Small Business

When the U.S. Treasury released its list of jurisdictions that would be getting money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act, someone had to tell the Greenville County Council that the county was on it.

“Somebody said, ‘Hey, I think I saw you guys on a website,’” said Council Chairman Butch Kirven. “We looked and printed out the list, and sure enough, there we were.”

Along with the listing was the amount of money the county would be receiving to help recharge its COVID-choked small business economy – $91.4 million.

You can hear it in her voice.  Cacky Rivers who routinely eases the anxiety of brides on their big day is nervous.

"My dad said recently, 'This too shall pass', and that's what's kept me going."

Her voice trails off.  There's a long pause on the other end of the phone.

The "this" Rivers is referring to is the Coronavirus pandemic that has spread across the globe leaving a trail of death and economic uncertainty behind.

“It's a very scary situation," Rivers says.

She likens it to a hurricane, but worse.

An update of the news, events and issues that are trending right now across 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.

Experiential graphic design may not be a term many of us are familiar with but it is increasingly becoming the preferred method for companies and organizations to connect with their customers.  Retail, entertainment, hospitality, and sports industries, in particular, are immersing their environments with rich graphics and digital technologies to educate and delight their users and visitors.  Our next guest’s Upstate company is right in the middle of this growing trend and is specifically targeting college sports.

Our next guest believes his University start-up company will soon be driving vans around Columbia cool-cleaning home carpets using carbon dioxide, a method he also believes will dramatically reduce allergens in the home.

Mike Switzer interviews Mike Matthews, an engineering professor at the University of South Carolina and the chief technology officer for CarboNix.

Many small businesses grapple with succession...who should take over the business if the owner should pass away, become disabled, or just ready to retire.  There's a new trend in dealing with this issue that involves the owner selling the business to someone, oftentimes a young person, who is being mentored by the founder, who agrees to stay on for a few years in an advisory capacity.  This is exactly what has happened recently with an architecture firm in Charleston.