New Model Adds Greater Value to Celebrated South Georgia Winery

“The Cowarts were already successfully producing a value-added product in the winery. You could see the potential for adding another business,” says Finney. “We put together all the pieces that showed how the distillery would work and how they would use more of their wine in the product.”
Detailed Business Plan Presents Calhoun Printing Company in New Light for SBA Lender
Mike Aldridge went into commercial printing in the Atlanta area just a year out of high school. After a career in the industry, he began to think about running his own business his way with a focus on printing for the rug trade. “I had a desire to go into it further,” he says. However, […]
Strong Financials Realize Vision for Clarkston Educational Center Owner

Alex Cesar knew from an early age that she’d run a school. Inspired by her grandmother, a principal, Alex would sometimes join her in the classroom. She eventually taught special education in the public schools, but felt stuck in the system. “I always had a vision of running a child-care center that would emphasize learning, […]
Financial Projections Expand and Support a Savannah Tradition

By all accounts, the Gretchen Greene School of Dance is a Savannah tradition. Founded in 1969 by a Savannah native who danced as a Radio City Music Hall Rockette, the school now teaches the children and grandchildren of many an aspiring young ballerina and tap dancer who first graced its studios. So many new young […]
Target Market Expansion Puts Atlanta Rubber and Plastic Supplier in the Right Hands

Movies can transport a viewer into another world, if only temporarily. In 2009 Nelson Burke spotted some props in a Georgia-produced movie that transformed his business. By 2015 his new focus had led The Engineer Guy to more than $3 million in sales.
Business Essentials Steer Cumming Auto Parts Company into the Fast Lane

Brothers Kevin and Randy Redd make Ford and Chevy street cars both fast and “fly.” Their uniquely designed Concept One high performance pulley systems mount on an engine and drive all of its belts, improving power and maximizing performance. In 2001 they began selling their systems and other product lines to hot rod muscle car […]
Careful Pre-Planning Helps Complex Industrial Business Secure an SBA Loan

Rod Meyer had worked in Minneapolis 25 years with the market-leading industrial x-ray imaging equipment company, rising to vice president of sales and leading a tenfold increase in capital sales, before the company was sold and narrowed its product line. “The new company decided to focus on standard x-ray imaging systems. This decision opened an […]
Lessons Learned In Practice Rotation Help Pooler Veterinarian Open Own Practice

Veterinarian Mike Ammermon was a senior in the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine when UGA Small Business Development Center consultant Jeff Sanford started teaching fourth-year vet students a new curriculum on core business principles in 2008. The program, still going strong, includes a practice management rotation that brings these students together with veterinarians […]