Innovative Fitness Solutions in Kennesaw

GrowSmart® Training Aids Owner’s Strategic Focus   Like relay runners passing a baton, fitness experts Chris and Melissa Conti moved nine times during the first 10 years of their marriage to work in the industry. Within two years of relocating to Atlanta, they found themselves facing another move. The company Chris had joined was going out of business. […]

Davis Brothers Logistics

Pre-Planning Leads Successful Launch-and-Growth Strategy  Deciding where to begin is often challenging for people starting a business. The Davis brothers of coastal Georgia decided to take that first step by putting together a solid, well-researched business plan to launch their ideas and outline their next steps.     Still actively employed, they quickly realized it would be a challenge to respect their commitments to their employers and put […]

Assistance with the Lending Process Aids Growth of Murray County Manufacturer 

PolyTech Fibers LLC is a minority- and employee-owned manufacturer of recycled polyester staple fiber. Launched in Chatsworth in 2014, it runs three production lines in three plants and employs more than 100 local residents. Its historical revenue growth is more than 10 percent annually.     Polytech is an economic development success and a beacon of […]

Photographer pivots business amid pandemic, with help from UGA SBDC

In the spring of 2020, photographer Diane Dodd’s business came to a complete halt due to COVID-19. Dodd is the owner and photographer of Diane Dodd Photography, a Savannah-based business focusing mainly on family, elopements and engagement photography.     “When the Coronavirus hit, it completely canceled all of my bookings in the spring, I […]

A Successful Startup Amid a Pandemic

When Atlas Medical Services opened in December 2019, they had no idea a worldwide pandemic would strike a few months later.   Atlas Medical Services is a medical transport company, but their services also include providing educational classes, hydration services and home fall prevention inspections for their customers.   “I first heard about [the UGA […]

Performance Trucking in Lawrenceville, GA

Working Behind the Scenes to Keep Shelves Stocked   There’s a reason your favorite grocery store remained stocked during the pandemic – logistics companies like Performance Trucking, Inc. worked around the clock to deliver food and essential products to supermarket chains across the United States.   Performance Trucking, headquartered in Lawrenceville, GA, utilized its current […]

Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville, GA

North Georgia farm has success with strawberries and pumpkins despite pandemic, thanks to UGA Johnny and Kathy Burt’s first year farming strawberries was nearly a disaster.   COVID -19 hit just two weeks before the berries ripened and their first spring strawberry festival was to begin.   “That wasn’t possible. We were on pins and […]

DIESELGRID in Forest Park, GA

Deep Market Knowledge and Operational Flexibility Lead Freight Carrier Through the Pandemic   Justin Hughes left trucking and moved into real estate in 2007, just before the Great Recession. Two years later, back into trucking, he founded the freight carrier DIESELGRID in Forest Park, and grew.   He contacted the University of Georgia Small Business […]