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Columbia Business Monthly

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Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022 04:05PM • Subscribe via RSS • ATOM

Cyberattacks Continue to Threaten Businesses, Individuals in South Carolina

Dec 13, 2022 04:05PM ● By Kevin Dietrich

It’s been a decade since the South Carolina Department of Revenue was hacked, leaving the personal data of millions of state residents vulnerable. Ten years later, cyberattacks remain an ongoing threat, as bad actors from around the world focus on targets big and small.

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Smoked: Oysters, Family, and History on Columbia’s Main Street

Dec 13, 2022 03:57PM ● By Amy Bonesteel

Sara and Greg Middleton grew up with Methodist minister parents who started senior care facilities and hospices under the name LTC Health Solutions. As the family business evolved into property development in downtown Columbia, the siblings decided to open a fine dining restaurant, Smoked, that will highlight local produce, oysters, and fresh, made-on-site beer.

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Estate Planning Means Business Planning

Dec 13, 2022 03:51PM ● By Debora Faulkner

All businesses are different, yet all businesses are the same. Bills need to be paid. Taxes filed. Contracts honored. Projects completed. People hired. People fired. Accounting to be done. Payroll to be made. It’s all part of the business.

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Servicemembers Should Revisit Budgets, Financial Needs With Every New Duty Station

Dec 13, 2022 03:48PM ● By FDIC Consumer News

Servicemembers and their families typically move to a new duty station every two to four years, causing changes to financial, housing, and banking needs.

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It’s Time to Make Changes in Childcare Options

Dec 13, 2022 03:44PM ● By David Dykes

I’m writing to let you know about childcare. We’ve got to do something, and it’s overdue. Too many families, too many parents, and too many children are impacted by our lack of coordinated, well-concentrated, and supportive efforts to expand quality, affordable care for children.

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Leaders of Fastest Growing Companies Share Insights, Advice

Nov 04, 2022 04:53PM ● By Donna Isbell Walker

The challenges of the past 2½ years have not left the 50 Fastest Growing Companies untouched, but their leaders are optimistic about the future, and most are looking to continue to grow their businesses.

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SC 50 Fastest Growing Companies

Nov 04, 2022 03:39PM ● By David Dykes

South Carolina’s Fastest Growing Companies competition is the annual ranking of the Palmetto State’s 50 most dynamic and successful companies. For the second year, the top 50 companies are recognized, up from 25 in previous years.

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Voodoo Brewing Co. Brings New Vibe to Downtown Fountain Inn

Nov 03, 2022 03:46PM ● By Owen Kowalewski

Fountain Inn is being built up left and right with the help of successful small businesses. One of these is the new location of Voodoo Brewing Co. right off of East Jones and South Main Street in downtown Fountain Inn. Voodoo Brewing Co. is a franchise that started in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and now has 12 locations, most of which are in Pennsylvania. However, David Simons, owner of Voodoo Brewing’s Fountain Inn location, has brought the popu-lar franchise down South.

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Fountain Inn’s Mayor and City Administrator Bring Youthful Perspective to City Planning

Nov 03, 2022 03:34PM ● By Donna Isbell Walker

At 34, G.P. McLeer is the youngest mayor in Fountain Inn’s history, and his city administrator, Shawn Bell, at 36, took on his current position five years ago at age 31. The two men are sharing their vision for a Fountain Inn that is a little more transparent and trans-formative than small cities have been in years past. Fountain Inn’s growth has necessitated a different approach to everything from local business to infrastructure.

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City Leadership Plans for Growth, While Retaining ‘Small-Town Charm’

Nov 03, 2022 03:26PM ● By John C. Stevenson

Today’s Fountain Inn calls itself a city – the name’s right there on City Hall. Everyone agrees Foun-tain Inn is on its way to becoming a full-fledged city. But even as Fountain Inn grows into its city moniker, its leadership stresses that the city will never lose its small-town charm.

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With Focus on Manufacturing and STEAM, New High School Could Help Fountain Inn Economy

Nov 03, 2022 01:27PM ● By Melinda G. Young

Fountain Inn is leading the way in improving the area’s advanced manufacturing workforce – all thanks to a new high school. The 1-year-old Fountain Inn High School focuses on advanced manufacturing. It was designed to expose students to career paths that include advanced manufacturing apprenticeships, internships, and one- or two-year degrees at local tech colleges. Students can even work toward both their high school diploma and a technical degree simultaneously.

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Flour Mill Project Will Maintain Fountain Inn’s History While Looking to Future

Nov 03, 2022 01:19PM ● By Owen Kowalewski

As Bryan Beal sees it, Fountain Inn is a beautiful small town with so much to offer. Nobody appre-ciates and sees the potential in the town more than Beal, founder of B&B Real Estate and the head of the redevelopment of Ellison Flour Mill.

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Fountain Inn: Hometown Charm, Growing Community

Nov 03, 2022 12:28PM ● By Amy Bonesteel

Chatting with a neighbor, walking to a show or restaurant, stopping by the local hardware store to pick something up: Conveniences longtime residents and newcomers do not take for granted in Fountain Inn, South Carolina.

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It’s No Secret: Fountain Inn is on the Move

Nov 03, 2022 12:11PM ● By John C. Stevenson

Fountain Inn is a city on the move. Its population has increased by 6 percent during the 21st centu-ry, and over the past five years, the community known as “the diamond tip of the Golden Strip” has exceeded the goals of its master plan and is in the process of drafting a new one

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South Carolina Aerospace Education Opportunities on the Rise

Nov 03, 2022 11:51AM ● By Kevin Dietrich

South Carolina’s growing aerospace prowess is limited to neither the construction of jets nor the plethora of suppliers producing materials, components, and parts for high-end aircraft built in the state. Aerospace training in the state has blossomed in recent years, and officials believe that South Caro-lina is on its way to becoming a destination for individuals pursuing aeronautical engineering de-grees and other aviation-related education.

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South Carolina May Hold Key to Future of Aerospace Industry

Nov 03, 2022 11:24AM ● By Kevin Dietrich

North Carolina’s reputation as aviation’s birthplace was guaranteed with the Wright Brothers’ suc-cess at Kitty Hawk more than a century ago, but the future of the aerospace industry could well be in South Carolina.

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‘A Game Changer’: Boeing’s Presence in South Carolina Has Huge Impact on Economy, Industrial Landscape

Nov 03, 2022 11:14AM ● By Kevin Dietrich

Boeing’s impact on South Carolina is best summarized with an analogy: the manufacturing giant is to S.C. aerospace what BMW is to the state’s auto industry. Both are linchpins in the state’s industrial sector, with each employing thousands of workers and relying on scores of suppliers from around the state. Both have also changed how people inside the state and beyond view South Carolina.

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A New Purpose for an Old Mall? Some S.C. Malls Turning to Nontraditional Tenants in Changing Retail Environment

Nov 03, 2022 11:07AM ● By David Caraviello

It seems an odd place for a church, even a fake one. Gemstone Prayer Center Locust Grove — ac-tually a set for the HBO comedy “The Righteous Gemstones” — sits at one end of Citadel Mall, an indoor shopping plaza of over 1 million square feet built in Charleston in 1981.

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Documentary About Covid in South Carolina Wins Emmy Award

Nov 01, 2022 05:27PM ● By Liv Osby

Keith Fox loved hiking in the mountains, deep sea fishing, and gardening. He was patient and kind and always supportive. John A. Means was a decorated veteran of the U.S. Air Force who flew dignitaries across the coun-try. He loved to read, do crossword puzzles, and take his family on adventures. The two men became fast friends after Fox married Means’ daughter, Donna, in 1989.

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How a Flourishing Charleston Tech Company is Filling the Nonprofit Fundraising Gap

Nov 01, 2022 05:06PM ● By David Caraviello

His 120-member unit was responsible for covering an area roughly the size of the state of Connect-icut, and over 15 dangerous months in Afghanistan in 2007, they were one of the few that made it out without losing a man. But two weeks after the 173rd Airborne returned to the United States, one of Nick Black’s soldiers killed himself.

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Ignore Employee Burnout at Your Own Peril

Nov 01, 2022 04:33PM ● By Bob Helbig

Burnout at work is a real problem, and it has intensified during the long stretch of the pandemic. In survey responses gathered by Energage from thousands of employees over recent months, 39 percent said they often felt overwhelmed at work. Even more worrisome, only 64 percent said they felt their company cared about burnout.

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Should Companies Really Hire Older Workers?

Nov 01, 2022 04:13PM ● By Steve Nail

A recent Harris poll reported that 31 percent of retirees are eager to return to work due to inflation and concern about their financial futures. But should organizations hire older workers, those 55 or more years old? Certainly, for experienced human resources professions, they know that ageism and stereotyping of older workers is very common in many organizations. In fact, most would say it is by far the most common form of dis-crimination in the workplace.

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Top Customer Phone Gripes: Calls Not Answered, Complex Recorded Messages, Annoying ‘On Hold’ Music

Nov 01, 2022 03:57PM ● By David Dykes

Has this ever happened to you? You call customer service with a question, to report an issue with a product, or to relay a concern about a possible hack on your account. Then you’re put on hold – sometimes for several minutes, or much, much longer.

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