South Carolina Business Review

Autumn is a time of tradition and ritual: the World Series, a new school year, apple cider, and the fall harvest. For those in the financial services industry, fall is time to check in on the U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve, and the financial markets as investors begin their year-end planning.

Mike Switzer interviews Wes Johnson, a Certified Financial Planner with Carolinas Retirement Specialists in Charleston, who is going to give us his autumn update.

A weekly update of the news, events and issues facing South Carolina's business community.

Mike Switzer interviews Alan Cooper, founder and editor of three online business news websites in South Carolina: MidlandsBiz, UpstateBizSC, and LowCountryBizSC.

In case you hadn't heard, the American Planning Association recently announced that South Carolina is home to one of their 10 Great Streets in America.  That street is King Street in Charleston.

Mike Switzer interviews Tim Keane, planning director for the City of Charleston, SC.

In 2009, with the great recession setting in and business drying up, our next guest, a real estate developer at the time, started looking for a new way to utilize his sales talents.  Soon after, he visited his alma mater, Florida State University, where he kept hearing from students about how taxis were expensive, parking in town was non-existent and DUIs scared everybody.  So he scribbled on a cocktail napkin: “Green Operated Transportation Carrying Humanity Around”.  And his new company was born.  No, it's not Uber or Lyft.

There's a new international movement in the business community that is seeking to inspire business owners to elevate not only their profits but humanity as well.  Our next guest recently received approval to launch a chapter of this non-profit organization in the LowCountry.

Mike Switzer interviews Barry Patterson, president of the Charleston chapter of Conscious Capitalism.

A weekly update of the news, events and issues facing South Carolina's business community.Mike Switzer interviews John Warner founder and CEO of Innoventure, and its Swampfox business news service, based in Greenville, S.C.Events: Internet of Things

Most of you are probably familiar with the several forms a business can take: sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC) and a corporation, further subdivided as a traditional C-corp or S-corp.  But our next guest has formed a relatively new type of corporation, the B-corp. which focuses not only on profits but “benefits” to the community or environment.

Mike Switzer interviews Deb Stirling, chief financial officer for Infinite Habitat, based in Columbia, SC.

Homelessness continues to be a concern to cities and businesses across South Carolina.  Our next guest runs the state's largest homeless shelter and service provider, which recently re-branded itself to reflect what it really provides its clients: a chance to turn their lives around. Mike Switzer interviews Stacy Denaux, CEO of One-Eighty Place in Charleston.

We've been hearing some talk lately that one of our state's newest MBA programs has apparently hit its stride with students and employers alike.  So we thought we'd look into it. Mike Switzer interviews Jim Kindley, director of the College of Charleston's MBA program, now in it's fifth year.

Human fertility clinics have a lot more tools in their trade these days that are not only resulting in happier customers, but a healthier bottom line as well. Mike Switzer interviews Dr. Michael Slowey, a reproductive endocrinologist with Coastal Fertility Specialists in Mt. Pleasant.

In many households, one person manages the family finances.  But if something happens to that fiscally knowledgeable family member, does anyone else know how to access the financial information?  Our next guest says that whether you are single or part of a family, you need to run what she calls a "FISCAL Fire Drill". Mike Switzer interviews Catherine Latto, a certified financial planner with Latto and Associates in Charleston. 

A weekly update of the news, events and issues facing South Carolina's business community.Mike Switzer interviews John Warner founder and CEO of Innoventure, and its Swampfox business news service, based in Greenville, S.C.

There are a lot of factors that can affect the overall performance of a business, but one thing is for sure: If you don't have sales, you don't have a business. Mike Switzer interviews Bill McCrary, founder and CEO of Sandler Training South Carolina, a franchisee of Sandler Training, the national organization recently named the number one training company in America by Entrepreneur Magazine.

It's fairly standard practice these days for companies of all sizes to offer their employees performance incentives as part of their compensation.  Our next guest however, says he sees companies across our state and the country wasting millions of dollars on incentive plans and bonus systems that don't deliver the desired results. Mike Switzer interviews John Carroll, president of Unlimited Performance based in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

If you have an older parent living on their own, would you feel more comfortable if you had a way to monitor them and their living conditions from afar?  Our next guest says she hopes to start testing just such a system soon by installing robot monitors in assisted living centers in the Midlands of South Carolina. Mike Switzer interviews Dr. Jenay Beer, a computer science and social work professor at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.Assistive Robotics and Tech Lab links: Artlab, SmartHome