B2B Stories

B2B Stories

New information tool for Georgia businesses

The Georgia Chamber Foundation has published its annual report of where the state stands and what to anticipate in the future. Called the 2025 Economic Competitiveness Redbook, or Redbook for short, it breaks down every segment of Geogia, with demographics, business applications, international competitiveness, and transportation among the topics. “Our goal is to continue to provide valuable business intelligence and long-term forecasting for your business. Having access to high-quality data will enable strategic decision-making by Georgia business and elected leaders to sustain Georgia’s record-breaking economic success,” said Daniela Perry, Executive

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B2B Stories

Business is booming in South Carolina

Gov. Henry McMaster (R) highlighted business growth, economic development, and education in his 2025 State of the State address. McMaster said the state’s attractive climate for business has translated to more than $44.7 billion in new capital investment and 92,000 jobs. That’s resulted in a revenue surplus of more than $1.8 billion. He said 2024 is continuing the pattern created over the previous seven years. “It was no surprise that 2024 was once again a successful year for economic growth and investment,” he told the joint session of the state

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B2B Stories

Breaking an Invisible Boundary for Startups

A local organization that provides support for entrepreneurs and startup businesses will hold an event designed to demonstrate there are no geographic boundaries to entrepreneurship. theClubhou.se is inviting startups from Georgia and South Carolina to a pitch competition on April 23. The goal is to demonstrate how to improve the flow of businesses and capital funding on both sides of the Savannah River. “One of the things that we discovered is both the state of South Carolina and the state of Georgia have some pretty strong incentive programs where they

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B2B Stories

Tech Tips: Where did your marketing email go?

About 80% of small and midsized businesses say that email marketing is their most important online tool for customer retention, but what if the email goes to spam or is lost in cyberspace? Here is what you need to know about DMARC. Managed Nerds owner Sharon Martin has the 411. Having a better understanding of DMARC can save your business time and money. Click here.

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B2B Stories

The Tariff Story: Bad and Good

In last week’s column, I highlighted the many marketplace conditions that are being impacted by the executive orders and policy memoranda delivered in the first two weeks of President Trump’s new administration. During the past week, much of the focus of the administration’s agenda has been on the presentation and execution of tariffs. In today’s column, I will present the big picture on tariffs, how they might impact our economy, and further address how the Trump administration sees tariffs as a major piece of its diplomatic toolbox. As a first

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B2B Stories

$4.9 million Manufacturing Training Collaborative

A trio of mobile advanced manufacturing labs that will bring critical workforce training resources to rural areas across South Carolina were unveiled this week. The event at the William H. “Billy” O’Dell Upstate Center for Manufacturing Excellence in Greenwood was the result of a unique collaborative initiative between Piedmont Technical College, Aiken Technical College, and Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College. Funding for the mobile labs’ initiative came from a four-year, $4.9 million Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grant provided by the U.S. Department of Labor. The purpose of the grant is to address

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Unveiling a comprehensive tort reform strategy

Ga. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) unveiled a package of tort reform legislation during a news conference at the state capital. Kemp said the legislation he is proposing will level the playing field in the courtroom for large and small businesses while protecting the rights of individuals to pursue legal action when they are harmed. “First, I believe that business owners have a responsibility to keep their customers and the public safe on their premises, but they should not be held liable for criminal acts of a third party outside of

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B2B Stories

Security changes at Augusta’s airport

The Augusta Aviation Commission gave the green light to the next step to expand security checkpoints at Augusta Regional Airport. Members approved a work authorization of $449,438 for consultant Mead and Hunt for the terminal checkpoint modernization project. “This is testing. This is everything outside the bounds of the contract is included in this. It is also extra oversight,” explained Elizabeth Giles, Senior Construction Project Manager at the airport. “This is a very technical project. It’s a critical project. It affects every aspect of our operations inside this building. So,

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Simon Says: Kudos to McDuffie and Edgefield

The Bureau of Economic Analysis has released Gross Domestic Product data for the counties of the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) for 2023. Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the value of all final goods and services produced in the county in 2023. It is adjusted for inflation. The fastest-growing county in the MSA was McDuffie County at 6.3%, the sixteenth fastest-growing county in Georgia. Edgefield County grew at 6%, the sixth fastest in South Carolina. Burke County’s GDP fell by 2.9 percent in 2023. Overall, the MSA’s real (inflation-adjusted) GDP was

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B2B Stories

CSRA Family Farm Continues “Growing”

What began as a produce stand in North, South Carolina 10 years ago grew into one of the largest family farms in the state. Last April, McCurley Farms started selling produce at Southern Carolina Palms in Aiken. Three months later, Paul McCurley found a permanent location at 949 Doughtery Road. Now, the farm is growing again. “Property became available behind our house in North. We leased another 79 acres a few weeks ago which will give us more space for planting watermelons, beans, and peas,” explained McCurley. Their success has

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