Features
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5 Ways Your Business Can Beat the Summer Slump
August 01, 2013
It’s the dog days of summer, and your small business might be starting to feel like a ghost town. Everybody seems to be working shorter days, or on vacation, or just not ready to shift gears from browsing to buying. You may be thinking of throwing in the towel, but your business doesn’t have to suffer from a summer slowdown.
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The Ugly Truth About Small Business
July 31, 2013
People who know me know that I love being an entrepreneur. There is absolutely nothing like the thrill of taking something that you created out to market. It’s a ton of fun, it’s challenging and it’s so rewarding to know that your future is entirely in your own hands. I really don’t know that anything helps you develop your own sense of self in quite the same way as creating your vision and then working hard to ensure its success.
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No Ifs, Ands or Butts: Get Your Employees Fit!
July 29, 2013
Are your employees sitting at their desks all day? If so, chances are they’re not maximizing their productivity—and they could be racking up your health insurance costs. If you’re looking to build a healthier workforce (one that won’t have as many accidents and illnesses, and saves you money on health insurance and workers’ comp), consider ways to make yourself and your team more active at work.
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How Are Your Road Warriors Spending the Company Dime?
July 26, 2013
Concur Analysis of $50 Billion in Business Expenses Reveals Small Business Travelers are More Active on the Road, Resulting in Higher Spend than Enterprise Counterparts.
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Billion Dollar Baby: U.S. Chamber is First to Hit $1B Lobbying Milestone
July 24, 2013
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has made big news with the filing of a simple quarterly report. When the behemoth business trade group reported its lobbying numbers for the second quarter of 2013 on Monday, it set a new record: The Chamber became the first organization to report total lobbying expenditures of more than $1 billion, according to OpenSecrets.org. What has that gotten them? Not as much as they would like.
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7 Ways Savvy Businesses Use Mobile
July 22, 2013
It’s exciting to see small businesses jumping on the mobile revolution. I think it’s more noticeable with small businesses, because we’ve been conditioned to expect “old style” low tech ways of conducting business from smaller vendors. But today that’s simply no longer true.
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How to Take a Summer Vacation From Your Business
July 19, 2013
Summer is a popular time for Americans to set off to their favorite vacation destinations. But for small business owners, taking time off can lead to missed opportunities and missed income.
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Stacy Bush on Retirement Plans for Small Businesses
July 18, 2013
If you're self-employed or own a small business and you haven't established a retirement savings plan, what are you waiting for? A retirement plan can help you and your employees save for the future, says Stacy Bush.
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Small Business Owners: Healthier, But Less Likely to Be Insured
July 17, 2013
A majority of small business owners (53 percent) believe that running a company improves their health, a recent Bank of America survey indicates. And those in business for themselves are in better shape than those who work for others, a Gallup-Healthways Well-Being survey reveals.
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Are Tough Times Inspiring Better Leaders and Increasing Engagement?
July 15, 2013
Are your employees engaged in their jobs? A Gallup poll measured the growth of employee engagement and which of 12 different occupations tend to boast the highest engagement.
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How Seamless is Your Company?
July 12, 2013
In this months article, Doug Robinson examines what type of employees are found in today's marketplace, and what you can do to make your company and employees more seamless.
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GPA Inks Inland Port Deal to Ensure Growth
July 11, 2013
A new inland port agreement signed today by Governor Nathan Deal, the Georgia Ports Authority and Cordele Intermodal Services will create and expand international markets for regional business. The agreement, which ensures a direct 200-mile rail route to and from GPA’s Garden City Terminal in Savannah, will serve as a gateway to Southwest Georgia and adjacent regions of Florida and Alabama.
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Riddle Completes First Year as Valdosta Tourism Authority General Manager
July 10, 2013
On July 9, Tim Riddle completed his first year as general manager of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center & Tourism Authority. Upbeat is the word he uses in reporting the progress the Tourism Authority has made in the past year.
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Do Small Business Lending Programs Work?
July 08, 2013
You gotta love the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Their job is to do the research requested by Congress or written into legislation in order to makes sure that government programs are doing what they are supposed to be doing. The GAO was just doing its job when it recently released a report on the implementation of a couple of new Treasury Department small business lending programs created through the Small business Jobs Act of 2010. The finding were so-so.
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Mediacom/Raycom Negotiations Part of High-Stakes Industry Dynamic
July 03, 2013
On June 21st, Mediacom Communications Corporation and Raycom Media, Inc., owner of WALB TV, reached agreement on a contract that had been the subject of several messages broadcast to WALB viewers. For weeks, WALB warned Mediacom cable customers they could lose access to the station if an agreement wasn't reached by June 30th, the expiration date of the existing contract.
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Local Residents Called to Contribute to Historic Cancer Research Effort
July 02, 2013
Residents of Valdosta-Lowndes County have an unprecedented opportunity to participate in a historic study that has the potential to change the face of cancer for future generations.
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6 IT Security Issues Every Business Owner Should Know About
July 01, 2013
Hackers. Thieves. Disgruntled employees. These are the folks who keep business owners like you awake at night. So how can you reduce the worry and keep your business locked down and secured? We hear from 3 Nexxtep engineers and managers on what precautions you should take.
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How to Select the Right Name for Your New Business
June 27, 2013
While the right name can make your business popular within a short time, the wrong one can doom your prospects. The right name can create a unique business identity, but the wrong one can mar it, along with your chances of success.
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A New Look for the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority
June 26, 2013
With the 2012 opening of three industrial parks with 485 shovel-ready acres, the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority began a marketing campaign featuring a new look and feel for the organization. The campaign and property signage includes a new logo for the Industrial Authority and a new slogan – "Building a Ground-Breaking Community."
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Commentary: If Bernanke’s Superman, Then…
June 24, 2013
The U.S. economy is his kryptonite. On the other hand, Al Lewis of MarketWatch apparently believes that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is the “Man of Steel”. Darton State College Economics Professor Aaron Johnson examines Ben Bernanke's performance.
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6 Steps to Help You Get Started in Exporting
June 21, 2013
Are you interested in growing your business in a global economy? Today, nearly 96 percent of consumers and over two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power reside outside the United States. Small businesses now constitute 34 percent of total export dollars, and comprise approximately 97.8 percent of all exporters. If you’re considering exporting as a way to expand and grow your business in new markets, where should you start?
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Commentary: Time for Deal on Immigration
June 20, 2013
The remaining political oxygen for a debate leading up to Congress's summer recess will be used to fuel the debate on immigration. While it seems like the "debate" over this issue has gone on forever, it really hasn't. The knowledge that America has a huge number of people living and working here illegally has been with us for decades, and many have used the issue to fuel political campaigns and other talking points. Debate on how to actually fix the problem, however, has been sorely lacking -- until now.
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16th Annual DRUGS DON’T WORK in South Georgia Seminar Addresses Benefits of Random Drug Testing
June 19, 2013
The 16th Annual DRUGS DON’T WORK (DDW) in South Georgia breakfast seminar was held on June 13 at the Drury Inn & Suites. The seminar was sponsored by Peaceway Counseling & Mediation Services and Peaceway DUI School.
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How the IRS Scandal Might Benefit Small Business
June 17, 2013
A few weeks ago, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) admitted that some of its employees improperly subjected to disproportionate scrutiny to conservative groups seeking to set up non-profit status. While you might think that the scandal has little to do with small business, in the strange world of Washington — where everything influences everything else — the scandal has the potential to benefit small business owners in several ways.
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Top Small Business Stories for June
June 14, 2013
Smaller smartphones, cheaper tablets, and Vine for Android — they’re all top stories for small businesses this week. You’ll also learn about a new acquisition by sales and CRM software giant Salesforce.com that adds email marketing and marketing communications to the company’s offerings. As always, the editorial team gives you the news important to small businesses — and puts it into context for what it means to you.