March 2014 Features

• Curt Fowler on 2 Keys to Effective Resolutions

  March 31, 2014

  What are some of your resolutions or big goals that you hope to accomplish in 2014? Considering your track record of goal accomplishment, how likely are you to achieve them?

• Is America in the Midst of a High Tech Entrepreneurship Boom?

  March 28, 2014

  If you read the business press, you probably think the answer is yes. The popular media is full of stories about start-ups like Facebook, Groupon, Instagram, Linkedin, Snapchat, Twitter, WhatsApp, Yelp, and Zinga. American entrepreneurs are starting high tech companies at a feverish pace, the media experts say.

• Valdosta Law Firms Merge

  March 26, 2014

  Valdosta law firm J. Stephen Gupton, Jr. P.C. has announced that it will merge with the law firm of Coleman Talley LLP effective April 1, 2014. Partner, J. Stephen Gupton, Jr. said the merger was pursued after the two firms realized they held a common and shared approach to business.

• VSU Featured in Campus Technology for Use of Data for Student Retention

  March 25, 2014

  Valdosta State University was featured in the March issue of Campus Technology magazine for its use of data to retain and engage students.

• Employees to Employers: Mind Your Own Business

  March 24, 2014

  How much can employers inquire about employees or have a say in their actions on and off the job? The staff of a small business can easily grow into a family of sorts, but this doesn’t give the employer the right to act as the patriarch. The trend, as evidenced by laws, court decisions and administrative rulings, seems to be toward less involvement of employers in the lives of their workers.

• 15 Things That Could Cause Small Business Failure

  March 21, 2014

  It’s sad. 8 out of 10 businesses fail. And many of the causes can be prevented. This list can help you put together a plan to make sure your business is around next year. If you are guilty of any of these, make the necessary changes to get your small business going in the right direction.

• Turner Center for the Arts to Focus on the Art of Business

  March 20, 2014

  Cheryl Oliver, executive director of the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts is working with the local Chamber of Commerce in development of an "Art of Business" event, which just received approval from the center's board of directors.

• The Link Between Thought Leadership & LinkedIn

  March 19, 2014

  The topic of thought leadership has been hot and heavy over the last year or two. Often discussed, speculated about and outright claimed by some, it is among the more misunderstood business concepts.

• Fewer Students Plan to Become Business Owners

  March 17, 2014

  College students are more concerned with making money now than they were before the start of the Great Recession, research by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) at UCLA, reveals. Maybe that’s self-evident. But here’s a more surprising finding: The fraction of students intending to become business owners has also declined since 2007.

• Valdosta Top Ten Supplier Location in the Southern Aerospace Corridor

  March 14, 2014

  Southern Business & Development Magazine’s 12th Annual Top Ten 10s Edition named Valdosta, Georgia as a Top Ten Supplier Location in the Southern Aerospace Corridor that can serve both Airbus and Boeing.

• Chancy Drugs Promotes Patient Adherence

  March 12, 2014

  According to a recent article in Forbes magazine, the next killer app in reducing health care costs is getting patients to take their meds. The article cites evidence that getting patients to take their meds as prescribed can lower health care spending and improve patient outcomes.

• 10 Ways to Avoid Becoming a Sales Robot

  March 11, 2014

  “Hi, this is Ted and I’m from X Corporation. Do you have a few minutes?” I’m immediately up in arms. I know he wants to sell me something that I am 99% sure I do not want to buy (for the record, I’ve never made a purchase from someone cold calling me). Can you relate?

• Spending Associated with Wiregrass Georgia Tech has Huge Impact on Region

  March 10, 2014

  How much does the area served by Wiregrass Georgia Technical College benefit economically from spending that is either directly or indirectly related to the college? According to Dr. Jeffrey M. Humphreys, it adds up to $55,199,383.

• It All Begins With Your LinkedIn Profile

  March 07, 2014

  LinkedIn is the best place for business professionals to post information about themselves, regardless of your discipline. As a business professional, regardless of what your function is, you need to be findable to those in your field.

• Guardian Bank Puts Strategic Back in Marketing

  March 06, 2014

  Over a three-month period about five years ago, Guardian Bank recorded everything that it and other banks were saying to customers. They clipped print ads, printed online ads, took photos of billboards and posted everything on the wall of a conference room. The bottom line?

• Georgia Manufacturing Activity Reverses its Two-Month Decline

  March 05, 2014

  Georgia manufacturing activity reversed an anemic performance with a strong boost in new orders and production for February, which offset the doubledigit losses in the prior two months, according to a study released by Kennesaw State University.

• 3 Steps to Setting Great Objectives in Your Business

  March 04, 2014

  A great shooter picks his first target, hits that target and then moves on to the next. We must do the same in our organizations. Pick the most important target, nail that target and then, and only then, move to the next. Georgia CEO Contributor Curt Fowler shares some strategic objectives for success.

• U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson Visits Chamber

  March 03, 2014

  U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson met with business leaders and members of the South Georgia Military Affairs Council on Friday afternoon at the Chamber to discuss the U.S. Department of Defense’s recently proposed budget and the situation its implementation would create for Moody AFB’s A-10 mission.