small business Archives - Page 24 of 28

Steve Walker with Civis Capital and Michael Sytsma and Monique Wells with Building Intimate Marriages

December 4, 2014 by Mike

Gwinnett Business Radio

Steve Walker with Civis Capital and Michael Sytsma and Monique Wells with Building Intimate Marriages

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Dr. Michael Sytsma, Monique Wells, Steve Walker, Steven Julian

Steve Walker/Civis Capital

Civis Capital, based in Knoxville, is the small business lending division of Civis Bank, a 109-years old community bank headquartered in Rogersville, TN. The bank prides itself on taking its hometown, community bank attitude and approach beyond the TN borders and throughout the southeast. Civis’s business lending territory is the southeastern USA including all of Florida. Civis Capital treats its clients with the attitude reflected in its motto – “Small Business is our Only Business.” The bank began life as Citizens Bank of East Tennessee, and recently changed the name to use the Latin word for “citizen” and reflect a broader geographic reach.

Steve Walker is a native of Atlanta and 25-year Georgia banking veteran, with the vast majority of that time in commercial loans. He spent the bulk of it in the “big bank” world, logging 12 years with Wachovia/Wells Fargo and 9 years with Regions Bank before moving to the community bank world, which he considers a breath of fresh air. Steve is a subject matter expert on SBA lending and the benefits it offers today’s entrepreneurs, especially the 7(a) program.

Dr. Michael Sytsma & Monique Wells/Building Intimate Marriages

Building Intimate Marriages aims to help individuals grow using marriage as the main agent of change. They do so by providing counseling, psycho-education, and resources focusing on relationship, premarital, marriage, and sex therapy. They also provide consulting and training to other professionals who specialize in the same arena.

They provide about 100 hours of counseling per week with the specialty areas of sex therapy (i.e., sexual conflict, sexual desire conflict, sexless marriages, painful sex, erectile dysfunction), affair recovery, premarital, communication problems, highly conflicted marriages, general marital discord. They also see individuals and families for a variety of typical counseling needs. They provide this counseling for a range of fees depending on the training and experience of the counselor. Session fees for interns can be as low as $10 per session.

They also have a sexual enrichment workshop for married couples – the Passionate Intimacy Workshop. This Friday/Saturday workshop has been shown in follow-up research to be highly effective in helping couples, with 75% stating what they learned was still having a positive change in their overall sexual satisfaction in marriage 6 months after the workshop. They provide the workshop about 4 times a year.

DIRECT MAILING & THINGS THAT MATTER: Kyle Campbell with GIANT Marketing and Doug Ireland with Freeland Painting

December 3, 2014 by Mike

On the Money

DIRECT MAILING & THINGS THAT MATTER: Kyle Campbell with GIANT Marketing and Doug Ireland with Freeland Painting

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Kyle Campbell with GIANT Marketing and Doug Ireland with Freeland Painting join host Joe Moss to discuss “Direct Marketing & Things That Matter” related to small business.

Kyle Campbell/GIANT Marketing & Anytime Fitness

GIANT Marketing is a full-service marketing and design firm located in the heart of Atlanta. From start to finish, they can make your business GIANT! GIANT Marketing started with just postcards. Well, marketing is so much more than just hitting mailboxes! So GIANT Marketing now offers everything including direct mail campaigns, email marketing, social media marketing, website and logo design, call tracking, print marketing and more.

GIANT Postcards of Atlanta has been an established and successful brand since 2009, delivering the highest quality direct mail to your doorstep. When their CEO Kyle Campbell realized the endless bounds the company could reach with a bigger concept and a more diverse range of services, GIANT Marketing was born. With their industry experience and our motivation to make your business GIANT, they are sure to help you succeed in all of your business marketing goals.

Doug Ireland/Freeland Painting & Construction

The mission at Freeland Painting is to bring excellence to their clients through home repairs. Painting, roofing and general renovations are not a unique business, but Freeland Painting & Construction intends to be unique within this industry. They believe that their customer’s fulfillment and happiness is the ultimate goal and their only assignment. They believe that only by serving their customers FIRST can they then serve their employees, suppliers and families.

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On the Money focuses on topics and issues allowing small businesses to better navigate the financial services minefield, with analysis and opinions from today’s industry experts on banking and loans. On the Money also introduces you to some of the top small business leaders in the Atlanta market.

Hosted by Joe Moss, the president of Embassy National Bank, On the Money airs live every Wednesday at 3:00 PM EST from the Business RadioX studio in Gwinnett.

Payscape Advisors

December 2, 2014 by CW

Midtown Business Radio

Payscape Advisors

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Payscape Advisors

According to the Atlanta Metro Chamber, “Georgia is 3^rd in the nation, just behind New York and California in FinTech revenue. Georgia FinTech companies have produced more than $83 billion of shareholder value since 1995 and revenues are more than $34 billion annually. Wages in Atlanta’s financial and IT industry are lower than competitive markets. Here, there is a convergence of three key sectors: finance, IT, and software, all of which have a strong presence in Atlanta, along with an abundant IT, software and financial labor force.”

Today I got to sit down with 3 of the folks on the team from Payscape Advisors, an Atlanta company through and through that is an important player in those amazing statistics. I was joined by Rachel Lawrence, Technology Integration Specialists, Hunter Hudson, Director of Business Development, and Zach Wing, Product Manager. Hunter Hudson has been with Payscape Advisors for a number of years and he shared the story of how Payscape Advisors was started and launched by two Atlanta residents, Jeremy Wing and Adam Bloomston. They have since grown the company to include offices in 13 cities nationwide that also has clients and partners around the globe. The company initially focused on payment processing but saw opportunities to expand their suite of services to include point-of-sale processing, access to working capital, SaaS services including Reg Point and Billing Orchard, international payment processing, web development for eCommerce sites (including compliant payment features) and more. The company has striven to provide the gamut of services to merchants

As Hunter described why they’re different than many of the other merchant services companies out there, “We do have those feet on the street. We have a team. We have somebody you can call. You’re gonna call their cellphone and you’ll have their email address. We’re not just a 1-800 number. You’re gonna have someone who’s going to be there for you.” He went on to talk about the different service options they provide and how they collaborate with SaaS developers to provide the payment interface for their applications, enabling them to provide a more desirable, robust product to their users.

We talked about the innovative user registration software they make available to groups such as camps and other large events that provides a secure way for attendees to sign up and enter sensitive information and provide payment. The company also offers several avenues for companies to access working capital when bank loans are not readily available.

As I sat with these 3 experts it was clear that they all share a passion for what they’re doing and take pride in engaging their clients and partners with a personable, professional approach with the goal of forging long-term, mutually-beneficial relationships.

Special Guests: Payscape Advisors

Rachel Lawrence, Technology Integration Specialist, Payscape Advisors

BA Communication, University of Georgia
WW IBM WebSphere GB and Partner Sales Executive 4/13
Recipient, Rep of Quarter Q1 2013, IBM

Hunter Hudson, Director Business Development, Payscape Advisors

BA Finance, University of Alabama
Successful entrepreneur

Zach Wing, Product Manager, Payscape Advisors

BA Marketing, University of Alabama
Former Manager, Direct Sales, Atlantix Global Systems
Former Owner/Partner, USA Payroll

Educating and Training Small Business Owners and Aspiring Entrepreneurs

November 19, 2014 by Mike

On the Money

Educating and Training Small Business Owners and Aspiring Entrepreneurs

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Mark Butler with the UGA Small Business Development Center talks about educating and training small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs on “On the Money” with host Joe Moss, the president of Embassy National Bank.

Mark Butler/UGA Small Business Development Center

The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center’s (SBDC) mission is to enhance the economic well-being of Georgians by providing a wide range of educational services for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. The SBDC provides one-on-one consulting, continuing education and access to research for its clients. One-on-one consulting services are provided at no cost to the small business owner.

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Hosted by Joe Moss, the president of Embassy National Bank, On the Money airs live every Wednesday at 3:00 PM EST from the Business RadioX studio in Gwinnett.

ION Loyalty Rewards and Small Business Saturday

November 19, 2014 by CW

Midtown Business Radio

ION Loyalty Rewards and Small Business Saturday

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ION Loyalty Rewards and Small Business Saturday

This week I got to sit down with another pair of movers and shakers in the technology and payment processing/ merchant services space in Atlanta. William Mills of William Mills Agency introduced us to Ronald Herman, founder of Sionic Mobile. We talked about the cool app the company has developed that gives merchants an elegant way to incentivize their customers to keep coming back to patronize their business. The Loyalty app is designed in such a way that as customers spend money they earn “ions” they can then redeem at any participating merchant. I also spoke with Terri Dennison, Georgia District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) about the upcoming Small Business Saturday and Small Business Saturday Night this coming November 29th.

The William Mills Agency has been in the Atlanta area for over 35 years, providing a suite of PR services, with a heavy focus on the financial services/payment processing technology sector. The company provides public relations, crisis management, brand awareness/marketing strategy, and content marketing. The William Mills Agency leadership team is heavily involved in the TAG FinTech Society. FinTech is a group of professionals representing a broad range of financial technologies as well as a variety of roles within the industry, including executive management, solution specialists, sales and marketing, industry entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. William has worked with 500-600+ innovative technology companies. Even so, he was particularly intrigued by the model put forth by Ron Herman and his team at Sionic Mobile; so much so he became a member of the advisory board for the company.

Midtown Atlanta-based Sionic Mobile markets to smartphone consumers and rewards them for every mobile checkout. The mCommerce company utilizes mobile devices, Bluetooth^® beacons and the cloud to connect merchants with nearby, ready-to-spend consumers. The company is the maker and provider of ION — the first, fully digital mobile promotions, gift cards, payments and rewards apps for phones and tablets. Merchants use ION Loyalty^® to increase traffic, sales & margins, reduce credit card fees and get good customers back more often. Users of the ION Consumers use ION Rewards^® to earn IONs at every checkout, then spend them like cash on anything at any time at nearly 40,000 retail locations nationwide. The free apps support iOS and most Android devices.

The Small Business Administration provides a host of services designed to enhance the likelihood of success for small businesses in the US. Their overarching goal is to increase available jobs through helping small businesses (who make up >50% of US business commerce) grow. I got to speak with Terri Dennison of the Small Business Administration about their initiative to support small businesses through the Small Business Saturday campaign, aimed at encouraging US consumers to include local small business retailers in their holiday shopping. SBA encourages America to support local economies shopping small on November 29^th. At the SBA, they know small businesses are vital to the growth and prosperity of the American economy. Since the recession, small businesses have created two out of three new private sector jobs… these firms are largely responsible for America’s 10.3 million new jobs that have led to 56 straight months of job growth. Accelerating our recovery means creating the right environment and implementing the best policies for small businesses to thrive. The entrepreneurs the SBA works with face many challenges, but among the greatest is getting new customers in the door. That’s why the SBA is proud to be part of Small Business Saturday – it’s a perfect time to promote your business and find new customers. On November 29^th, millions of consumers across the country will participate in Small Business Saturday. More than 70 percent of Americans are now aware that two days after Thanksgiving is a day devoted to shopping small. Last year, nearly half of all consumers who knew about Small Business Saturday…. acted on it … spending an estimated $5.7 billion dollars at local merchants across the nation. So we want to continue this momentum… And we’re asking you to help us promote the message that Small Business Saturday is day when buying gifts for the people we love … supports jobs and prosperity in the communities we call home.

We all have a stake in seeing foot traffic increase on Main Street. We want to encourage shoppers to seek out unique, handmade gifts they won’t find at a big-box retailer. And we want to see Internet traffic spike, too, with purchases of “gifts to ship” – and gift certificates from restaurants and service providers. Everyone can spread the word about Small Business Saturday by recommending their favorite local shops and restaurants via Facebook and Twitter. The SBA is helping to spearhead an effort this Nov. 29 to extend the hours, so to speak, by promoting Small Business Saturday Night. We know many of our small businesses are local restaurants and food purveyors…After a busy day of shopping, we want to encourage consumers to patronize their local small business restaurants and favorite watering holes. The SBA is partnering this year with the National Restaurant Association to encourage families who are shopping small to “dine small” at local restaurants Saturday night. Additionally, we’re encouraging small business merchants to extend their hours so they can take advantage increased nighttime foot traffic on Small Business Saturday Night. So I hope we can create some synergy in this effort to keep Small Business Saturday going when the sun goes down. To help in your preparations, I want to direct you to sba.gov/SmallBusinessSaturday where we have holiday marketing tips, ideas and materials … even for entrepreneurs on a limited budget. And use our hashtags on Twitter: #SmallBizSaturday for Small Business Saturday and #DineSmall for Small Business Saturday Night.

Special Guests:

William Mills, Owner of William Mills Agency

BA Communications, Florida State University
Member, Executive Committee of Florida State University College of Communications & Information’s Advisory board
Has been quoted as an expert for Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Entrepreneur
Contributor for numerous publications

Ron Herman, CEO of SionicMobile

Founder and Former CEO, Urban Informatics Corporation
>19 years of Executive Leadership roles in Technology Start-up to Fortune 500 Companies
Former CEO, Intellione Technologies

Terri Dennsion, District Director, US Small Business Administration Georgia District Office

Former Deputy District Director, US Small Business Administration Indiana District Office
MA Urban Studies, Trinity University
Recipient: Atlanta Business League 100 Most Influential Black Women, 2006-2008
Atlanta Business Chronicle 100 Top Professionals in Banking and Finance, 2007-2011

Lee Miller and Alan Shirley with PRO OnCall Southeast, Jim Slagle with Parc at Duluth, and James Willard and Kelli Willard with Operation Christmas Child

October 30, 2014 by Mike

Gwinnett Business Radio

Lee Miller and Alan Shirley with PRO OnCall Southeast, Jim Slagle with Parc at Duluth, and James Willard and Kelli Willard with Operation Christmas Child

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Mike Sammond, Jim Slagle, James Willard, Kelli Willard, Lee Miller, Alan Shirley, Steven Julian

Lee Miller & Alan Shirley/PRO OnCall Southeast

PRO OnCall Southeast provides outsourced I.T. support to small and medium businesses in the metro Atlanta area. They maintain and support servers, networks, software, applications and end users. They have a dedicated internal help desk, trained Microsoft engineers, and a world-class ticketing system. They become an extension of your business, making sure that technology is in alignment with your business goals!

Jim Slagle/Parc at Duluth

Serving families in Duluth, Johns Creek and Gwinnett’s finest neighborhoods since 2003, Parc at Duluth is the premier lifestyle choice for active seniors. From elegant fine dining in the warm company of friends, to state-of-the-art wellness programs that support vibrant lifestyles, Parc at Duluth affords active seniors the opportunity to live better, now.

Complemented by exceptional service, premium features, engaging activities and compassionate, caring staff. Parc at Duluth offers residents a collection of beautifully-appointed apartment homes designed specifically to enhance their individual lifestyle.

Parc’s senior communities have been compared to fine hotels, where life is a pleasure every day. From dedicated concierge and housekeeping services to exquisite cuisine and state-of-the-art amenities, life at Parc Communities defines the pleasure of living well.

Now, come experience the world of Parc Communities… a gracious community of friends that you will proudly call home.

James & Kelli Willard/Operation Christmas Child

Byteworks is a small technology company in Duluth, GA with a big heart… and a big goal. This year they hope to fill 1,000 Operation Christmas Child shoe-box gifts with tangible blessings for children overseas who desperately need something to smile about.

They’re looking forward to a fun, family-friendly event on November 15th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Byteworks office. View their video invitation and learn more about the “critical need items” they are collecting to fill boxes at www.byteworks.com/christmas.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Stephanie Moyer & Kevin Ford with Insperity, Norma West with Country Financial, Johnny Phelps with Harry Norman Realtors, and Stephanie Sokenis with the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce

October 24, 2014 by Mike

Gwinnett Studio

OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Stephanie Moyer & Kevin Ford with Insperity, Norma West with Country Financial, Johnny Phelps with Harry Norman Realtors, and Stephanie Sokenis with the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce

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Mike Sammond, Stephanie Moyer, Kevin Ford, Stephanie Sokenis, Norma West, Johnny Phelps

Stephanie Moyer & Kevin Ford/Insperity

Insperity, a trusted advisor to America’s best businesses for more than 27 years, provides an array of human resources and business solutions designed to help improve business performance. Insperity offers the most comprehensive suite of products and services available in the marketplace. Insperity delivers administrative relief, better benefits, reduced liabilities, and a systematic way to improve productivity through its premier Workforce Optimization solution. Additional company offerings include Human Capital Management, Payroll Services, Time and Attendance, Performance Management, Organizational Planning, Recruiting Services, Employment Screening, Financial Services, Expense Management, Retirement Services, and Insurance Services.

Norma West/Country Financial

From the first fire policy in the 1920’s to the billions of dollars in assets and investments they protect and manage today, their history tells the story. Country Financial began in the state of Illinois and is currently available in 17 states. In 2005, they acquired Cotton States Insurance in Georgia. Currently they have ten financial representatives in the Gwinnett County area and many more throughout the state of Georgia. Country Financial is able to protect your assets, family and business by looking at ways to help save money for the future, retirement planning, and helping to protect your assets for the next generation. Country Financial has been a leader in providing auto, home and life insurance for over 85 years and, most importantly, their financial representatives understand the value of great service to their clients.

Johnny Phelps/Harry Norman Realtors

Founded in 1930, Harry Norman, REALTORS is Atlanta’s oldest and largest residential real estate firm with 12 sales offices, various franchise and satellite offices, and more than 1,000 real estate professionals. Harry Norman, REALTORS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. HomeServices is the second-largest full-service independent residential real estate brokerage firm in the U.S. with 30 locations, over 20,000 sales associates and more than 3,500 employees. Harry Norman, REALTORS is the exclusive Atlanta affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate and achieves additional international exposure through membership in such exclusive real estate networks as Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, the largest network of independent residential real estate firms, with 600 members representing 5,000 offices and 150,000 associates across the U.S. and in more than 35 countries.

Stephanie Sokenis/Gwinnett Chamber

The mission of the Gwinnett Chamber is to strengthen existing businesses, facilitate the growth of quality job opportunities, and enrich the community’s quality of life.

The Gwinnett Chamber serves over 2,000 members throughout metro Atlanta by delivering pertinent and useful programs that strengthen and connect businesses locally, regionally, and globally. The Gwinnett Chamber uses its strategic marketing and communications capabilities to support its members, promote its programs, and enhance economic development efforts.

The Gwinnett Chamber supports community development efforts that enrich Gwinnett’s quality of life and quality of place. The Chamber also facilitates efforts to develop, attract, and retain world-class entrepreneurial and community leadership talent.

FACTORS FOR SALES SUCCESS – LEADERSHIP AND POINT OF SALE: Phillip Saxton with Small Business Samaritans

October 22, 2014 by Mike

On the Money

FACTORS FOR SALES SUCCESS - LEADERSHIP AND POINT OF SALE: Phillip Saxton with Small Business Samaritans

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Phillip Saxton reveals several major factors for sales success including leadership and point-of-sale with host Joe Moss, the president of Embassy National Bank.

Phillip Saxton/Small Business Samaritans

Small Business Samaritans cares about the individuals who have the dream and courage to start a business. These dreams are important, not just to them and their families, but to their customers and the community where they operate.

We are living in challenging economic times where much of the future of the United States depends upon job creation. Our top concerns as a nation lie with economic recovery, job creation, and setting up & operating successful businesses. It is highly doubtful that many new jobs are going to be created by big business, global business, governments, inventions or new investments. During the last 15 years, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA), small businesses generated over 64% of new jobs. Currently, 70% of job growth is generated by small businesses, which is expected to continue, if not increase, in the next four years.

Small businesses have been severely affected by economic, global and political forces completely out of their control. The current recession was caused by poor political decisions, poor leadership from large financial organizations, a liquidity shortfall in the banking system caused by the overvaluation of assets, poor leadership from large corporations, and greed.

The concept of SBS was born out of the idea that small businesses and entrepreneurs needed to do things differently in order to insulate them from these economic and political forces. Our communities depend upon doing things differently. The goal is to operate a business that is less subjected to outside forces.

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On the Money focuses on topics and issues allowing small businesses to better navigate the financial services minefield, with analysis and opinions from today’s industry experts on banking and loans. On the Money also introduces you to some of the top small business leaders in the Atlanta market.

Hosted by Joe Moss, the president of Embassy National Bank, On the Money airs live every Wednesday at 3:00 PM EST from the Business RadioX studio in Gwinnett.

The Small Business Advisor and ActionCOACH Atlanta

October 21, 2014 by CW

Midtown Business Radio

The Small Business Advisor and ActionCOACH Atlanta

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The Small Business Advisor and ActionCOACH Atlanta

This week I sat down with Karen Bershad, CEO of The Small Business Advisor, and Jeff Smith, Executive Coach for ActionCOACH Atlanta. They talked about the consulting, coaching, and educational solutions they offer to the small- to mid-sized companies in the Atlanta area they offer that have proven to help their respective clients grow both top and bottom line revenues. They are able to achieve these successes by helping the small business owner assess and modify their time management, effectively managing the financial aspects of their business, and focused energy on revenue-generating activities that move their clients’ companies forward.

As Certified Pro-Advisors for QuickBooks, The Small Business Advisor provides installation, training and data management on-site or off-site for small- to mid-sized businesses that utilize the QuickBooks suite of tools to manage their finances. For companies using the installed version of the software, The Small Business Advisors can access their clients’ system and work remotely when needed. This makes it easy for The Small Business Advisors to diagnose problems and fix them quickly. They provide a wide variety of services that are specific to the small business, particularly related to the financial functions/reporting for the small business. The Small Business Advisor is also a client of ActionCOACH Atlanta, utilizing their business and executive coaching services to improve the way they manage and grow their business.

ActionCOACH Atlanta is the place to go to build your successful business or your successful executive business career and take them to the next level. The firm is comprised of a team of full-time, dedicated business and executive coaches who have demonstrated a high level of achievement in their businesses and careers. Each coach goes through a rigorous training process to acquire the proven coaching techniques and methods for helping transfer that knowledge to ActionCOACH Atlanta clients. ActionCOACH Atlanta helps their clients grow and succeed through a combination of educational offerings and regular check-in discussions with their respective coaches. Their approach helps their clients improve their business acumen and execution through accountability to an agree-upon plan of action(s). ActionCOACH Atlanta is committed to the community’s economic health and growth and has a goal of facilitating the creation of over 5000 new jobs in the Atlanta area. To date, their positive results for their clients have added an additional 273 new jobs due to ActionCOACH client growth. ActionCOACH is so confident in the level of ROI their clients get as a result of engaging with them that they offer a guarantee for their clients that they will see a positive ROI in less than 2 quarters, making it hard to say, “No,” to taking advantage of this resource.

Special Guests:

Karen Bershad, CEO/Founder, The Small Business Advisor