Jan. 20, 2017 UBJ

★ ★ ★ ★ UPSTATE BUS ★ ★ INES p r e S JO s e ★ ★ URNA n t s L ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ really good emails • beacons and how they work ★ ★ ★ guest advice from william russell • Q & A with Chris Jennings ★ ★ ★ JANUARY 20, 2017 | VOL. 6 ISSUE 3

UBJ

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1.20.2017

Style you can’t beat. At a price you can reach.

With a show-car shape and seductive new details, the CLA’s style is irresistible. Its profile is sleek like a coupe, yet it offers room for five and the innovation that defines a Mercedes-Benz. From its diamond-block grille to its LED taillamps, there may be no car on the road offering such eye-catching style at such an eyeopening price. Starting at $32,400.

THE 2017 CLA 250 Coupe

329/mo.

$

FOR A 36 MONTH LEASE

$329 FIRST MONTH’S PAYMENT $2,499 CAPITALIZED COST REDUCTION ACQUISITION FEE $795 $3,623 CASH DUE AT SIGNING

Offer Ends January 31, 2017

CARLTON MOTORCARS www.CarltonMB.com (864) 213-8000 2446 Laurens Road | Greenville, SC 29607

Available only to qualified customers through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services at participating dealers through January 31, 2017. Not everyone will qualify. Advertised 36 months lease payment based on MSRP of $35,675 less the suggested dealer contribution resulting in a total gross capitalized cost of $34,676. Dealer contribution may vary and could affect your actual lease payment. Includes Destination Charge and Premium 1 Package. Excludes title, taxes, registration, license fees, insurance, dealer prep and additional options. Total monthly payments equal $11,844. Cash due at signing includes $2,499 capitalized cost reduction, $795 acquisition fee and first month’s lease payment of $329. No security deposit required. Total payments equal $15,138. At lease end, lessee pays for any amounts due under the lease, any official fees and taxes related to the scheduled termination, excess wear and use plus $0.25/mile over 30,000 miles, and $595 vehicle turn-in fee. Purchase option at lease end for $21,405 plus taxes (and any other fees and charges due under the applicable lease agreement) in example shown. Subject to credit approval. Specific vehicles are subject to availability and may have to be ordered. See participating dealer for details. Please always wear your seat belt, drive safely and obey speed limits.

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 Featured this issue: Clemson, Tech help welcome our new robot co-workers........................................4 Plans advance for downtown Greenville parking deck.........................................17 Dressing like a boss.................................................................................................................18

A vacant lot in downtown Spartanburg could soon become a vibrant beer garden with ample outdoor seating, delicious cuisine and live music.

The ownership behind the popular Willy Taco restaurants in Spartanburg and Greenville will provide the culinary expertise for the FR8 YARD. Read more on page 6. Rendering by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture.

VERBATIM

On Greenville’s gritty past “It’s the Greenville to end all Greenvilles — which is an amazing feat, considering not more than a decade ago its streets were too dangerous to walk at night.”

The New York Post, in an article describing the “surprising Deep South town.”

Read it at bit.ly/nypost-gvl.

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1.20.2017

Clemson, Greenville Tech key players in Defense Department’s Advanced Robotics Manufacturing Institute

Yunyi Jia, assistant professor in Clemson University's Department of Automotive Engineering, and student Yi Chen demonstrate the first robot being developed for the ARM institute.

TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

tanderson@communityjournals.com Imagine an automotive assembly plant where robots can think, anticipate, respond to light touch or voice commands, dodge obstacles and lift heavy equipment for their human counterparts.

That future may not be in a galaxy far, far away. In fact, it could be realized within the next few years in the Upstate.

Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the formation of the Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Institute, a $253 million plan that hopes to generate 510,000 manufacturing jobs across the country by 2025.

Clemson University, Greenville Technical College and several Upstate companies will play a prominent role in the new national initiative to bring advanced robotics and training to manufacturing.

“Think of it like R2D2,” said Clemson

professor Venkat Krovi. “It can work with you, anticipate your movements and, at the right time, hand you a tool that you need.”

Officials said ARM will bring together 123 industrial partners, 40 universities and 64 government and nonprofit agencies.

Clemson experts will coordinate one of the program’s eight Regional Robotics Collaboratives and will develop programs that provide workers with the skills they need as robots become more common in manufacturing.

The Regional Robotics Collaborative will operate in the shared space between Clemson and Greenville Tech’s new 100,000-square-foot Center for Manufacturing Innovation (CMI) at 575 Millenium Blvd. in Greenville.

Krovi, a Michelin endowed chair in vehicle automation, and David Clayton, director of CMI, will lead the collaborative that includes seven Southeastern states.

The institute will be based in Pittsburgh near Carnegie Mellon University and led by American Robotics, a nonprofit founded by Carnegie Mellon as part of the National Network for Manufacturing, which was recently renamed Manufacturing USA. Rebecca Hartley, director of operations at the Clemson University Center for Workforce Development (CWD), will serve as the institute’s chief workforce officer.

The institute will focus on conducting research that is driven by industry and defense needs in aerospace, automotive, electronics and textiles.

Clemson last Friday unveiled its first project that will combine the efforts of its researchers, Greenville Tech students, Spartanburg County-based BMW Manufacturing Co., Bosch and Yaskawa America Inc. The project is a robot resembling a kitchen stool that can assist in the installation of a nearly 20-pound alter-

nator, battery or another heavy part as the car moves down the assembly line.

Clemson students began creating the robot about one year ago under the tutelage of Yunyi Jia, assistant professor in Clemson’s Department of Automotive Engineering.

The robot will soon be put through its paces on a new four-station prototype assembly line at CMI, with the end goal being its implementation at BMW’s plant in Spartanburg.

“There is this ‘valley of death’ that exists between university research and commercial application,” Krovi said.

“We are looking to bridge that gap.”

Krovi said Clemson and its partners will seek to develop collaborative-type robots that can be used to take some of the workload off of production employees. These robots have the ability to reduce fatigue, the likelihood of workplace injuries and increase quality in the manufacturing process, he said.

U.S. military members could someday use the robots in combat zones to support the logistics chains of the armed forces, Krovi said.

The rapid advancement of technology during the past few years has increased the availability of robotics components, which has made the cost of building robots less costly, he said.

Krovi said that robots could replace some existing manufacturing jobs in the future. But he believes their advancement and implementation could result in new jobs that require better skills and more expertise.

“The idea for Greenville Tech is how we can prepare our next generation to use this equipment on a factory floor,” Clayton said. “Our vision is to make sure students are prepared for the jobs of tomorrow.”

“What we are looking to do is provide people with a set of tools that takes away from the tedium [in manufacturing],” Krovi said.

Krovi said developers will be working on a “very aggressive” timeline to develop robots that can be further tested, improved and maybe one day be used in a manufacturing plant.

“Our students are very excited about this,” Jia said. “We think it will create jobs. You are always going to need a human to program, maintain and repair a robot.”

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INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

C l e m s o n

We are looking to bridge that gap.”

P r e s e n t s

W

OMEN

“There is this ‘valley of death’ that exists between university research and commercial application.

M B A

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S T R AT E G I E S F O R A C H A N G I N G WO R L D

LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE 2017 Sponsored by Duke Energy

LAUNCH DATE: FEB. 8 (Author Josh Davis) 3 POWER LUNCHES FEB. 22, MAR. 8, 22 Venkat Krovi, left, a Michelin endowed chair in vehicle automation at Clemson, works in a lab at CU-ICAR with Yunyi Jia. The institute’s plan seeks to create almost 20 certification programs for more than 10,000 operators in five years. Hartley said those programs will involve virtual and augmented reality and build on the work done by the Clemson’s CWD. “Contrary to a popular misperception, robotic automation in manufacturing is creating jobs rather than increasing unemployment,” she said in a statement. “Companies in South Carolina and nationwide tell us that jobs are available but that we need educational programs to prepare operators with the critical STEM skills they need to qualify.”

Hartley said she expects that trend will accelerate as “robotic automation becomes more widespread in advanced manufacturing.”

“Our work with the institute will keep that pipeline filled with talent,” she said.

The institute’s plan will include an $80 million investment by the federal government and $173 million in cost sharing, primarily from industry, universities, community colleges and

state economic development associations.

Officials said one of the goals is to ensure the U.S. is not reliant on foreign industry for robotic technologies. The institute is also expected to help American workers compete with low-wage workers abroad.

“The Advanced Robotics Manufacturing Institute will benefit the state and nation by bringing together preeminent scholars, industry and others crucial to economic development to work collaboratively in aerospace, automotive, electronics and textiles,” said Anand Gramopadhye, dean of Clemson’s College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, in a statement.

“All these sectors are critical to growth and ripe for adoption of robotics in manufacturing. Clemson’s participation will help South Carolina and the broader Southeastern region play a leading role in developing and adopting the cutting-edge technologies that keep the nation competitive.”

For more information, visit arminstitute.org.

ENCORE DINNER APR. 6 (with guest speaker) TOPICS EXPLORED Entrepreneurship • Intrapreneurship Inspiring & Influencing Building A Personal Brand Negotiating • Crucial Conversations Constructing Success

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CAROLINAS

6 | RESTAURANTS |

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1.20.2017

Rendering by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture

Willy Taco owners plan to open beer garden in downtown Spartanburg TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

tanderson@communityjournals.com

Morgan Square

A vacant lot in downtown Spartanburg could soon become a vibrant beer garden with ample outdoor seating, food and live music.

South Phifer Properties, a subsidiary of Spartanburg-based Johnson Development Associates, hopes to bring the concept, called FR8 YARD, to the property that comprises about one-third of an acre at 125 E. Main St. next to the Sparkle City Mini Putt.

The group was scheduled to bring its plans before the city’s Design Review Board at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 18.

Geordy Johnson, CEO of Johnson Development, said he was not at liberty to discuss specific details about the project due to certain agreements with partnering groups, but believes it will be a positive development for downtown.

OVER

95

TOTAL D NONST AILY OPS

gspairport.com

FR8 YARD

Wild Wing Cafe

Sources familiar with the project confirmed the ownership behind the popular Willy Taco restaurants in Spartanburg and Greenville will provide the culinary expertise for the FR8 YARD. Willy Taco, which began in Spartanburg, recently opened its second location in the former Feed and Seed store at 217 Laurens Road in Greenville.

Richard Heatly, one of Willy Taco’s owners, could not be reached for comment last Thursday.

Artist renderings by Spartanburg-based McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture showed the beer garden will consist of a cluster of buildings that resemble cargo containers.

On top of the cargo containers, there will be rooftop

seating. A small stage, several picnic tables and other recreational amenities are also visible in the drawings.

“We are excited to hear more about this project on Wednesday,” said Will Rothschild, a spokesman for the city of Spartanburg. “It is not appropriate for us to comment until the DRB has had a chance to review their plan.”

Property records showed South Phifer Properties acquired the lot in 2001.

According to historic photos, The Elite Restaurant was located on part of the site, which is between the Kress Building and Venus Beauty Supply. The Elite later became the W&W Cafeteria, which was destroyed by a fire in 1961.

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

| NEWS IN BRIEF | 7

INVESTING

VentureSouth posts record year in 2016 Greenville-based VentureSouth said it invested more than $4 million in Southeastern startups in 2016, a record for the early-stage investment firm, and a 15 percent increase over the prior year.

The network invested in 15 companies last year in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee, bringing its total portfolio to more than $20 million invested in 55 companies. The group also distributed more than $1 million in investment returns to its investor members from exited investments.

VentureSouth began in 2008 with the launch of the Upstate Carolina Angel Network in Greenville and has grown to 11 angel groups across the Southeast. Three new groups were added in 2016: Salt Marsh Angels in Hilton Head, Grand Strand Angels in Myrtle Beach and VentureSouth Charlotte.

The group also launched the VentureSouth Angel Fund II last year, its second co-investment fund. Collectively, VentureSouth includes more than 200 individual angel investors, making it one of the largest angel groups in the country.

Matt Dunbar, a VentureSouth managing director, said, “2016 was a pivotal year for VentureSouth as we continued to expand our investor base across the Southeast and improve our operational efficiency.”

To close the year, VentureSouth led an investment in KWIPPED, an online B2B equipment rental marketplace in Wilmington, N.C. Earlier in the fall, it invested in Vendor Registry, a Tennessee-based company with a software platform to improve the ability of local government agencies to procure services, as well as co-leading an investment in Durham, N.C.-based FarmShots, an agricultural technology company that uses advanced drone and satellite imagery to manage farms.

The group also invested additional capital to accelerate the growth of eight existing portfolio companies, including electric bus manufacturer Proterra and cancer diagnostics firm KIYATEC in Greenville; PharmRight in Charleston, makers of the Livi automated medication dispenser; and Sensory Analytics, an optical sensor technology company in Greensboro, N.C. “We are very excited about these new investments, as well as the progress of many of our portfolio companies over the last year,” said Mac Lackey, a VentureSouth managing director. “They are addressing significant problems across many industries and gaining national recognition for their innovative solutions. We look forward to even stronger progress in 2017.” - David Dykes To learn more about VentureSouth, visit venturesouth.vc.

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8 | MANUFACTURING |

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1.20.2017

The center features two large classrooms and demonstration spaces for commercial indoor, outdoor, architectural indoor, health care, retail and industrial lighting solutions.

Hubbell Lighting unveils renovated Lighting Solutions Center TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

tanderson@communityjournals.com Greenville-based Hubbell Lighting last week unveiled its new Lighting Solutions Center (LSC) within its corporate headquarters at 701 Millennium Blvd.

The 25,000-square-foot space was recently renovated and will serve as a training facility and showplace for the company’s range of lighting and controls technologies. It features two large classrooms and demonstration spaces for commercial indoor, outdoor, architectural indoor, health care, retail and industrial lighting solutions.

The space will complement the company’s 3,000-square-foot research and development labs within the $41 million corporate office, built in 2007, which houses 550 employees.

“The pace of innovation in the lighting industry continues to accelerate,” said Kevin Poyck, president of Hubbell Lighting, a business group of Connecticut-based Hubbell Inc. “The evolution of LED technology has changed the paradigm of how we go to market, making the mission of the LSC critical to our success. This facility, in addition to our R&D labs, will keep Hubbell and its business partners in a leading position for many years to come.”

The space was an original part of the headquarters, but Hubbell Lighting officials said the previous design was not conducive to the company’s vision for the future. The decision was made to give the facility a facelift.

Poyck said the new LSC was designed with flexibility in mind, meaning the company can change the

configuration of the center in the future without having to gut the whole space.

Rebecca McCall, who will serve as director of the LSC, said the walls are covered with dry erase boards.

Glass walls, light pillars and modern furnishings give the space an open, contemporary feel.

To design the space, the company worked with McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture of Spartanburg, DIRTT Environmental Solutions and Hartranft Lighting Design.

The company said the space conforms to the rest of the headquarters building’s Silver certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) rating system.

Poyck said the company also turned to some of its younger employees to help with the planning and design of the LSC. “Hubbell Lighting was named the third best place to work in South Carolina in 2016,” Poyck said. “When we talk about attracting and retaining talent, it doesn’t get any better than this. One thing millenials want is to be a part of something bigger. This is a great example of that. If we have the best people, it bodes well for our future.”

Michael McCullough, a spokesman for Hubbell Lighting, said the space has hosted 10,000 customers during its lifespan and supported more than 1,000 classes and 80,000 hours of continuing education credits.

With the new design, McCullough said he anticipates that capacity to increase, which could bring more visitors to the Upstate.

“I think it looks smashing,” said Andrea Hartranft,

principal of Hartranft Lighting Design. “[Hubbell Lighting] was really open to doing some fun things.

I think it will be a very useful tool for their outreach and education efforts in the years to come. I give a lot of credit to Paula Ziegenbein, the lead designer with our Boston office.”

The LSC has a wall of plants that will be grown under Hubbell lights, light pillars and other fixtures that can demonstrate LED lights that can show the shift from warm to cool in harmony with human circadian rhythms or the seasons.

The retail vertical market training area features a range of local products that will be rotated to show off what the Upstate has to offer.

All of the fixtures and components within the center can be moved or replaced depending on the company’s needs.

McCall said Hubbell Lighting hopes to host events that will make the LSC more open and available to the public.

“We’re so excited,” she said. “We wanted there to be no limitations on what we could do with this space.

We had some great support from our leaders and partners. I think it turned out better than we anticipated.”

Hubbell Lighting can trace its roots back to the late 1800s when its founder, Harvey Hubbell, started developing tooling and equipment.

Hubbell’s early patents in the lighting industry included a pull-chain lamp socket and separable plug and receptacle. A few of those products are on display at Hubbell Lighting’s headquarters.

For more information, visit lightingsolutionscenter.com.

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

| AUTOMOTIVE / LEADERSHIP | 9

CarMax competitor EchoPark plans Motor Mile location RUDOLPH BELL | CONTRIBUTOR

rbell@communityjournals.com

Consumers are getting another option among the cluster of car dealerships known as the Motor Mile along Laurens Road in Greenville.

A used car chain called EchoPark plans to open for business in 2018 at the intersection of Laurens Road and Interstate 85 where a Relax Inn motel used to be.

The 2.9-acre site along Duvall Drive is between the Steve White Volkswagen dealership and Interstate 85. It’s also directly across I-85 from a CarMax dealership — EchoPark’s head-to-head competitor.

Charlotte-based Sonic Automotive, a publicly traded company that owns more than 100 new car dealerships around the country, including Century BMW and Century Mini in Greenville, launched the EchoPark brand in late 2014, according to Jeff Dyke, executive vice president of operations.

He said there are currently five EchoPark dealerships in the Denver area, with eight more getting ready to open in Colorado, Texas, Florida and Georgia.

In South Carolina, Dyke said, EchoPark ultimately plans eight to 12 stores and has secured properties for dealerships to open in Greenville and Colum-

bia in the first half of 2018.

The company bought the former Relax Inn property in December 2015 for $1.18 million and secured a special exception from Greenville’s Board of Zoning Appeals the following March.

It plans a 23-employee, 9,600-square-foot dealership with parking for 400 cars in place of the Relax Inn complex.

Dyke called Greenville a “very good used car market, and it’s a growing market.”

Under the EchoPark business model, “experience guides” who work on salary but not commission help shoppers search for the right car on iPad stations inside the dealership.

Dyke said they’re even willing to help shoppers search the online inventories of EchoPark competitors, including the CarMax dealership across I-85.

“Everything is transparent and right up front,” he said. “There’s no pressure to buy a car. And our service department is the exact same way — fair pricing and ease of doing business.”

In addition, EchoPark dealerships offer complimentary car washes over the lifetime of the vehicles they sell.

CarMax said it remains the best way to buy a used car “without a doubt.”

“For more than 20 years, CarMax has revolutionized the used car buying experience by making the process

time since the Great Recession, said Jeff Schuster, a vice president with LMC Automotive, a market research firm in Troy, Mich.

Automakers have enjoyed record U.S. sales of more than 17 million units over the past two years and roughly 45 percent to 50 percent of those sales are lease deals or fleet sales that eventually wind up in the used car market, he said.

HERE’S TO A HEALTHY 2017 Time to Call for Your Hearing Wellness Checkup!

DAVIS AUDIOLOGY LISTENS… SO YOU CAN HEAR!

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For more information, visit leaders4tomorrow.org.

transparent and easy,” the Richmond, Va.-based chain said in a statement to UBJ. “With more than 6 million cars sold and 50,000 vehicles in our nationwide inventory, we will continue to lead the industry by providing the car buying experience customers want and deserve.”

Sonic is developing EchoPark at a time when the U.S. used car inventory is expected to grow and compete with the new car inventory more than at any

Kristin Davis, Au.D. Doctor of Audiology Alexandra Tarvin, Au.D. Doctor of Audiology

Martinez chosen for Leaders4Tomorrow Denny’s Inc., is the second recipient of the QLI Leaders4Tomorrow Award, a special project between QLI International and UBJ to support leadership development among millennials.

A Harvard graduate, Martinez has built a millennial digital marketing strategy for Walmart, as well as a multicultural one for Sprint before joining the team at the Denny’s HQ in Spartanburg last year.

Martinez will receive one year’s worth of executive coaching from Manfred Gollent, executive coach for QLI International.

An EchoPark dealership like this one in Thornton, Colo., is planned on Greenville’s Motor Mile. Photo provided.

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THE MARKETING ISSUE

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1.20.2017

THE GOLDEN AGE OF EMAIL A 50-YEAR-OLD TECHNOLOGY IS THE NEXT BIG THING IN REACHING CUSTOMERS.

MATTHEW SMITH PROVES IT WITH REALLY GOOD EMAILS. WORDS BY LAURA HAIGHT | PHOTO BY WILL CROOKS

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

F

or marketers in search of the Next Big Thing — that hot new technology that will reach and engage your customers — Matthew Smith has you covered. Look down. To your phone, your desktop, your tablet. Yes, it’s email. The tool we most love to hate.

For Smith, email is an evolving tool with boundless possibilities. And one that has put his business Really Good Emails at the “epicenter of the email earthquake.”

Smith and three other self-described “email geeks” have been collecting and curating navigation, contact forms and all things email for nearly a decade. The RGE website is a searchable gold mine of how companies handled emails for everything from abandoned shopping carts (21 examples) to winning back lapsed customers (three examples).

“Our goal is to become the center of everything email, and we are becoming that,” Smith says.

“Through that, we will become the answer to the questions: Where do I go to find the best resources for email, the best templates? How do I choose a provider? How do I learn how to use email better to sell our product?”

This email immersion seems to be working. Today, Smith is a sought-after Sherpa on the future of email.

“I strongly believe that email is incredibly important to connect with real customers,” Smith says, predicting that “we are marching into the golden age of email.”

Here are some of the trends and technologies that could significantly change the consumer relationship with email marketing.

EMAIL GOES INTERACTIVE Email currently serves as a conduit to get the consumer from an email to the website and from there to purchase. True interactivity, which Smith believes is “an era we are just about to enter,” will shorten the distance between the consumer and the company by eliminating the need to go to the website to make a purchase, or a donation.

THE MARKETING ISSUE

Smith uses abandoned carts as an example. According to CPC Strategy, nearly 68 percent of shoppers add items to their shopping carts and then abandon them, a trend that costs retailers about $18 billion a year in sales. Currently, if you are TV shopping and you put one in your cart but don’t complete the purchase, the company may send you an email reminding you. But what if when you opened the email it could interactively update the price and offer you a special discount or incentive, like free shipping?

And then complete the transaction fully without ever leaving your email application? Smith sees that as a valuable service — and an opportunity for companies.

EMAIL CONTENT BECOMES MORE FLUID Once email is sent to you, it’s a done deal. Now. But Smith envisions email building and updating itself contextually when you open it.

“Content will live on the web and it will be orbital, more versatile,” Smith explains. Emails could be comprised of independent chunks of content that change and update each time you open the email.

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“Customers personalize through their actions and inactions.

Your thoughts and patterns determine the future.

That’s the way things will go.”

REAL-TIME MESSAGING IS PREDICTIVE It can sound a little “creepy,” Smith admits, but mobile technologies like GPS, near-field communication chips, radio frequency identification (RFID) and beacons, coupled with stored data, put message personalization on the front burner for businesses.

Your phone knows you are near a store, the store knows what you bought last and a personalized offer is delivered to your email. “There are a lot of opportunities for even small businesses to be able to use [information] more wisely,” Smith says.

MAKING SENSE OF THE DATA But why email? Why not text or an app? “People aren’t going to download an app,” says Smith, for every organization or retail outlet they are interested in. And a “phone number is too personal. But they will give up

an email address.”

The opportunities certainly don’t pertain only to retailers, but to any organization or nonprofit that values meaningful connection.

“Most businesses don’t understand what they have with data,” suggests Smith, who admits that “the idea of sitting down over a spreadsheet and trying to make sense of it is overwhelming for a lot of people. It is for me.” That brings “data scientists and even philosophers who understand how to take data and make meaning out of it” to the table.

The goal is not to have to ask your customers what they want, Smith says. “They personalize through their actions and inactions. Your thoughts and patterns determine the future. That’s the way things will go.”

EMAIL MARKETING TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

“If you don’t have the resources, time or money to do something really big, then do something honest and authentic really well,” Smith advises.

1. DEFINE WHAT YOU CAN DO REALLY WELL. Don’t try to be everywhere. “For many companies, studies and analytics are showing that email marketing can be more effective creating stickiness with customers than all social marketing combined,” Smith notes. If you had to choose between social media and email, “I would choose email.”

2. CURATE INSTEAD OF CREATE. Smith suggests you can provide valuable content to your customers by pulling together content from other sources in one place. Be consistent about when you send it out so your readers know what to expect and when it is going to come.

3. DON’T UNDERESTIMATE HUMOR. “People love to laugh, and we don’t do it enough. If you connect a positive emotion with somebody thinking about your company, you’ve made a connection that is going to be hard to break.”

4. RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF EMAIL. On social media, you just “join the noise.” But if you have an email address, someone has invited you in. And there’s a lot you can do with that connection. Don’t be afraid to ask people for advice, involve them in your product development or conduct surveys.

5. BE ETHICAL. “Don’t try to entice me through intensity or a fear of missing out.” Subject lines may be places where you see both the best and worst of email marketing.

RGE writes an ongoing exploration series that involves deep dives into different company’s emails. You can read it at explore.reallygoodemails.com.

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1.20.2017

special delivery Technological shifts are paving the way for BEACON MARKETING to target customers where they are RUDOLPH BELL | CONTRIBUTOR

rbell@communityjournals.com

If you walk by Greenville Jerky & Vine at the corner of Main Street and McBee Avenue with the right app on your smartphone, you may hear the store “talking” to you.

A message could appear on your smartphone about a special offer for jerky or wine, or about gourmet food available for sampling.

The downtown Greenville store is one of the first local businesses to test so-called “location-based technology” for marketing.

The messages are sent by a “beacon,” a battery-powered device the size of a matchbox that’s installed on a windowsill and uses Bluetooth Low Energy to communicate.

The messages are received by passersby who have downloaded the iOnGreenville app on their smartphones. That app is provided by BizzApps, a local mobile application development firm.

Geralyn Trellue, owner of Greenville Jerky & Vine, said she decided to try the technology about three years ago, thinking it could boost business from the tech-savvy millennial generation.

As it turns out, she hasn’t seen much impact.

“We have had a few customers reference the

beacon for the offer, but I think many of our customers do not have the app,” Trellue said.

Retailers such as drug chain Rite Aid have deployed beacons in an effort to give their brickand-mortar stores the ad-targeting capabilities of e-commerce.

Through beacons, retail chains can learn which stores shoppers frequent the most, and which departments within the stores, according to Pulsate, a mobile marketing firm with offices in San Francisco.

Armed with that information, retailers can tailor marketing messages, such as coupons, to individual shoppers, sending them to apps on their smartphones or having them appear as the shopper signs onto the retailer’s e-commerce website.

Beacons are also being used by arenas, airports, schools, trade shows and museums, including the Children’s Museum of the Upstate, and health care providers, including Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, though not always for marketing.

Although marketers were optimistic when Apple introduced its iBeacon technology in 2013 — followed in 2015 by Google’s Eddystone — the technology is still finding its footing in the marketplace. It’s likely here to stay in one form or the

BEACON BUCKS $4.1 billion value of

in-store retail sales influenced by beacon-triggered messages in 2015 and 2016

$44.4 billion sales projected for 2016

82% shoppers who make purchase decisions in-store

4.5 million projected

installed base of beacons by 2018 overall

3.5 million projected for use by retailers

1.20.2017

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

ScanSource CTO Greg Dixon believes the Internet of Things will finally give beacon marketing the platform it needs to gain traction.

THE MARKETING ISSUE

other, however, according to Greg Dixon, chief technology officer for ScanSource, a Greenville-based distributor of hightech products.

Dixon said ScanSource resells beacon systems designed for retailers and made by Aruba Networks and Zebra Technologies, but so far, “I doubt we’ve ever sold enough to even register.”

One reason the technology hasn’t been more widely adopted, he said, is because so far no one has set technical standards that every manufacturer adheres to.

Yet Dixon believes the future potential of beacons is enormous because their emergence heralds the arrival of a revolutionary megatrend, the Internet of Things.

That term refers to the idea of equipping everyday objects with the ability to sense aspects of their environment and communicate the information wirelessly. Those objects could include not just computers and smartphones but vehicles, buildings, stores, factory machinery — virtually anything.

Beacons are “the initial wave before the tsunami,” Dixon said.

“The Internet of Things can and will be a really big thing.”

At the Children’s Museum of the Upstate, 10 beacons costing $40 each have been placed in the largest and most popular exhibits in order to provide a new interactive experience.

Museumgoers with the iOnGreenville app receive recommendations about age-appropri-

| COVER | 13

ate activities they can do at each exhibit. The messages pop up on their mobile devices as they move within the range of each beacon.

The added element of interactivity is sponsored by Greenville First Steps, a nonprofit organization supporting programs that help children get ready for school.

Nancy Halverson, the museum’s president and CEO, said the beacons are a “great technology and one more way to communicate in a meaningful way with our guests.”

“The process was very easy, and the technology is very intuitive,” she said.

Bon Secours St. Francis Health System recently installed beacons in waiting rooms at more than 40 primary care practices across the Upstate.

Patients with the iOnGreenville app get a message as they enter the waiting room asking them to sign up for MyChart, an online system with which they can review medications and lab results, request appointments and communicate with physicians.

“In the future, we envision utilizing the beacons to deliver information such as shot reminders, new provider alerts, survey requests and more,” said Matt Green, the health system’s administrative director of ambulatory informatics.

DEFINED BEACONS:

Small transmitters using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to send targeted messages, information and special offers to nearby mobile devices. Beacons are one-way, sending but not receiving information from smartphones and tablets.

The two major players in the beacon space are iBeacon, introduced by Apple in 2013, and Eddystone, launched by Google in 2015. Both work with Android and iOS devices.

PROXIMITY MARKETING:

The use of location technology to communicate with consumers in a certain place through a mobile device. Along with beacons, another common technology is geo-fencing, which uses GPS to find devices in the area.

14 | COVER |

UBJ

THE MARKETING ISSUE

owning the sweet spot

|

1.20.2017

10 ways to outfit your marketing toolkit and stay top-of-mind with your potential customers

By WILLIAM RUSSELL Managing Partner, The Marketing Beacon

Before they can do business with you, potential buyers of your offerings have to first know you exist. No one likes taking a risk with a company they’re unfamiliar with. It seems like a simple concept, but confident purchasing decisions cannot be made if you’re unknown.

Being known in the market and having top-ofmind positioning with your buyers is key. This requires consistent market visibility and demonstration of credible reasons why you have the best choice out of all the options available in the market. By demonstrating your credibility, you will develop trust, which mitigates risk. When you’re unknown or unfamiliar to a buyer, you represent a higher risk to them — even if it’s just perceived risk. Your goal is to occupy the “sweet spot” of a buyer’s decision-making process, which means being the go-to, reliable and dependable solution with the least amount of risk to them.

BRIDGE THE GAPS Getting to that sweet spot requires effort. You have to identify the connecting points that bridge the gap between your offerings and your intended buying market. The gap is often bridged through strategically and effectively implemented communication vehicles. Information about your product, service and offerings needs to be conveyed to a prospect so that they have a clear understanding of your solution and how it will work for their needs.

The communication vehicles will include a balanced mix of public relations efforts, email marketing campaigns, cultivating prospect relationships, coordinating social media, maintaining a dynamic web presence and similar marketing activity. Specific marketing tools may include digital brochures, videos, testimonials, printed materials, presentations and more. These tools often mean leveraging the power of success stories, customer profiles, solution overviews, white papers and similar collateral that effectively communicates how your solutions solve buyer challenges.

In some situations, you may want to customize your materials for a particular vertical market or for a specific solution you offer. All of these are tools that can be developed by your marketing resources and put to good use by your sales team so that they are equipped with a powerful marketing toolkit.

TOOLS WITH A PURPOSE Knowing what type of tools to include and how to develop them requires a strategic marketing approach based on the type of offering you have and

your buying market.

Your strategic approach includes a profile of who buys from you, why, when where and how. It also includes the tactical execution components necessary to reach your market. This is key so that you can determine which marketing tools are necessary for your toolkit. The fully outfitted marketing toolkit should be viewed as an instrument designed to accomplish your business objectives as effectively and intelligently as possible.

TO DO THAT, CONSIDER THESE 10 POINTS: 1. Determine the purpose of each communication tool and what you want them to help you accomplish.

2. Focus on the intended audience and how to best connect with them.

3. Develop and design formats based on how your audience prefers their information to be presented.

By demonstrating your credibility, you will develop trust, which mitigates risk.

Your goal is to occupy the “sweet spot” of a buyer’s decisionmaking process, which means being the go-to, reliable and dependable solution with the least amount of risk to them.

4. Create a logical flow to your communication content that unfolds your story.

5. Use language that relates well with your

audience and demonstrates your knowledge for addressing their needs and solving their challenges.

6. Keep your content benefit-rich and results-oriented rather than over-baked with hype.

7. Leverage the power of client testimonials, quotes and endorsements that offer “proof” of your marketing claims.

8. Provide enough information to convey a strong message, but not so much that the piece does all the selling for you.

9. Use visually appealing graphics, illustra-

tions and images that relate well to your prospects.

10. Be consistent with your company’s brand

strengths and reputation in all communication tools.

OCCUPY THE SWEET SPOT, COMMIT AND BE CONSISTENT Over time, your marketing toolkit will require updates to adapt to changing technology, competitive pressure, new marketing opportunities and enhancements to your own solution offerings. Your prevailing goal is to be known in your market by occupying your buyer’s sweet spot and always being the preferred choice during the buying decision process. Communicate your solution offering with clear messages that connect well with your market.

Commit to the process and be consistent by having the right tools in your marketing toolkit that raise your market visibility and increase your credibility.

Creating these connection points will make your marketing more effective and increase the revenue-generating potential for your business.

1.20.2017

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

THE MARKETING ISSUE

| COVER | 15

‘the sky is the limit’ Spartanburg’s tourism marketing saw an impressive ROI in 2016. The CVB’s Chris Jennings says 2017 looks even better.

TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

on those opportunities during 2017 and beyond.

In November, the Spartanburg

What is the focus for the CVB’s marketing this year?

tanderson@communityjournals.com Area Chamber of Commerce’s Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) unveiled its 2016 Marketing and Media Effectiveness Study.

The study, conducted by H2R Market Research during August, measured the impact of the CVB’s advertising on visitation, travel spending and return on investment.

According to the study, tourism had a $17.4 million economic impact on the county, while the CVB invested $158,000 in paid advertising during the fiscal year. That means for every $1 spent by the CVB on advertising, there was a more than $110 economic impact.

Overall, the CVB’s marketing reached 4.3 million households and resulted in 32,800 incremental trips, the study said.

The county benefitted from youth sports events and the NFL Carolina Panthers training camp, which by itself had a $13.1 million impact during 2016.

In 2017, a spate of events are on the radar, including youth sports events, the return of the Panthers training camp, the new public art project Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light and the annual state Governor’s Conference on Tourism & Travels.

The Spartanburg Chamber will also reveal its strategic visioning plan that is being developed with the help of the Atlanta-based consulting firm Market Street Services that could hone in on other tourism opportunities.

UBJ recently caught up with Chris Jennings, executive vice president of the CVB, to find out more about the organization’s marketing efforts to capitalize

From a tourism standpoint, we’re really looking to maximize our marketing. Last year, in addition to print and digital ads, we ran TV ads in Chattanooga and Knoxville, as well as Raleigh. The reason we chose those was those cities are far enough away for an overnight visit. This year, we’re turning our attention to Atlanta. The results of our Media and Marketing study were very positive — increased awareness and intent to visit. If we can tap into some of that same enthusiasm in Georgia, we think we’ll really have something.

What are some things on the horizon for Spartanburg’s tourism sector in 2017?

We heard about a few projects planned that we’re not quite able to talk about yet. What we’ve got to do a little differently is separate ourselves by showing off what we have … like our Made in Spartanburg campaign, which I think is helping with that. … We’re really promoting the recently updated Spartanburg Music Trail and other self-guided tours for downtown and around the county. The newest will be our Grown in Spartanburg Agricultural Trail, due to be revealed in February. And the food scene here is growing and really is amazing. Chef William Cribb [of Cribb’s Kitchen and Willy Taco] was recently named one of the state’s Chef Ambassadors.

Can you share a few insights about marketing?

You have to be strategic in tourism marketing. You can’t just one-off these things. The county’s Tourism Action Plan gave us a great foundation. It identified some key areas — or pillars — to highlight in marketing Spartanburg. I give tremendous credit to the County Council, the city and other major proponents of the plan. When you have a plan and good resources and funding, it makes a big difference. We’re very fortunate as a community to have great marketing partners, or vendors, that have helped us showcase what Spartanburg has to offer. We have had support from the local government, and the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, as well our advisory board.

What are some challenges ahead?

We want what everyone wants, which is for people to stay longer and spend more. The challenge has been keeping up with the technology. The competition for attracting travelers is fierce. We want to stay ahead of the curve. How can we tap into things like Airbnb, Uber and other things that consumers are plugged into? And we have to balance increased visitation with quality of place. We don’t want to kill the golden goose.

Are there opportunities out there for future growth?

Youth sports will be big. We’re going to continue to evolve to bring more high-value tournaments and events here

in addition to baseball and softball, where we have had success. We’ll be looking at soft adventure. … Outdoor recreation is really untapped. We have great natural resources here that are underutilized, and we’re not going to let them stay a secret. … As downtown Spartanburg grows, there will be a lot of opportunities to help us grow the visitor economy throughout the county.

There is great enthusiasm and excitement about what’s next. I think the sky is the limit.

SPARKLE CITY’S SHINING YEAR $17.4 million

economic impact of tourism on Spartanburg County during fiscal 2016

$158,000

invested by Spartanburg CVB

$110

impact for every $1 spent

4.3 million

households reached

32,800

incremental trips as a result -Source: H2R Market Research survey

16 | SQUARE FEET |

UBJ

REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION

TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

|

1.20.2017

tanderson@communityjournals.com

Downtown Spartanburg’s Bijou building reaches full occupancy A vision for the historic Bijou theater building in downtown Spartanburg that began more than a decade ago was officially realized last Thursday.

Two new businesses, the Black Derby Barber Co. and the Nail Bar, announced they have signed leases and will be moving into the more than 126-year-old building at 145 E. Main St. this spring.

Mary Freedman, who purchased the building in 2007 with her husband, Arthur Freedman, said it is the first time in years the building, which originally operated as a silent movie house, will be fully occupied.

“This is a great day,” Mary Freedman said. “When we bought this building, we envisioned it being a very busy hub for restaurant and retail activity. We knew it had a lot of potential. We bought it right before the recession and we stuck it out … We’re very happy about it.”

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an international food market, which failed to gain traction. Throughout the years, the building has supported an herb shop and provided kitchen space, but nothing permanent materialized.

The 20,000-square-foot building has 10,000 square feet of apartment space above a 10,000-squarefoot ground floor that features several small retail spaces. The building has access along Main and Broad streets.

During the past 13 months, three new businesses, including Archived Clothing, Hub City Scoops and Downtown Deli & Donuts, have all opened up within the building. Freedman said she believes the building’s success is a reflection of the momentum that has been building in downtown recently.

“For many years, I’ve said that downtown is on the cusp of greatness,” she said. “It is a result of many people investing and believing in downtown. I have seen a change in mindset that the quality of life of

During the past 13 months, three new businesses, Archived Clothing, Hub City Scoops and Downtown Deli & Donuts, have all opened in the Bijou building in downtown Spartanburg. vour community comes from a core place — downtown. It’s finally happening.”

Freedman thanked the previous owners of the building for helping to spark the vision for the building. She also praised her current tenants, including Kathy and Michael Silverman, who own Hub City Scoops and The Local Hiker down the street, and Elizabeth Evans and her daughter Kate, owners of Archive Clothing and Downtown Deli & Donuts.

“I knew this could be a great building, but they really believed in it,” Freedman said. “The city has been awesome to work with.”

Mary Howland, owner of the Black Derby Barber Co., said she and her sister, Sara Sparks, have leased about 1,200 square feet in the building.

Howland said it will be a “throwback” barber shop concept that features hot towels, straight razor shaves, men’s manicures, haircuts, beard trims, craft beer, bourbon and scotch. There will even be a shoeshine station.

The owner said she has hired six barbers for the shop. She plans to outfit the space with antique barber chairs and other equipment passed down from generations of her family who were barbers.

“My mother was in cosmetology,” Hatmaker said.

“I grew up around it and I was often her guinea pig … I always liked having my nails done, but was tired of driving to Greenville to go to a place I like. That’s why I chose Spartanburg. I love downtown.”

The Nail Bar is expected to open in March and Black Derby Barber Co. in early April.

Andrew Babb with NAI Earle Furman brokered both leases.

NAI Earle Furman rebrands investment division STAFF REPORT

NAI Earle Furman, an Upstate commercial real estate firm specializing in the office, industrial, investment, land, multifamily and retail sectors, has rebranded its investment services group. It’s now called Furman Capital Advisors.

The rebranding is a strategic move to position the investment group as a national player and further strengthen the company’s business in the key growth markets across the country, while remaining aligned with NAI Earle Furman in the Southeast, particularly in the Upstate, officials with the firm said.

Furman Capital Advisors will operate under the umbrella of NAI Earle Furman, but with a sharp focus on available investment properties and connecting investors to profitable opportunities, the officials said.

Led by longtime broker and NAI Earle Furman shareholder Peter Couchell, Furman Capital Advisors’ team consists of five investment brokers.

In addition to Couchell, they include Rob Schmidt, Cameron Babbitt, Jimmy Wright and Edward Wingate.

1.20.2017

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION

DAVID DYKES | STAFF

| SQUARE FEET | 17

ddykes@communityjournals.com |

@daviddykes

Plans for downtown Greenville parking deck move forward

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of the building along Webster Street.

The applicant proposes the parking garage meets the needs of tenants in the 200 E. Broad St. building.

The garage will be fully visible from Webster Street to the south and Calvin Street to the west, and partially seen from the Church Street bridge to the east, staff members said. The north-facing portion will face the 200 E. Broad St. building, with a small portion visible from Broad Street.

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approved plans for a five-level parking garage on East Broad Street in downtown Greenville.

The Design Review Board’s urban panel approved an application from Earle Hungerford, an architect with McMillan Pazdan Smith in Greenville, for a certificate of appropriateness for the parking garage.

On Jan. 5, the panel agreed with a staff recommendation that the application be approved, pending a staff review of final exterior finishes and landscape plans.

During the panel’s meeting, no one spoke in opposition to the project.

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18 | PROFESSIONAL |

STRATEGIES FOR HONING YOUR PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

UBJ

|

1.20.2017

When Dress Isn't Your Strongest Suit

By HANNAH BARFIELD SPELLMEYER Godshall Professional Recruiting and Staffing

Let me start by admitting that I’m not particularly stylish.

In fact, my mom still picks out a lot of my clothes — a fact I realize is moderately embarrassing. But with or without a natural eye for fashion, your wardrobe is much more than just fabric and zippers. It’s an essential component of your personal brand. The tailored suits and dresses Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) and Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) don for “The Good Wife” and “Suits” are my personal muses. They miraculously exude both power and poise. But cultivating that kind of closet can be a herculean task without the assistance of stylists and mega-budgets.

Don’t fret; there’s hope for us yet.

The first step in curating a killer wardrobe is deciding who you are and how you want to be perceived. There are no right or wrong answers. Your wardrobe gives people a hint about who you are before you even say a word. As Kanye West posits in Estelle’s “American Boy,” “Before he speak his suit bespoke.”

Ah, the poetry. An easy way to clarify your image is to think of a celebrity you admire and observe their fashion choices. They have a professional doing it for them behind the scenes, so mooch off that a bit. Me? The Chanel and St. John suits from my TV fashion idols don’t really make sense for me or my budget, but the crisp clean lines with architectural details do.

No matter what image you’re portraying, it always looks better when it fits properly. As a 6-foot-tall woman, I’m hypersensitive to fit, because I can ef-

Attention: Sidewall Pizza Is Offering This “Buy 1 Pizza, Get 1 Free” Voucher For All Hungry UBJ Readers.

This Is a Time Sensitive Offer and Expires at 9PM on Saturday, January 28th 2017.

Available at Greenville or Travelers Rest Locations. Please present this voucher at time of ordering. Dine-In only. Not valid with any other offers. Warning: the ice cream is delicious.

Your wardrobe gives people a hint about who you are before you even say a word.

As Kanye West posits in Estelle’s “American Boy,” “Before he speak his suit bespoke.” fortlessly channel Oliver Twist in most standard clothing.

There are a few things to always check before you buy/wear something. For pants, make sure the length is appropriate for the type of pant and the shoe you’re wearing. (Check out this guide for easy answers and pictures at alreadypretty.com/guide-pant-length.) For both skirts and blouses, bend over and see what happens. If anything is compromised, it’s too short or too low-cut.

Clothing needs to be moderately functional, because even if you love something, you’ll never feel comfortable or confident if you’re exposed.

Lastly, turn around. Sometimes it’s what we don’t see that really bites us in the butt.

The final step in dressing like a boss is to actually dress like your boss. More formal clothing changes the way your brain works, according to a study in the journal Social Psychological & Personality Science. Researchers found that not only did dressing snazzy improve cognitive thinking but also it made people feel better. If “formal” doesn’t align with your brand, pair your graphic tee with some clean sneaks and dark jeans. Same difference.

I know you aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, but your clothes tell a story. Make sure it’s the tale you want to be told.

You can read more of Hannah Barfield Spellmeyer's blogs at linkedin.com/today/author/hannahbarfield.

1.20.2017

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

WHAT ’S NEXT FOR THE UPSTATE, AND HOW WE’LL GET THERE

| FORWARD | 19

How Green Was My Computer?

20 million tons of electronic waste is created each year — here’s how to keep your tech out of the landfill

By GARY UNDERWOOD Owner, Computer Direct Outlet and Computer Direct Business

Louis C.K. does a bit where he ruminates that the only reason people keep old computers around is because they have thousands of photos on them that they may want to use.

“See that computer? That has my wedding on it,” he jokes.

However, e-waste is a real problem when people toss out old computers without thinking of the environmental consequences. Toxics like mercury, lead and cadmium are leaching into our soil and water through our landfills, polluting our drinking water and harming our ecosystems. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates more than 20 million tons of electronic waste is created each year with only 25 to 35 percent being recycled. E-waste represents 2 percent of America's trash in landfills, but it equals 70 percent of overall toxic waste.

That’s a lot of harmful stuff lying around. It’s a huge problem, and it’s time to help fix it.

A large number of what is labeled as "e-waste" is actually not waste at all, but rather whole electronic equipment or parts that are readily marketable for reuse or can be recycled for materials recovery.

At Computer Direct Outlet, we take our environmental responsibility seriously. It starts with the systems we build. By using high-quality parts with a rigorous design, engineering and building process for our custom-built computers, we make systems to last.

We also use more standardized parts than our bigname competitors. This makes our systems more upgradeable and reparable down the road. That means you will have fewer problems and more options to keep your system running the way you need it to. The longer your system performs as you need it to, the less annual e-waste you will produce.

But what can you do at home to prevent e-waste?

• The more you understand your computer, the better you’ll be able to take care of it. More knowledge will also help you know when it might need maintenance to lead to a longer and healthier lifespan. Many system users don’t want to have to troubleshoot system problems. However, if you learn how, you can save your equipment from the scrap heap.

• Embrace the Do-It-Yourself repair. Consider upgrading the hardware or software. Many computers can have memory and performance-enhancing features added to them, so learn how to use them. Uploading files to an online service, flash drive

or external storage can also boost performance and prolong the life of your computer.

• Find a free repair space. While this is a growing trend, Computer Direct has being doing this for years. Basically, if you can find a work area where you can swap ideas and notes, then you are helping keeping e-waste at bay.

• No matter how well you take care of your electronics, eventually they reach the end of their lifespan. When that time comes, consider donations or sending the equipment to e-recyclers who can take working parts and bring them a new life.

• Educate your neighbors and local businesses about pro recycling. By getting electronics back into the recycling stream, you can reduce the load on the mining, processing, manufacturing and transport industries — in turn, reducing pollution. In addition, organize a local drive to clean out old electronics that can make a trip to the local recycling center much more economical.

E-waste is a problem in the Upstate. Our communities are growing, and with that comes a massive increase in e-waste. By working together, we can all make a difference in preventing e-waste.

E-waste represents 2 percent of America's trash in landfills, but it equals 70 percent of overall toxic waste.

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT E-WASTE 1. The U.S. produces more e-waste annually than any other country — 9.4 million tons.

2. Recycling 1 million laptops saves the energy equivalent of the amount of electricity used by 3,657 U.S. homes in a year.

3. For every 1 million cellphones that are recycled, 35,274 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.

4. Only 12.5 percent of e-waste is recycled.

5. Americans throw out phones containing over $60 million in gold and/or silver every year.

Source: Earth911.com

20 | ON THE MOVE |

UBJ

PLAY-BY-PLAY OF UPSTATE CAREERS

HIRED

BRANDON NOTTINGHAM Joined Jackson Marketing, Motorsports & Events as a performance service specialist in the motorsports division. In his new role, Nottingham will provide inventory and sales support for various racing series events. A native of Greenville, Nottingham comes to Jackson from Miracle Hill Ministries, where he worked while completing a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Anderson University.

HIRED

HIRED

HIRED

|

1.20.2017

PROMOTED

CARTER HOLLIS

ALLISON PICKETT

AMANDA FISHER

DOMINIC MOLIN

Joined HomeTrust Bank as Greenville Commercial Lending Team. Hollis has 17 years of commercial banking experience, including five years with SunTrust Bank, where he started his career as a commercial portfolio specialist; five years at BB&T, where he acted as a commercial loan officer and portfolio manager; and most recently five years at The Palmetto Bank.

Joined Coldwell Banker Caine as a residential sales agent joining the Lewis & Company Team in Greenville.

Pickett joins Coldwell Banker Caine with a background in management and marketing, most recently as the founder and COO of a start-up company, Atlas Vault. She holds an MBA in entrepreneurship and a Bachelor of Arts in international management from Clemson University.

Fisher joins Greyrock Accounting as a senior accountant. She is a graduate of Bob Jones University and comes to Greyrock with years of experience from Argent Trust Company. Fisher is originally from Goodrich, Mich.

Promoted to associate director of BAYADA Pediatrics, a BAYADA Home Health Care specialty practice. Molin joined BAYADA in 2014 as part of the company’s associate leadership development program. Prior to BAYADA, he worked as a project manager for a private dental practice.

GREENVILLE CHAMBER The Greenville Chamber announces one promotion and one new-hire. Katie Busbee has been promoted to director of legislative affairs at the Greenville Chamber. In her new role, Busbee will take the lead on state and federal policy for the Greenville Chamber and the Upstate Chamber Coalition — the association of 11 Upstate chambers of commerce. Busbee joined the Chamber in 2015 and is a graduate of Erskine College. Ashley Young will join the Greenville Chamber and the Upstate Chamber Coalition as their spring business advocacy intern.

Young graduated from Furman University in December and comes to the Chamber with policy experience in Washington and Brussels.

CONSTRUCTION O’Neal Inc., a Greenville-based integrated design and construction firm, recently celebrated the achievement of 4 million man hours without a lost time accident. The company provides safety training for all employees, including engineers and office staff. O’Neal’s safety training for field staff goes beyond the OSHA 30-hour training. This safety program aims to achieve a safe workplace with proper planning, orientation, training, oversight and documentation.

care in the United States or Canada, and have maintained an average overall rating of at least 4.5 stars and have received three or more new reviews within 2016. This is the third consecutive year Westminster has been awarded a Best Of Award by SeniorAdvisor.com.

HEALTH CARE Greenville Health System’s Hillcrest Memorial Hospital in Simpsonville has been designated a Diagnostic Imaging Center of Excellence (DICOE) by the American College of Radiology. Hillcrest is the first and only hospital in the state to receive this designation. The DICOE designation recognizes excellence at multiple levels — including the professional staff, the technology and the policies and procedures the organization follows — and superior patient care.

ENGINEERING The International Transportation Innovation Center announced the addition of Andrea Gil Batres as research and development engineer. Batres has years of experience developing advanced automotive engineering technologies to bring innovative solutions to R&D projects underway at ITIC.

RETIRMENT COMMUNITIES Westminster, a Holiday Retirement community, was recently recognized by SeniorAdvisor.com as part of the “Best of 2017 Awards.” To qualify for a Best of 2017 Award, winning communities must offer either assisted living, Alzheimer’s care, independent living, low-income senior housing, skilled nursing or in-home

CONTRIBUTE: New hires, promotions & award winners may be featured in On the Move.

Send information and photos to onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com.

1.20.2017

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BUSINESS BRIEFS YOU CAN’ T MISS

| THE FINE PRINT / NEW TO THE STREET | 21

Open for business 1. Greenville Mayor Knox White cut the ribbon for the newly opened CycleBar Greenville, 307 E. McBee Ave. To learn more, visit greenville.cyclebar.com.

1

2. Block Advisors recently opened in the McBee Station Shopping Center, 400 E. McBee Ave. To learn more, visit blockadvisors.com.

CONTRIBUTE: Know of a business opening soon?

Email information to aturner @communityjournals.com.

Photo provided

2

SCRA accepts Upstate tech company into launch program South Carolina Research Authority recently announced the acceptance of five client companies into its SC Launch program.

Client companies are accepted into the economic development program to receive mentoring and other support services and may also be eligible to receive grant funds or investments. One Upstate-based company – Modjoul – was chosen. Modjoul is a wearable technology that improves the way companies function. Using Modjoul’s customizable sensors, companies are able to extract data to determine employee safety, productivity and effectiveness. This new perspective provides insight into injuries and lost productivity.

GreenWood Inc. project team receives leadership award at Caterpillar GreenWood Inc., an integrated maintenance, operations and construction solutions provider based in Greenville, was recently recognized for their team leadership at their Caterpillar project in Athens, Ga. The Athens Tech Foundation presented the GreenWood planning department with an Outstanding Workforce Leadership award, which identifies

and recognizes businesses for exemplary leadership initiatives. At this site, GreenWood provides total maintenance services including reliability, planning and scheduling and support services for all manufacturing, operations and production equipment.

Quality Business Solutions earns Women’s Business Enterprise certification Quality Business Solutions Inc., an outsourced payroll, human resources and benefits firm in Travelers Rest, has earned national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Greater Women’s Business Council, the Southeast regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

WBENC’s national standard of certification follows a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection designed to confirm the business is at least 51 percent owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women.

This certification will better position the firm to compete for the increasing number of government and private industry contracts where a diverse minorityand women-owned supplier base is preferred or required.

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UBJ

INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

OVERHEARD @ THE WATERCOOLER RE: CLEMSON JOINS $253M NATIONAL ADVANCED ROBOTICS MANUFACTURING INITIATIVE

JANUARY 13, 2017

| VOL. 6 ISSUE 2

GET

ON THE

RE: WILLY TACO OWNERS PLAN TO OPEN BEER GARDEN IN DOWNTOWN SPARTANBURG >Nikki Best “Yes! Let’s make Spartanburg shine.” >Tracy Wahler, Realtor “Can’t wait! This will be great.”

RE: S.C. HOUSE SPEAKER: BUSINESSES WILL DESERT STATE IF ROADS AREN’T FIXED >Sally Eastman “Amen, brother.” >Jason Gwardiak “For such a fixable problem… SMH.”

1.20.2017

BIZ BUZZ

Distilled commentary from UBJ readers

>Phillip McCreight “Way to go, Clemson.”

|

BUS

when major funding, but?

Proterra scores on board will Greenville get page 14

Photo by Will Crooks

DIGITAL FLIPBOOK ARCHIVE >> The layout of print meets the convenience of the Web. Flip through the digital editions of any of our print issues, and see them all in one place. >> upstatebusinessjournal. com/past-issues

The Top 5 stories from the past week ranked by shareability score

>> 2,700 1. Willy Taco owners plan to open beer garden in downtown Spartanburg

>> 1,000 2. Bijou building in downtown Spartanburg adds two tenants, reaches full occupancy

>> WEIGH IN @ THE UBJ EXCHANGE

>> 705

Got something to offer?

Get it off your chest.

We’re looking for expert guest bloggers from all industries to contribute to the UBJ Exchange. Send posts or blog ideas to mwillson@communityjournals.com

RE: SPARTANBURG BMW PLANT SETS PRODUCTION RECORD IN 2016 >Kerry Lightner “Keeping the Upstate economy humming like a new X5.”

3. Spartanburg BMW plant sets production record in 2016

>> 84 4. Clemson joins $253M national Advanced Robotics Manufacturing Initiative

>> 83 5. S.C. House Speaker: Businesses will desert state if roads aren’t fixed

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DATE Monday

1/23

EVENTS YOU SHOULD HAVE ON YOUR CALENDAR

EVENT INFO

WHERE DO I GO?

HOW DO I GO?

Collaborators & Cocktails: John Featherston, senior director, new ventures, Chick-fil-A

ONE Main Building 1 N. Main St., 4th floor 5–7:15 p.m.

Cost: Free to members, $25 for a limited number of pre-registered guests.

For more information: Endeavor@ EndeavorGreenville.com

Basic Small Business Start-Up

NEXT Innovation Center 411 University Ridge 6–8 p.m.

Cost: Free For more information: piedmontscore.org/workshops

Upstate Women in Technology January Meeting: The Internet of Things

City Range Restaurant 615 Haywood Road 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

Register at: uwitsc@outlook.com.

Leadership Laboratory

ONE Main Building: Clemson University’s Center for Corporate Learning 1 N. Main St., 7th floor 8 a.m.–5 p.m. (2 p.m. on Friday)

Cost: $1,500 For more information: thinkclemson.com/programs/ leadership-lab

Tuesday

1/24 Thursday

1/26 Wednesday-Friday

2/8-2/10

| PLANNER | 23

CONTRIBUTE: Got a hot date? Submit event information for consideration to events@upstatebusinessjournal.com.

DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & ACCOUNT STRATEGY Kate Madden

PRESIDENT/CEO

ART & PRODUCTION VISUAL DIRECTOR

Mark B. Johnston mjohnston@communityjournals.com

Will Crooks

UBJ PUBLISHER

Bo Leslie | Tammy Smith

OPERATIONS

EDITOR

ADVERTISING DESIGN

MANAGING EDITOR

Jerry Salley jsalley@communityjournals.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Emily Pietras epietras@communityjournals.com

STAFF WRITERS

Trevor Anderson, David Dykes, Cindy Landrum, Andrew Moore, Ariel Turner

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rudolph Bell, Sherry Jackson, Melinda Young

MARKETING & ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES Nicole Greer, Donna Johnston, Annie Langston, Lindsay Oehmen, Emily Yepes

UBJ milestone jackson Marketing Group’s 25 Years 1988 Jackson Dawson opens in Greenville at Downtown Airport

1988

Holly Hardin

1997 Jackson Dawson launches motorsports Division 1993

1990 Jackson Dawson

acquires therapon marketing Group and moves to Piedmont office Center on Villa.

>>

with a majority of them utilizing the general aviation airport as a “corporate gateway to the city.”

In 1997, Jackson and his son, Darrell, launched Jackson Motorsports Group. The new division was designed to sell race tires and go to racetracks to sell and mount the tires. Darrell Jackson now serves as president of the motorsports group and Larry Jackson has two other children and a son-in-law who work there. Jackson said all his children started at the bottom and “earned their way up.”

Jackson kept the Jackson-Dawson branches in Detroit and others in Los Angeles and New York until he sold his portion of that partnership in 2009 as part of his estate planning.

The company now operates a small office in Charlotte, but its main headquarters are in Greenville in a large office space off Woodruff Road, complete with a vision gallery that displays local artwork and an auditorium Jackson makes available for non-profit use. The Motorsports Group is housed in an additional 26,000 square feet building just down the street, and the agency is currently looking for another 20,000 square feet.

Jackson said JMG has expanded into other verticals such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing and pro-bono work, but still has a strong focus on the auto industry and transportation. It’s

Chairman larry Jackson, Jackson marketing Group. Photos by Greg Beckner / Staff

Jackson Marketing Group celebrates 25 years By sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com

Solve. Serve. Grow. Those three words summarize Jackson Marketing Group’s guiding principles, and according to owner Larry Jackson, form the motivation that has kept the firm thriving for the past 25 years.

Jackson graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in video and film production and started his 41-year career in the communications industry with the U.S. Army’s Public Information Office. He served during

Vietnam, where he said he was “luckily” stationed in the middle of Texas at Fort Hood.

He left the service and went to work in public affairs and motorsports at Ford Motor Company in Detroit.

After a stint at Bell and Howell, where he was responsible for managing Ford’s dealer marketing and training, the entrepreneurial bug hit and he co-founded Jackson-Dawson Marketing Communications, a company specializing in dealer training and product launches for the auto industry in 1980.

In 1987, Jackson wanted to move back south and thought Greenville would be a good fit. An avid pilot, he

learned of an opportunity to purchase Cornerstone Aviation, a fixed base operation (FBO) that served as a service station for the Greenville Downtown Airport, providing fuel, maintenance and storage.

In fact, when he started the Greenville office of what is now Jackson Marketing Group (JMG) in 1988, the offices were housed on the second floor in an airport hangar.

“Clients would get distracted by the airplanes in the hangars and we’d have to corral them to get back upstairs to the meeting,” Jackson said.

Jackson sold the FBO in 1993, but says it was a great way to get to know Greenville’s fathers and leaders

>>

2003 motorsports Division acquires an additional 26,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space

1998 1998 Jackson Dawson moves to task industrial Court

also one of the few marketing companies in South Carolina to handle all aspects of a project in-house, with four suites handling video production, copywriting, media and research and web design.

Clients include heavyweights such as BMW, Bob Jones University, the Peace Center, Michelin and Sage Automotive. Recent projects have included an interactive mobile application for Milliken’s arboretum and 600-acre Spartanburg campus and a marketing campaign for the 2013 Big League World Series.

“In my opinion, our greatest single achievement is the longevity of our client relationships,” said Darrell Jackson. “Our first client from back in 1988 is still a client today. I can count on one hand the number of clients who have gone elsewhere in the past decade.”

Larry Jackson says his Christian faith and belief in service to others, coupled with business values rooted in solving clients’ problems, have kept

2009 Jackson Dawson changes name to Jackson marketing Group when larry sells his partnership in Detroit and lA 2003

2009-2012 Jackson marketing Group named a top BtoB agency by BtoB magazine 4 years running

him going and growing his business over the years. He is passionate about giving back and outreach to non-prof non-profits. The company was recently awarded the Community Foundation Spirit Award.

The company reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community last week by celebrating its 25th anniversary with a birthday party and a 25-hour Serve-A-Thon partnership with Hands on Greenville and Habitat for Humanity. JMG’s 103 full-time employees worked in shifts around the clock on October 22 and 23 to help construct a house for a deserving family.

As Jackson inches towards retirement, he says he hasn’t quite figured out his succession plan yet, but sees the companies staying under the same umbrella. He wants to continue to strategically grow the business.

“From the beginning, my father has taught me that this business is all about our people – both our clients and our associates,” said his son, Darrell. “We have created a focus and a culture that strives to solve problems, serve people and grow careers.”

Darrell Jackson said he wants to “continue helping lead a culture where we solve, serve and grow. If we are successful, we will continue to grow towards our ultimate goal of becoming the leading integrated marketing communications brand in the Southeast.”

2011 Jackson marketing Group/Jackson motorsports Group employee base reaches 100 people

2008 2012 Jackson marketing Group recognized by Community Foundation with Creative spirit Award

pro-bono/non-proFit / Clients lients American Red Cross of Western Carolinas Metropolitan Arts Council Artisphere Big League World Series The Wilds Advance SC South Carolina Charities, Inc. Aloft Hidden Treasure Christian School

FEBRUARY 17 THE DIVERSITY ISSUE There’s room for the whole spectrum of backgrounds, ideas and talents.

CoMMUnitY nit inVolVeMent nitY in olV inV olVe VeMent & boarD positions lArry JACkson (ChAirmAn): Bob Jones University Board chairman, The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center board member, Gospel Fellowship Association board member, Past Greenville Area Development Corporation board member, Past Chamber of Commerce Headquarters Recruiting Committee member, Past Greenville Tech Foundation board member David Jones (Vice President Client services, Chief marketing officer): Hands on Greenville board chairman mike Zeller (Vice President, Brand marketing): Artisphere Board, Metropolitan Arts Council Board, American Red Cross Board, Greenville Tech Foundation Board, South Carolina Chamber Board eric Jackson (Jackson motorsports Group sales specialist): Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board

November 1, 2013 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal 21

20 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal November 1, 2013

AS SEEN IN

NOVEMBER 1, 2013

Kristy Adair | Michael Allen

CLIENT SERVICES Anita Harley | Jane Rogers

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Kristi Fortner

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MARCH 17 THE INNOVATION ISSUE What’s the big idea(s)?

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Guest columns run 700-800 words.

Contact managing editor Jerry Salley at jsalley@communityjournals.com to submit an article for consideration.

UP NEXT FEBRUARY 3 QUARTERLY CRE ISSUE The state of commercial real estate in the Upstate.

1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

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