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Last Updated: Nov 10, 2021 12:10PM • Subscribe via RSS • ATOM

Columbia Business Monthly
Q&A Roundtable Advice for entrepreneurs from CEOs of fastest-growing companies

Nov 10, 2021 12:10PM ● By Kevin Dietrich

Businesses that make it into the list of the fastest-growing companies in South Carolina have gotten there through hard work and determination. They also have learned a few lessons along the way, lessons that could offer insights to other business owners. We asked our winning companies to share their advice to other business owners and entrepreneurs. Here’s what some of them had to say.

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A Grounded Theory Analysis On The Impact of Early-life Development on the Success of South Carolina Executives

Nov 10, 2021 11:59AM ● By Saanvi Merchant

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the amount of time an individual spends at home and invoked harsh economic conditions leading to a surge of start-up businesses and shifts in executive-level positions. South Carolina has not been immune to these shifts.

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Columbia Business Monthly
Long Road Paved Way to Success

Nov 10, 2021 11:46AM ● By Liv Osby

Smith Heavner took the long road from the bottom third of his high school class to a Ph.D., even flunking out of nursing school along the way. But today he is scientific director of the CURE Drug Repurposing Collaboratory, a public-private partnership with the FDA and the National Institutes of Health.

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Racial Equity and Mobility Commission Seeks to Improve Disparities in Greenville County

Nov 10, 2021 11:38AM ● By Carlos Phillips

We’re often reminded about the need to improve vital infrastructure at the local, state, and national levels. Our roads need repair, bridges require rebuilding, broadband expanded to rural and underserved areas, transit optimized, and mobility reimagined, and the list goes on.

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Columbia Business Monthly
Doors are opening to new opportunities in Cherokee County

Nov 10, 2021 11:27AM ● By John C. Stevenson

Cherokee County might not be the first place in South Carolina an entrepreneur would think to call home for a new business, but the county chamber’s executive director makes the case that Cherokee County is open and ready to support new businesses.

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Columbia Business Monthly
Spartanburg Group Focused On Aiding Micro-Entrepreneurs

Nov 10, 2021 11:06AM ● By John C. Stevenson

A group in Spartanburg is working with entrepreneurs to help bring new businesses and business opportunities to underdeveloped communities in and around the city. Start:ME Spartanburg is an entrepreneur accelerator program that focuses on helping small startups gain a foothold in the Northside community. It is a collaborative effort between USC Upstate and the Northside Development Group that began in 2016 and is based on a program begun in Atlanta.

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Columbia Business Monthly
Focus on the Future. Making Connections, Area agencies offer many ways to help entrepreneurs tap into local resources

Nov 10, 2021 10:46AM ● By John C. Stevenson

An interconnected ecosystem that permeates the state’s 10 northwestern counties and beyond stands ready to help budding entrepreneurs connect with the wide array of resources they need to turn their good ideas into success stories. The business ecosystem comprises private nonprofits, local, regional and statewide government agencies, area colleges, universities and technical schools, and a host of others, all working together to support both new and existing businesses in the region.

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MUSC Project: Preventing Risk of Disease

Nov 10, 2021 10:27AM ● By Liv Osby

If your doctor knew your risk for colon cancer or heart disease years before the disease developed, he or she could help you take steps to prevent it. And by collecting DNA samples from thousands of South Carolinians, the Medical University of South Carolina is embarking on a project which hopes to do just that.

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A Niche for Success, Upstate native strikes gold with automotive-focused transportation company

Nov 10, 2021 10:21AM ● By John C. Stevenson

It’s fair to say that Justin Jenkins is driven to success. Jenkins, 34, is the owner and president of Greenville-based Paveway Express LTD Co., a transportation company with an emphasis on the automotive industry. The company Jenkins founded in 2017 with one truck and one driver currently boasts a payroll of 42 employees and an impressive list of customers including BMW, Volvo and Volkswagen.

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‘The best ingredient IS LOVE’

Nov 10, 2021 10:07AM ● By Donna Isbell Walker

Pereira Bakery brings a taste of Colombia to Taylors Twelfth in our series in partnership with the Hispanic Alliance

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Columbia Business Monthly
Leveling Up: How to Plan For Business Growth

Nov 10, 2021 09:58AM ● By Stephen Stokes

The idea of substantial business growth is something that we all want; it’s what we spend our days working toward. But for business owners and entrepreneurs, the question is this: If scaling up is something that you really want, is it something that you are planning for? After all, the worst time to try to get a bank loan is when you need money, and similarly, the worst time to plan for growth is when you’re in the middle of growing. It’s important that business owners realize that the best time to start planning for your next stage of growth is now, before you’re in the thick of it and caught up in being reactive, rather than planning proactively and strategically.

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Five Marketing Tips to Drive Your Business Through the End of the Year

Nov 10, 2021 09:52AM ● By Ben Pettit

Many companies seem to go into neutral when it comes to the last few months of a year, but now is the time to really get creative with your plans. There are lots of ways to drive your business in the coming months. Here are five to try that you may not have thought about:

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Should You Invest in SEO? Three Questions to Ask Yourself

Nov 10, 2021 09:39AM ● By Chris Manley

Even if you don’t know much about search engine optimization (SEO), you’ve probably heard of it or at least seen some stats like: • 68 percent of all online experiences begin with a search engine • SEO drives 1,000 percent-plus more traffic than organic social media

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Social Skills: The Top Six Things Business Owners Should Know About Social Media

Nov 10, 2021 09:31AM ● By Lindsey Breitwieser

Twenty years ago, the idea of an online entity that would feed us information on a constant, 24/7 stream, provide connection across the world in the click of a button and allow access to customers anywhere on earth would have seemed like the future-forward machinations of “Star Trek” back in the ‘60s. But here in 2021, those types of platforms are many, and the world of social media has become a part of everyday life for people across the globe.

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Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey says SC ‘well positioned’ to take advantage of new opportunities

Nov 10, 2021 09:23AM ● By David Dykes

Harry M. Lightsey III was nominated by Gov. Henry McMaster and confirmed by the S.C. Senate as South Carolina’s secretary of commerce in June. In nominating Lightsey, McMaster said, “Harry Lightsey has been a fixture in South Carolina’s business community for decades, and I’m confident that with the vast experience he will be bringing to the Department of Commerce, South Carolina will keep winning.

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Life Sciences Sector Poised for Growth, Success in Upstate

Oct 13, 2021 12:30PM ● By Erin Ford

When describing South Carolina’s life sciences industry of today, words like “surging” and “booming” are often mentioned. Life sciences is diverse, with seven sectors: drugs and pharmaceuticals; medical devices and equipment; digital health solutions; research, medical and testing laboratories; bioscience distribution; bio-agriculture and ecosystem support.

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Focus on the Future

Oct 13, 2021 12:04PM ● By Dean Hybl

As I reflect on all that has transpired over the last 18 months, it is very easy to feel overwhelmed and tired. The pandemic, economic challenges, social reconning and global uncertainty have all touched each of us in our own different way. As others have said, we have all been in the same storm, but we each have been in our own boat (or life raft).

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It’s OK to Want to Grow Your Business

Oct 13, 2021 10:40AM ● By Ben Pettit

We always say a year is one for the history books, but 2020 is one of the history books. A global pandemic, coupled with a cratered economy, has left people with a downright lousy outlook. For many business owners, the past few months have been about surviving as every metric, plan, and rubric has been altered, thrown away, pulled out of the trash can, and re-altered again. However, what if you are ready to get out of this downturn? What if you want to start growing despite a pandemic?

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Five Things Business Owners Should Know About ERP

Oct 13, 2021 10:18AM ● By Adam Drewes

Enterprise Resource Planning, best known by its acronym ERP, is software that helps a company manage key business functions within a centralized system. Systems like accounting, manufacturing, supply chain management, sales, marketing, HR and more. With all these key business processes running from the same system, businesses can save time, automate processes, and provide robust reporting.

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Covid-19 and The Workplace: Tips for Employers

Oct 13, 2021 09:27AM ● By Rachel Brown, MD

Since the beginning of the pandemic, my team and I have been helping employers mitigate the virus to help keep their workplaces safe. Below are some common questions I’ve received from employers.

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SC Best in Business Voting is Open!

Sep 20, 2021 11:52AM ● By David Dykes

This is the inaugural year of the SC Best in Business awards. We look forward to recognizing companies and individuals from around the state that bring success to South Carolina's business community.

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Columbia Best and Brightest 35 and Under

Sep 17, 2021 12:08PM ● By David Dykes

Welcome to Columbia Business Monthly’s 2021 Best & Brightest 35 and Under. Now in its sixth year, our annual Best & Brightest 35 and Under issue celebrates the women and men who are rising stars in the business community.

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Transforming Communities Through Education

Sep 13, 2021 02:36PM ● By D. Galen DeHay, Ph.D.

At Tri-County Technical College (TCTC), we use the transformative power of education to create opportunity for all. Our student success mission equips us to do this work, and we have the partnerships to provide our students equitable opportunities to meet their career and life aspirations. Simply put, we are our community’s college.

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Columbia Business Monthly