B2B Stories

B2B Stories

A look inside Harlem’s DG Market

The newly opened DG Market at 180 East Milledgeville Road in Harlem, GA. is bringing nearby residents the opportunity to access fresh produce and meats, among other common household items. The location in Harlem is one of over 2,000 DG Markets in the country and the store’s opening has contributed to area employment. “The DG Market provides a one-stop shopping opportunity,” said a statement shared by Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate. “Shoppers have access to home accessories, wellness options, cleaning supplies, home goods, and more. The DG Market also offers

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Business Coaching

Coach Darin: Leverage AI to grow your business

Artificial intelligence. What once felt wildly futuristic has suddenly become mainstream and is growing more ubiquitous by the minute. You are likely already interacting with AI, even if you are not completely aware of it. When your text message autocorrects itself or when you apply facial recognition to log into applications on your smartphone. When you enhance that selfie with a little photo editing before you post it to social media. When your music streaming service recommends a new song it thinks you might like. When you interact with a

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B2B Stories

Initiative to help local business owners address problems with homeless population

For 20 years, Diane Tribble owned a successful hair salon in Augusta, but about a month ago, she made the difficult decision to close her business, thanks to mounting problems with the city’s homeless population. On Tuesday, Tribble, former owner of Diane & Co. located at 3128 Washington Road, was one of many local business owners who spoke about her experiences at a town hall discussion on homelessness led by Richmond County Sheriff, Richard Roundtree, who unveiled a new initiative called the Property Owner Response Team. The initiative, which has

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: The best places to live

U.S. News and World Report recently announced the best places to live for 2023-2024. According to their list, Green Bay, Wis. is the best, followed by Huntsville Ala., and Raleigh & Durham, N.C. Augusta, GA. made the list at #74. Other Georgia places included Savannah at #37 and Atlanta (#64). In South Carolina, Myrtle Beach (#18), Greenville (#31), Spartanburg (#43), Charleston, (#53), and Columbia (#92) made the top 100. Two colleagues and I have just published a paper measuring whether these kinds of rankings matter to people when deciding where

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B2B Podcasting

Bob Bigger: How do businesses cope with inflation?

Step one – don’t panic. We take a look back at the economic panel discussion from ABD’s Conference and Expo in May. Bob Bigger, Manager of SRP Commercial Lending, speaks about the importance of building connections, partnering and networking during times of rising interest rates.

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B2B Stories

Local retailers work together to create family-friendly summer camp event

Many parents are looking for family-friendly activities they can enjoy before their kids go back to school, but a group of downtown businesses is offering a creative way to have fun and beat the summer heat at the same time. On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 12 businesses, including Urban K9, Buona Caffe, Augusta Candle Company, and Mod Ink, will participate in the second annual Camp Soul City hosted by Downtown Soul City, an organization that promotes businesses in that part of the city and encourages downtown visitors

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B2B Stories

New therapeutic massage and spa could take your stress away

Business owners are the ones who get in early and stay late, sometimes skipping lunch breaks, heading off to meetings, and never getting to the bottom of their inboxes. Sound familiar? The need for relaxation and stress relief is real. Maria Cardona understands that better than most. She worked in the medical field for 21 years, first as a CNA and then as a phlebotomist. During that time, she also had a side job as a massage therapist. “I finally decided to open my own business. My husband has been

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B2B Podcasting

When a river runs through it, doesn’t mean development halts

SRP’s Commercial Lending Manager, Bob Biggers, may have hit the nail on the head when discussing future development in the CSRA. From the book and movie, A River Runs Through It, author, Norman Maclean said, “Eventually all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.” But as Biggers stated at the recent ABD EXPO, that should be the beginning, not the end of development.

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B2B Stories

New build-for-rent community breaks ground

Crews have broken ground on West Park Townhomes on Wheeler Road, across from Doctors Hospital. Ivey Group and Batson Cook are developing the 262-home community and both companies have extensive experience in the Augusta market. The Ivey Group is one of the region’s largest homebuilders, and BCDC (Batson-Cook Development Company) is a real estate development investor. West Park Townhomes is their first joint-venture partnership. The 262-home build-for-rent townhome community will be on a more than 29-acre site on Wheeler Road. The project is located near the intersection of Interstates 20

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B2B Stories

Strategy and Operations: The Yin and Yang of Managing Your Business

As regular readers of this column know, I am returning to the classroom as a full-time faculty member this Fall Semester in August. In my first semester back in the classroom, I’ve been assigned two courses to teach. At the MBA level, I will be teaching a course in Strategic Management, while at the undergraduate level, I will be teaching a course in Operations and Supply Chain Management. While my most extensive academic training and experience have been in Operations and Supply Chain, I have taught Strategy in both MBA

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