boerner have faced their share of obstacles in running the seasonal business. The Boerners opened the ice-skating rink, which was originally located in the Augusta Common, in 2017. At that time, it was called Augusta on Ice. After the first year, city officials told them they would have to pay a much larger amount to continue operating in that location, so the couple moved the skating attraction to Evans