Why companies outsource

By Mike Switzer

Published May 8, 2025 at 6:30 AM EDT

Mike Switzer, host of the South Carolina Business Review

Over the past few decades, outsourcing has been a popular option for small to medium-sized companies for things like accounting, payroll, and sales. Our next guest’s company has found success developing a sales outsourcing business that started in his dining room and now has over 250 employees. Mike Switzer interviews Tony Horwath, founder and CEO of Sales Focus in North Charleston, S.C.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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