SBDC Publication Wins International Business Award

The UGA SBDC’s 2018 Small Business and Its Impact on Georgia publication was recognized as a Bronze Stevie® Award winner in the Other- Government category in The 15th Annual International Business Awards®. The International Business Awards are the world’s premier business awards program. All individuals and organizations worldwide – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large […]
Finance And Marketing Assistance Put Tour Operator On The Path To Rapid Growth

VIP Tours president Christina Ernst is a seasoned travel agent who grew up in White County. So when the chamber of commerce leadership, county commissioners and local winery owners were looking at how to attract visitors to the region, they invited her to join their meeting. “They wanted advice on what was possible and how […]
Marketing Strategies Launch Hiram Medical Retailer, Growth Expands It into Commercial Realty

Three women shopping during the Great Recession – wife, sister and mom – led young Tyler Wilson and his wife, Marissa, to form what is now a rapidly growing retail business, Superior Scrubs, in Hiram. “My wife was in school to be a nurse. My sister, Kaley, was in the medical industry as well. And […]
Updated Financials, Better Data Land Loan for Valdosta Wake Compound

Valdosta State University students Luke Tilt and Quinn Silvernale competed together on the university’s wake boarding team. Tilt was required for his business class to develop a plan for an imaginary new company. So he wrote a plan modeled after the cable parks they had visited in Europe and Florida. Wake boarding, for the uninitiated, […]
Best Practices in Business Help Dunwoody-based Special Education Practice Expand

Becky Lamont dedicated the first 17 years of her career serving public school districts as a special education teacher and administrator, rising to program manager in the Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia. The district—the size of Georgia’s DeKalb and Gwinnett school systems combined—had 300 autism classrooms in the program she managed using research-based practices […]
Creative Approach Restores Bank’s Interest in Hephzibah Automotive Shop

Muscle cars are Doug Springer’s passion. A registered nurse who sells medical devices from Augusta, he admits he has owned almost every make and model of hot rod made in the last 30 years. Those vintage beauties are often in need of restoration, but that only drives his passion further. “I grew up in Oklahoma, […]
Lending and Marketing Assistance Help Put Augusta Meat Market on the Map

Meat markets and butcher shops nationwide are losing more and more customers to competition from traditional grocery stores, super centers and nontraditional food retailers like Target. But don’t tell Wayne Lanier’s customers in Augusta. They wouldn’t believe it. In fact, they know if you don’t get to Lanier’s Meat Market early enough, you’ll have to […]
Why Target Marketing is Important and How to Do It

At the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC), we not only strive to help educate small business owners to ensure successful growth of their businesses, but we also value helping to provide students with “real world” industry-style experience while contributing to UGA’s goal of enhancing both undergraduate and graduate education. In fact, on average […]