November 2013 Features

  • AAA: 43.4M Americans to Travel for Thanksgiving, a Slight Decline from Last Year

    November 22, 2013

    AAA projects 43.4 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a decrease of 1.5 percent from the 44 million people who traveled last year. This decrease falls just shy of last Thanksgiving's four-year peak since the recession-driven declines in 2008-2009 when Thanksgiving travel fell by 25 percent. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, Nov. 27 to Sunday, Dec. 1.

  • VSU Welcomes Niki Turley as New Associate Dean of Students

    November 21, 2013

    The Division of Student Affairs welcomes Niki W. Turley as the new associate dean of students at Valdosta State University. As associate dean of students, Turley will oversee the departments of Testing, Orientation, Leadership, and the Access Office. In addition, she will manage the parents program, campus ministries, and social media for the Division of Student Affairs.

  • Government Shutdown Causes Small Business Loan Approval Rates to Fall in October

    November 20, 2013

    The U.S. government shutdown in October had a significant negative impact on small business lending, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index. Meanwhile, alternative lenders seized the opportunity and picked up the slack in small business lending.

  • Behind The Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber's 5-Star Accreditation

    November 19, 2013

    Based on a comprehensive evaluation of its performance, the Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber received a 5-star accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Accreditation Program. Only 79 of the 7,077 chambers of commerce nationwide – or about 1 percent – have received five-star accreditation, the highest ranking awarded.

  • Do Men and Women Have Different Small Business Outlooks?

    November 18, 2013

    How are men and women entrepreneurs feeling about their businesses’ prospects for the coming year? The 5th in a series of studies by Hiscox Small Business, the DNA of an Entrepreneur (PDF), found that while both men and women small business owners are optimistic about their futures, there are some important differences in how they run their businesses.

  • Workforce Development Initiative Leverages Local Education Resources

    November 15, 2013

    The Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Authority’s Community Business and Industry Partnership (CB&IP) hosted the second workforce development initiative seminar Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 at the Valdosta Drury Inn & Suites to talk about the intersection of education and economic development.

  • Doug Robinson Asks: “What Do You Do?”

    November 14, 2013

    As you make the daily rounds in your profession I’m sure you are used to hearing this question regularly. You really ought to think about how you should respond, knowing that you will only have a very narrow time window to highlight your business to others.

  • Keep Your Best Employees With Better Benefits

    November 12, 2013

    To maintain the best employees for your business, it’s imperative for business owners to take necessary steps to keep current top-tier employees satisfied in today’s economy. So what can small businesses do to make sure their key players stick around instead of window shopping for new opportunities? One way to retain current personnel and attract superior applicants is by offering strong benefits packages.

  • Valdosta Chamber Receives 5-Star Reaccreditation

    November 08, 2013

    The Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce received news of its 5-Star Reaccreditation, marking the second 5-Star score in the Chamber’s history.

  • Stacy Bush on Business Succession Planning

    November 07, 2013

    When developing a succession plan for your business, you must make many decisions. The key is to pick the best plan for your circumstances and objectives, and to seek help from financial and legal advisors to carry out this plan.

  • 10 Creative Ways Businesses Can Give Back

    November 06, 2013

    Being part of the startup community means giving back — not only to other entrepreneurs, but to causes you feel strongly about supporting.

  • Georgia Named #1 State in U.S. for Business

    November 05, 2013

    Gov. Nathan Deal announced that Georgia’s business climate has been named No. 1 in the nation by Site Selection magazine, one of the nation’s top economic development trade publications.

  • Mobile Payments are Exploding: What You Need to Know

    November 04, 2013

    Accepting payments via mobile device is becoming more and more mainstream. Right now, we are in the midst of a growth spurt that will see mobile payments in the U.S. hit $90 billion by 2017, according to a Forrester Research report released earlier this year. That’s up from $12.8 billion spent in 2012, the report states. It’s also easier than ever to join the party, and retailers have an almost overwhelming number of options.

  • UGA, DOJ to Study How Much Consumers Will Pay for Internet

    November 01, 2013

    Researchers from the University of Georgia and the U.S. Department of Justice were awarded $530,000 over three years by the National Science Foundation and CableLabs to study demand for residential Internet service.