Entrepreneurs

B2B Stories

Local startup owners pitch businesses to local community

Joanne Williams has lived in Augusta for years, but she’s never been able to find a restaurant in this area that serves New York deli sandwiches. So the Helms College graduate decided to start one. Williams, the owner of AKUA, New York Deli Style Sandwiches, recently graduated from Make Startup, which is a three-month entrepreneurial training course, followed by a six-month mentoring program offered by theClubhou.se, a small business incubator and shared workspace located at the Georgia Cyber Center in downtown Augusta. On Wednesday, she and eight other graduates of

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B2B Stories

13-year-old entrepreneur set to open a pizza business

Who knows pizza better than a teenager? After all, it’s one of their favorite foods. It’s certainly true for 13-year-old North Augustan, Phinehas Esser, which is one of the reasons he is set to launch his own pizza business, PDog’s Pizzeria, on October 11. “I started making pizzas last year, perfecting my recipe, and about a month ago started planning my business,” Phinehas explained. The average age of most entrepreneurs is 42, according to the Harvard Business Review, but entrepreneurship is not new to him. At the age of 8,

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B2B Stories

The pressure of succeeding in a flooded market

A flooded market is one with an excessive number of competitors. Realtors and restaurants probably come to mind. Some are large chains or big guns with hundreds of employees. But what of the small businesses, the mom and pops or the ones with less than five workers? When it comes to the most competitive businesses in the CSRA, you can count pressure washing companies in the mix. After a Yelp search on the number of those businesses, we stopped counting after 100 listings. Some are one step above a DIY

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B2B Stories

Local entrepreneur runs a successful business and stays humble

There are always risks involved in starting a business, but Patrick Wright took a major gamble by using his last paycheck from his former job to launch his local vehicle wrapping business. Wright, the owner of Humble Wraps located at 106 Cedar Lane in Martinez, opened the business on Feb. 14, and he’s happy he decided to pursue his dreams. Wright chose the business name to remind himself where he came from and to stay humble. Wrapping refers to covering a vehicle with a vinyl film, often with a different

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B2B Stories

Local photographers create unique Christmas experience for children, families

It’s still summer, but 5-year-old Jackson Williamson and his 3-year-old brother, Jones, got to spend an hour with Santa Claus Saturday morning (shown above), thanks to two local photographers. Melissa Gordon, the wife of Publisher Neil Gordon and owner of Studio Gordon, LLC, and Addie Strozier, owner of Addie Strozier Photography, LLC, have developed a unique Christmas experience for children and their families. In the past, Gordon and Strozier took quick photos of children with Santa. This is their first year doing one-hour sessions. “I love seeing the excitement on

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B2B Stories

Local entrepreneur takes the risk and discovers a passion for beauty

Camarie Casper was able to do something many aspiring entrepreneurs only dream about: She quit her full-time job as a dental assistant and opened her own business. But the licensed esthetician and tattoo artist caution others to take their time and figure out if that’s the best path for them to take. Casper, the owner of Charmed Beauty Company located at 119 Davis Road, Unit 5B, offers eyelash extensions and permanent makeup, which involves using tattoos to replace a client’s natural eyebrows. Some of these clients lost their eyebrows due

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B2B Stories

Purpose-Fueled Leadership: Local pastor launches coaching group for Christian entrepreneurs

By the time Yannik McKie was 16, he had already experienced the pain of losing both of his parents to AIDS. But now, the local business owner, pastor, and nonprofit leader wants to help Christian entrepreneurs turn their pain into both a purpose and profits. McKie, founder, and CEO of Living in Purpose, a leadership training company, has launched a monthly program called the Purpose-Fueled Leadership Group Coaching. The group will meet on the third Wednesday of each month 6-8 p.m. at the Purpose Center located at 1650 Olive Road

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B2B Stories

Successful entrepreneurs share stories of perseverance at Global Leadership Summit

Like millions of business leaders around the world, Erik Smith attended this year’s Global Leadership Summit and was particularly inspired by British entrepreneur, Sahar Hashemi. Smith, the owner/operator of Chick-fil-A’s Grovetown location, watched the annual live broadcast event at TrueNorth Church, one of more than 500 host sites throughout the United States, on Thursday and Friday. The summit featured 14 speakers, including Hashemi, co-founder of Coffee Republic. She told her story and shared her motto: “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” That resonated with Smith. “The learning process is

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B2B Stories

Augusta ranks high for women-owned businesses

Women-owned businesses are on the rise across the country — but there’s always room for even more growth. A recent study by the U.S. Census Bureau shows one in five businesses in the country is women-owned. Augusta ranks high in that study, checking in at number 19 out of 100 cities nationwide. About 21.9 percent of Augusta’s businesses are owned by women, totaling nearly 1,800 businesses. Nancy Powell, an Augusta University alumna, is one of those women. Powell is the owner of Powell & Associates Inc., a local real estate

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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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