B2B Stories

B2B Stories

Mondays with Rick: Pitfalls of mixing personal and business finance

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 talks about the pitfalls of mixing personal and business finances. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact. ABD: Often, when an entrepreneur or small business owner needs capital, it’s tempting to dip into personal funds for use in the business. What is your advice on that? Rick: It’s a huge challenge for small businesses or entrepreneurs to separate the two. Often, they

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B2B Stories

New program creates jumpstart for potential business employees

It’s called “Pounce to Your Profession” and the partnership with Augusta University and Columbia County Schools will improve access to dual enrollment. The program is structured so that AU professors and instructors will travel to high schools in Columbia County to teach college-level courses to interested students. While dual enrollment isn’t new, it generally requires interested high school students to travel to the college campus for classes. An agreement signed last Wednesday by Augusta University President, Brooks Keel and Columbia County Superintendent, Steven Flynt changes that. “This is a great

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B2B Stories

Local legislators celebrate business wins and discuss future challenges

The 2023 legislative session that just ended revealed great strides for CSRA businesses through small business and workforce development and growing educational opportunities to accomplish those goals, but there is much more to be done. Dozens of business and government leaders met with Columbia County’s local legislative delegation at a breakfast held yesterday morning for a post-session recap. Representatives Jodi Lott (R-District 131), Barry Fleming (R-District 125), Dr. Mark Newton (R-District 127), and Senator Lee Anderson (R-District 24) attended and much of the focus was on ways to encourage existing

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B2B Stories

CSRA at the forefront of tackling impending doctor shortages

Aiken Regional Medical Centers will be attracting, training, and retaining doctors through a new Internal Medicine program. Why is this important for attracting businesses to the CSRA? Quality of life which includes affordable housing, good schools, and medical care are on the shortlist for prospective new businesses. The bottom line is this program will help address estimated physician shortages. Primary care, internal medicine, and emergency care doctors are at the top of the in-demand list. A recent report released by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) declared that the

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B2B Stories

The future of cancer treatment in the CSRA is here

There isn’t a single business, employee, or family in the CSRA that hasn’t been touched by cancer. The number of doctors who treat cancer is shrinking as the need for cancer treatment is growing. But the future of cancer treatment in our area is getting a boost from the Georgia Cancer Center’s mobile lab. The center brought its mobile lab to Richmond County’s A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet School where students are training to join the healthcare industry. The timing is great considering the demand for cancer treatment

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Business Coaching

Coach Darin: How to tackle skills gaps in the workplace

Finding the right candidates for your open positions is hard enough, given current labor conditions. The challenge becomes more pressing when you hire a talented individual, only to find out they lack some mission-critical skills needed for continued productivity. That’s where the notorious “skills gap” comes into play. The term is pretty much self-explanatory. When workers lack the relevant skills, businesses face some serious problems. According to the Fellow Blog, a skills gap “is often signaled by a productivity loss, a loss in morale, higher turnover rates, a lack of problem-solving abilities,

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Business Coaching

Coach Darin: How to tackle skills gaps in the workplace

Finding the right candidates for your open positions is hard enough, given current labor conditions. The challenge becomes more pressing when you hire a talented individual, only to find out they lack some mission-critical skills needed for continued productivity. That’s where the notorious “skills gap” comes into play. The term is pretty much self-explanatory. When workers lack the relevant skills, businesses face some serious problems. According to the Fellow Blog, a skills gap “is often signaled by a productivity loss, a loss in morale, higher turnover rates, a lack of problem-solving abilities,

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B2B Stories

Travels with Rick: A busman’s holiday

You do not hear the expression, “busman’s holiday” much anymore. The phrase dates back to the 1890’s to describe someone who does something during his/her vacation, that he/she does for work. In the busman’s case, it is a vacation which requires him to do a lot of driving. For someone like me, who has taught and researched in the area of operations management for the better part of thirty years, I cannot help but observe things related to my work on an almost daily basis. However, when I travel, whether

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B2B Stories

Making sure your message is delivered

We’ve all been offended when our important business emails have gone straight to the recipient’s junk or spam folder, and they never even got the chance to observe the information we have worked so hard to provide for them. There are some simple steps on how to prevent your emails from going to the spam folder. This information is based on an article by movable ink. They provide 12 things you can do to send your information in the right direction. We will touch on a few of those tips

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