Goal Setting: Planning for Success in 2015
January 5, 2015By Aaron E. Graham This time of year, everyone makes lists of New Year’s resolutions. Effective goal-setting is just as important as creating a list of goals. Whether your…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: advice, banking-and-finance, headlines
Realistic Planning is the Key to Success
January 5, 2015By Deborah O’Connor How do you leave behind the mistakes and not-so-good experiences of last year and vow to make the New Year better, productive, and worthwhile? Why is…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: advice, headlines
The joke’s on us
January 4, 2015By Kathleen Parker . A writer seeking profound pronouncements for a year-end column is likely instead to find herself awash in punchlines. Life isn’t a comedy. It’s a joke. Hey,…
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Repairing the middle class in 2015
January 4, 2015By Robert J. Samuelson What is curious about the present understandable preoccupation with the middle class is the assumption — both explicit and implicit — that the system is “rigged” (to…
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Greatest Generation
December 29, 2014By Temple Ligon In 1998 television journalist Tom Brokaw published his book, The Greatest Generation, which praised our country’s citizens of the Depression and the WWII eras. Brokaw called…
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Clicks not Bricks
December 29, 2014By Jerry Smith The largest funds raised by a public offering of stock in 2014 was an e-commerce company. By now, most people have heard of this company, Alibaba, and…
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They’re Resolutions – Not Revolutions
December 29, 2014By Brian Maynor With the dropping of the ball and the bright, shining potential of a new year, it is only natural to look at making sweeping changes across…
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The best stats of 2014
December 29, 2014By Robert J. Samuelson This is the time when we make lists. The best movies of 2014. The best books. The funniest cartoons. The greatest photos. The most amazing sports…
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Inglorious hackers
December 29, 2014By Kathleen Parker If I were a cartoonist, a phrase cartoonists are loath to hear, I’d sketch a chubby imp donned in a diaper, sporting a chia mohawk…
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How To Increase Online Sales: Using Trust Seals In Marketing And Customer Acquisition Strategy
December 29, 2014By Alex Hillsburg Do you recall dropping a shopping cart on a Thursday while you’re thinking of buying something online? If yes, you’re one of the many shoppers that…
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Post Holiday Etiquette
December 29, 2014By Deborah O’Connor The holiday meal was wonderful, the presents have been unwrapped, the relatives are going home and it was another successful and wonderful holiday. Now what? Let’s…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: advice, headlines
On choosing happiness. What’s your choice?
December 22, 2014By Jeffrey Gitomer Sales Advice [row] [col col=8] Happy New Year! Or…is it? People wish it to you, to me – all the time. So how happy are you…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: advice, headlines
South Carolina’s Employment Situation: November 2014
December 22, 2014Number of Employed South Carolinians Hits Record High Labor Force Expands for Fifth Consecutive Month SOUTH CAROLINA – The number of South Carolinians working reached a record high of…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: government, headlines, on-the-move
Innovation in South Carolina. Are we at base camp yet?
December 22, 2014By Alan Cooper (Based on my radio interview with Mike Switzer, December 22, 2014 ) Productivity and innovation drive prosperity. Five years ago, the Medical University of South Carolina…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Sony’s ominous lesson
December 22, 2014By Robert J. Samuelson ”In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film ‘The Interview,’ we have decided not to move forward…
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Talk about a wildfire
December 22, 2014By Kathleen Parker First there’s the spark, then the conflagration, followed by the litigation and then, surely, the movie. Call it “Moonlight Fire,” and prepare to suspend disbelief. The…
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Relaxed Looks That Are Anything But Sloppy
December 17, 2014By Brian Maynor During this time of year a lot of people are using their vacation days, but some of us are still roaming the office halls. Luckily with…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: advice, headlines
UofSC economists release 2015 forecast: SC’s steady economic growth to continue
December 17, 2014COLUMBIA, SC – The Palmetto State can expect the consistent positive growth seen across most industries and regions in 2014 to continue into 2015, say University of South Carolina economists…
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Creating a media crisis in five easy steps
December 15, 2014By John Boyanoski A lot of public relations firms will tell you how to manage a media crisis situation. That is the easy part. But as a business…
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A statistical feast!
December 15, 2014By Robert J. Samuelson The Stat Abstract is dead. Long live the Stat Abstract. As regular readers of this column know, I’ve been a fanatical booster of the Statistical…
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South Carolina REALTORS® Release November Market Numbers
December 15, 2014CoOLUMBIA, SC – South Carolina REALTORS® (SCR) released its November 2014 statewide housing market reports. With virtually no inflation, interest rates will likely remain low for most of 2015. Construction…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, on-the-move, residential-real-estate
Graham Pleased with SRS Funding in Year-End Spending Bill
December 11, 2014WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today said he was pleased with the funding provided for Savannah River Site (SRS) in the year-end spending bill, also termed…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: energy, government, headlines, on-the-move
Feeling Fat Just Got A Whole New Meaning
December 10, 2014By Brian Maynor We all have fat days when we feel less attractive, pulled-together and polished than normal, but earlier this week I was clued into an entirely new…
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Clients don’t know.
December 10, 2014By Ken Gasque Don’t misquote me. Clients know a lot about their products and their customers but clients are humans and humans have perceptions that sometimes are wrong and this…
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Robert Samuelson: The key to stronger economic recoveries?
December 7, 2014By Robert J. Samuelson “The nation of which [Warren G.] Harding became president was not happy, and forces were underway which seemed likely, unless arrested, to bring more…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
The media circus around Ferguson
December 7, 2014By Kathleen Parker As the curtain closes on the latest episode of “Ferguson,” the media series, it is fair to wonder whether events might not have spiraled out of…
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Festive Business Attire – Celebrating The Holiday Season In Style
December 3, 2014By Brian Maynor Wearing a tacky Christmas sweater to the office may be an obvious faux pas, but where do you draw the line for professional festive holiday attire?…
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Spirit Communications to Become Naming Rights Partner for Multi-Use Venue at Columbia Common
December 3, 2014Spirit Communications Park Coming to Downtown Columbia COLUMBIA, SC – The City of Columbia and Columbia Professional Baseball, announced today that they have reached an agreement with Spirit Communications to name the new, state-of-the-art multi-use…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: headlines, hi-tech-information-tech, on-the-move, sports, telecommunications
Climate realities in light of the U.S.-China agreement
November 30, 2014By Robert Samuelson The United States-China agreement on climate change is a huge political triumph, possibly “historic,” as its supporters say. Whether it much alters the world’s climate is a more…
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From Bill Cosby to Ferguson, a reminder of our rule of law
November 30, 2014By Kathleen Parker By now, most Americans probably have formed an opinion about what comedian Bill Cosby did or didn’t do sexually to or with at least 16…
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City council holds zoning public hearing
November 24, 2014By Temple Ligon Columbia City Council met Tuesday, November 18, at 2:00 p.m. for its work session. Its regularly scheduled meeting was on the same day at 6:00 p.m. Top…
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Cultivating Great Teams
November 19, 2014By Mike DuBose with Blake DuBose At some point in our lives, we all take part in activities that necessitate teamwork. These situations crop up within professions, spiritual organizations,…
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Pope calls for family resurrection
November 19, 2014By Kathleen Parker News that Pope Francis will visit the United States next year for the triennial World Meeting of Families brings elation to Catholics, excitement to pope-watchers — and perhaps a little…
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Independent Contractors: The NLRB Refines its Standards
November 19, 2014By James A. Byars and David S. Robinson Whether an individual is classified as an independent contractor or an employee has significant legal implications,…
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Midlands Technical College Appoints New President
November 19, 2014Dr. Ronald L. Rhames selected from three finalists after nationwide search COLUMBIA, SC – The Midlands Technical College Commission announced the selection of Dr. Ronald L. Rhames as the…
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Stock bubble? Don’t blame the Fed’s bond-buying program.
November 16, 2014By Robert J. Samuelson Without QE, will the stock market tank? Count me a skeptic. QE refers to “quantitative easing,” the Federal Reserve’s multitrillion-dollar program of bond buying that…
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National Defense Briefs – November 13, 2014
November 13, 2014By W. Thomas Smith Jr. National Defense Briefs is a series aimed at informing readers with timely military and homeland security news updates, trends, definitions, and short commentaries. Defense…
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Columbia City Council – October 21
November 12, 2014By Temple Ligon Baseball In the past week the Bull Street baseball stadium came closer to reality. Jason Freier, owner of the new Columbia minor league baseball team, said…
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Remembering Betty Dent
November 12, 2014Ministry, civic duty marked her life Betty Dent, a former member of the Columbia International University Board of Trustees and a longtime supporter of CIU, passed away in West…
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Advocate for Abused Children Needs Your Feedback
November 11, 2014UpstateBizSC supports Giving Back, Diversity, Entrepreneurship, the Knowledge Economy, the Arts and Education. Our readers are local business leaders, entrepreneurs, managers, educators and philanthropists. As involved and compassionate members of…
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Gettys Receives Order of the Palmetto
November 11, 2014GREENVILLE, SC – Former Baptist Easley Hospital CEO Roddey E. Gettys, III has received South Carolina’s highest civilian honor — The Order of the Palmetto — for his longtime leadership…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: government, headlines, on-the-move
Gettys Receives Order of the Palmetto
November 11, 2014GREENVILLE, SC – Former Baptist Easley Hospital CEO Roddey E. Gettys, III has received South Carolina’s highest civilian honor — The Order of the Palmetto — for his longtime leadership…
Read MorePosted in: upstatebizsc Category: government, headlines, on-the-move
Mining Existing Leads from Your CRM
November 10, 2014By William Russell Lead generation efforts are the heart and soul of a company’s sales and marketing team. Initiatives and programs of all kinds are implemented to consistently produce…
Read MorePosted in: upstatebizsc Category: advice, headlines, marketing-and-communications
3 Reasons You Need to Plan for Your Long-Term Care
November 5, 2014By Barbara Franklin So much of our life is built around planning. We plan for big events like weddings, careers and the birth of a child. We plan…
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Local Veteran Finds Entrepreneurial Success in Battery and Lighting Franchise Ownership
November 5, 2014A Focus on Veteran Entrepreneurs With Veteran’s Day upon us, it’s a great time to recognize the accomplishments of former U.S. military personnel across the country. For example, upon…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, military
Local Veteran Finds Entrepreneurial Success in Battery and Lighting Franchise Ownership
November 5, 2014A Focus on Veteran Entrepreneurs With Veteran’s Day upon us, it’s a great time to recognize the accomplishments of former U.S. military personnel across the country. For example, upon…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: headlines, military
How will Europe’s economy escape the doldrums?
November 5, 2014By Robert J. Samuelson Can Mario Draghi save Europe? Draghi heads the European Central Bank, the continental equivalent of the Federal Reserve. The fact that the question is being asked…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
How will Europe’s economy escape the doldrums?
November 5, 2014By Robert J. Samuelson Can Mario Draghi save Europe? Draghi heads the European Central Bank, the continental equivalent of the Federal Reserve. The fact that the question is being asked…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
The Justice Department’s New Policy on Waiving Claims of Ineffective Counsel
November 4, 2014By Mark Moore What it Means for Carolina Courts Recognizing that the “right to effective assistance of counsel is a core value” or our justice system, Deputy Attorney…
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The “magic” of a few good men
November 3, 2014By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Decades ago I spent 13 long weeks living within the closest thing to a monastery I will ever know. It was a Spartan all-male…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, military, on-the-move