B2B Stories

B2B Stories

Brews, bites, and barks

Sometimes, business dreams are worth waiting for. When Andrew Phifer, an engineer, and his wife, Rachel, an accountant, found themselves more apart than together because of their jobs, they started thinking of what they could do together that both would enjoy. With inspiration from their own “good girl” Kate the rescue dog, the idea for Good Girl Brewing Company was born. In 2021, they found the perfect spot at 880 Banks Mill Road in Aiken, next door to Citizens Park and the former location of Found Treasures, an antique and

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B2B Stories

‘Tis the growing season in the CSRA

When you get off work today, you can pick up fresh veggies and other locally produced products at the South Augusta Farmers Market at Mayor Garnett Johnson’s Headquarters, 4104 Windsor Spring Road in Hepzibah. The official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the market is at 6:00 pm. They will also be open at 9:00 am on Saturday. Agriculture is Georgia’s leading industry with more than $74 billion in economic impact every year. In Augusta, agribusiness brings in more than $130 million, according to the Augusta Economic Development Authority (AEDA). “The event

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B2B Stories

Augusta University President delivers final State of the University address

To paraphrase the university’s slogan, “It was an address like no other.” Dr. Brooks Keel, in a speech marked by humor and poignancy, summed up the past year and then turned to the future. Keel hit all the high points of the past 12 months, beginning with increased budget allocations from the General Assembly for FY25, after a reduction a year earlier. “So, here’s an increase in our FY 25 allocation, just over $10 million in revenue earnings of $13.8 million of new money,” he said, adding that increased enrollment

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B2B Stories

USCA gets financial boost to help cyber students

USCA has received money from a veteran-owned cybersecurity firm that will fund scholarships for students seeking a career in cybersecurity and computer science. SteelGate, LLC, a Virginia-based company with an office in Augusta, has donated $25,000 to USCA. The SteelGate Cyber Scholarships will be used to provide $1,000 scholarships to high school students in the Aiken-Augusta area. “We contacted about 15 to 18 high schools in the region. And there’s a competitive scholarship for each school, one to two scholarships,” Dr. Scott McKay, Dean of Sciences and Engineering, explained for

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B2B Podcasting

Growing your business and brand

Her grandfather built the brand. Now, Stephanie Stuckey is sharing the secrets to rebuilding the roadside stop that became an icon. Learn more from her interview with ABD Publisher, Neil Gordon at the recent Inspire 2024 Conference.

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B2B Stories

What can we learn from Trader Joe’s?

Editor’s note: As Dr. Rick Franza continues a break from the classroom, we thought a repeat of a past column was timely. If you don’t spot him on aisle 7 of Trader Joe’s, here’s a cart full of valuable business lessons. In the strategic management course that I teach in the MBA program at Augusta University’s Hull College of Business, I periodically assign my students take-home exams that are analyses of cases prepared by the Harvard Business School. In early November, I assigned my students two cases that examine the

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B2B Podcasting

Are you “Linked In”?

At the recent ABD Inspire 2024 conference, Stephanie Stuckey talked about how utilizing LinkedIn has helped build the resurrection of Stuckey’s brand. Great tips for all business owners!

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B2B Podcasting

Special social media channel

In today’s video recap from ABD’s Inspire 24 Conference, Stephanie Stuckey has some tips to help small businesses seeking to do business with other small businesses. Today, she shares her secrets of success from posting on LinkedIn.

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Labor market changes since Covid 19

Last week, I reported that employment in the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area has surpassed pre-COVID levels, but what about other labor market indicators? Unemployment in February 2020 was 3.8% and it is currently 3.6%. Unemployment spiked to 10.8% in April 2020, but fell rapidly and has been below 4% since June 2021. The labor force (those employed and unemployed) was 270,353 in February 2020. It fluctuated a lot over the next 12 months before settling into a narrow band either side of 264,000. Although employment has recovered, and unemployment is

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B2B Stories

Augusta University graduates nearly 1,600 students

During ceremonies spanning two days, Augusta University conferred degrees on 1,584 graduate and undergraduate students from its individual colleges. Graduate students were honored on Thurs., May 9, with undergraduate students receiving their degrees on Fri., May 10. The keynote address was delivered by Sonny Perdue, Chancellor of the University System of Georgia (USG). He told graduates he knew they had worked with world-class professors and researchers, putting them on a fulfilling career path. “From the time you threw a coin in the fountain of the Summerville campus to now, a

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