B2B Stories

ABD Extra

Mondays with Rick: Internship story: “These are my people”

In my last two columns, I wrote about the positive impacts internship programs can have on individual students, companies, and the economic and workforce development of a community. The first of those two columns focused on two local internship programs for high school students, while the second discussed the value of Augusta University’s Hull College of Business, requiring its students to complete an internship prior to graduation. In my next two columns, I will conclude my series on internships by sharing the stories of my older daughter, Audie and my

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ABD Extra

Simon Says: Where do the numbers stand on income inequality?

Income inequality in the U.S. has been rising since 1980. However, the latest data for 2020 show a steep decline as shown in the chart below. The Gini index for the U.S. fell from 41.5 in 2019 to 39.7 in 2020. A value of 0 implies perfect equality and 100 implies perfect inequality. The decline probably represents the Covid checks and other support sent out by the federal government in 2020. Locally, county Gini estimates for 2021 show higher inequality. Columbia County had a Gini index of 41.9 and Richmond

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ABD Extra

Economic Update: Are you hungry?

We’ve got stories that will work up an appetite! Coach Dave Holdeman from The Alternative Board of the CSRA and Augusta Business Daily publisher, Neil Gordon talk about local entrepreneurs treading a path in the food business. Get to know the details on all that and more in this week’s economic update.

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ABD Extra

THE MARATHON CONTINUES

Putting in the time since 2009… For the past six months, the Auben leadership team has had a lot of conversations about our upcoming market expansion. As we seek to build teams and open offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Greenville/Spartanburg in the next 90 days, we want to ensure we act expeditiously to capitalize on market dynamics perfectly aligned with our SFR investor focus. However, we also want to proceed with the prudence of an organization which intends to be managing assets for our clients’ grandchildren. It’s a delicate balance.

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B2B Stories

Mondays with Rick: What’s in store for the economy for the rest of the year?

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 theorizes what may happen with the economy during the second half of 2023. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: We’re at the halfway mark of 2023. Can you give us an idea of what might happen with the economy in the second half of the year? Rick: Sure, with the caveat of “Who really knows?” But we can read as

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B2B Stories

Upscale restaurant serves made-from-scratch magic

He came from the land of “Leaf Peepers” aka Barrington, New Hampshire, and settled in the “Winter Colony” aka Aiken. The path to opening a restaurant was at the end of a long and winding road for Samuel O’Lone. “My degree is in theology. I worked for eight years at a food service company which taught me a lot about food, but not cooking, and then I worked in student housing in Athens, GA. My sisters were into riding and showing horses and they would come to Aiken during the

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B2B Podcasting

Davis Beman: What changes have businesses experienced since the pandemic?

As we know, the world has changed since the start of the decade. We take a look back at the economic panel discussion from ABD’s Conference and Expo in May as Davis Beman, principal of Beman Real Estate Company, responds to a question about how businesses should pivot and remain true to core values following the pandemic.

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B2B Stories

Entrepreneur creates a different kind of Amen Corner

Amen Corner at Augusta National sports one of the more challenging, but beautiful three holes in golf. With a stone bridge across Rae’s Creek, it provides iconic “beauty shots” during the Masters. Augusta National has trademarked the name, “Amen Corner.” That Amen Corner was born in 1958. Ethan Hammond wasn’t even a glimmer in his parents’ eyes back then. His business, Amen Corner Ponds, while a nod to his community, stems more from his church upbringing and honoring his faith, because to be successful in business and life, we all

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B2B Stories

Local sisters and business partners bounce into family entertainment company

You’ve probably witnessed children having the time of their lives on a bounce house, but it’s not every day you see their parents and grandparents bouncing with them. Molly Daley and Kelsye Butters want to change that. Local sisters, Daley and Butters, launched Elevate Evans | Luxury Bounce House Service in February. The mobile business provides bounce houses for not only birthday parties, but also more formal events, such as weddings. “We promote that we’re for all ages,” Daley said. “We would love to do retirement parties – we’re open

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