OCTOBER 4, 2013
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WORK READY County leaders look for future benefits in the drive to win nationwide certification
UBJ News
Brooks Brothers Arrives on Main Street Officials say destination retail is growing downtown By April A. Morris | staff amorris@communityjournals.com
Upscale clothier Brooks Brothers opened its first Greenville store in the ONE building at the corner of Main and Washington streets last week and reported a busy first weekend. Brooks Brothers is the country’s oldest clothing retailer and specializes in classic-style clothing for men, women and children. The nearly 6,000-square-foot Greenville store – with 5,000 square feet of retail space – is a medium-sized location for retail, said store manager Barrett Midulla. The Main Street store has nine staff members, including a tailor, and will feature more of the retailer’s Red Fleece line, which is cut slimmer and targeted toward a younger buyer, said Midulla, who most recently helped to open a Brooks Brothers store in Asheville and also worked at the store in Charlotte. Greenville mayor Knox White said
FAST FACT
The construction company that travels the country outfitting the interiors of Brooks Brothers stores (and others) is Weekes Construction – based in Greenville.
Brooks Brothers’ arrival in Greenville represents the attainment of a goal to bring more destination retail to the downtown area. “The destination retail stores draw customers to the local specialty retail stores,” he said. City officials have been actively recruiting destination retail for years, and were diligent in wanting to create a retail cluster on the north end of Main Street to complement the West End, White said. But the arrival of Brooks Brothers may signal the “tipping point,” he said, meaning the need to recruit may be over. Greenville’s first destination retail store, Mast General Store, arrived downtown 10 years ago. ONE developer and owner Bob Hughes (sporting a Brooks Brothers shirt) said the work to bring the store to Greenville started more than a year ago. He echoed White’s views on the city’s retail progression. “Someone told me, ‘Anthropologie is a coup, but Brooks Brothers starts a trend,’” he said. “I think downtown has become the preferred shopping destination.”
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October 4, 2013 Upstate business journal 3
Volume II, Issue XL
October 4, 2013
Worth Repeating “Someone told me, ‘Anthropologie is a coup, but Brooks Brothers starts a trend.’”
20
Bob Hughes, owner and developer of the ONE building, home to Greenville’s new Brooks Brothers store.
“If you’re going to sell real estate, you’ve got to appeal to the masses.” Golf legend Gary Player, designer of the new golf course at the Cliffs at Mountain Park.
“There’s a crying need for everything, but technical jobs are even more needed and harder to fill right now.”
A cat gets a bath using a Chubbs Bar at the National Cat Groomers Institute of America.
“I thought, ‘This is not a pleasant environment if you have to de-hair yourself on the way out the door. I’ve got to eliminate that.’” Danelle German, on her inspiration for inventing the Catty Shack Vac cat-grooming device.
TBA Start your motors: LeMans Indoor Karting is bringing its indoor wheel-to-wheel kart racing experience to 1524 Roper Mountain Road in October. Stay tuned for turnkey corporate team-building events, private parties, arrive-and-drive racing and racing leagues… Word is Oct. 12 will be The Owl’s last day at its Wade Hampton Blvd. location. The restaurant is moving to the Pendleton arts district, across the street from ASADA’s new parking spot in the Far West End… Golf superstore Golfsmith is under construction at Magnolia Park next to Toys R Us and should be arriving soon…
4 Upstate business journal October 4, 2013
Verbatim
“It ain’t gonna happen.” U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of Columbia, speaking to reporters last week on the possibility of a federal government shutdown over a budget impasse. The shutdown began Tuesday morning.
Photo by Greg Beckner/Staff
Dick Wilkerson, former president and chairman of Michelin North America, now a member of the steering committee leading the Greenville’s Work Ready certification effort.
UBJ News
Euphoria Behind the Scenes The challenge: Serve a thirsty crowd in downtown Greenville 10,000 drinks in 72 hours Euphoria is a three-day celebration of Greenville’s culinary scene, but there is a hidden story of the behindthe-scenes preparation. For example, the group at Liquid Catering was responsible for serving more than 10,000 drinks in roughly 72 hours. Prep time: Liquid Catering had more than 3,000 cans and bottles of beer and 400 bottles of wine in its offices Friday morning leading into the event weekend. Final details: Liquid Catering’s Kathleen Byrne and Tammy Johnson were tied up with phone calls and lastminute scheduling. Service with a smile: Liquid Catering’s Kathleen Byrne preps volunteers for work Saturday. Go time: The bar at the “Traffic Jam” event at The Old Cigar Warehouse featured more than eight kinds of beer and four wines. Mimosa Sunday: Volunteers fill Cambros with orange juice and champagne on Sunday morning to make more than 500 mimosas for the Jazz Brunch event. Crowded house: Demand was high for drinks at the Jazz Brunch.
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October 4, 2013 Upstate business journal 5
UBJ News
Studying Up on Student Employees Different rules apply during the school year By Jennifer Oladipo| senior business writer | joladipo@communityjournals.com
Summer jobs may have been put on the shelf when students returned to school this fall, but employers who hire minors now should be aware of slightly different laws for employment during the school year. During normal school sessions, employers must be mindful of the hours their young employees work. In South Carolina, minors ages 14 and 15 can work up to three hours a day, 18 hours a week. Those work hours must fall within the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. These rules are slightly more restrictive than federal rules, which allow for longer hours during weekends and holiday breaks.
However, the jobs might not pay very well in the beginning. Federal law allows employers to pay employees under 20 years of age as little as $4.25 per hour for the first 90 days. The state does not address child labor wages. Some 53,000 workers ages 16 to 19 make up about 32 percent of the labor force, and about 22 percent of those employed, according to 2012 numbers from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most recent available. Numbers for younger workers were not available, but some children do begin working before they reach 16. In South Carolina, minors under age 14 are prohibited from employment,
Michael Bays Technical Recruiter 9 years experience
Learn more about rules specific to South Carolina here: SC Child labor laws llr.state.sc.us/Labor/index.asp?file=wages/childlabor.htm
Federal Youth Employment Laws youthrules.dol.gov dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/cl/default.htm dol.gov/dol/topic/youthlabor/workhours.htm with a few exceptions. Students as young as age 12 can work at agricultural establishments where their parents are employed. And there’s no business like show business for kids younger
than 14, who can be employed as performers in theatrical, television, radio or film productions. Newspaper delivery, an old standby, can start at any age.
We’ve already met your next employee.
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GODSHALL 6 Upstate business journal October 4, 2013
UBJ News
Status of Small Business Health Exchanges Unclear Online glitches and rumors of delays add to ACA confusion By Jennifer Oladipo| senior business writer | joladipo@communityjournals.com
Just days before the opening of federal insurance exchanges Tuesday, national media outlets reported – based on an anonymous source in the Obama administration – that small-business health exchanges would be delayed one month. By the time the online exchanges were supposed have opened on Tuesday, the state of operations was still unclear. The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), specific to businesses with 50 or fewer employees as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was supposed to have launched at the same time as consumer exchanges Oct. 1. No delay notifications were evident on the SHOP Marketplace website, and live
online and telephone operators said they had no information on such a delay. “Not at this time,” one operator said, and then added, “Well, not at this very moment.” Yet the list of health plans available to employers on the official sign-up website was unavailable Tuesday morning (healthcare.gov/ shop-health-plan-information). It was impossible to tell whether this was due to expected glitches or an actual delay. In the meantime, employers were required to give each of their employees written notice that the exchanges were available by Oct. 1. An example of such a notice is available at dol.gov/ebsa/
healthreform. Those who are self-employed without employees must use the Individual Health Insurance Marketplace, not the SHOP. The individual marketplace did not present such challenges. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that “an average of 26 health plans” would be available to South Carolinians. Just days before the marketplace opened, the agency also announced that the health insurance plans available on the exchanges would cost significantly less than previously expected. Plans are categorized as gold, silver or bronze depending on what they offer. HHS projected that in South Carolina,
a 27-year-old who makes $25,000 per year would pay $97 per month for the lowest-cost bronze plan and $145 per month for the second-lowest-cost silver plan, taking into account tax credits. For a family of four in South Carolina with an income of $50,000 per year, the lowest bronze plan would cost $109 per month. Young adults also have the option of purchasing a “catastrophic” plan, increasing their number of choices. The open enrollment period will continue for six months. More information is available at 1-800-318-2596, HealthCare.gov or cuidadodesalud.gov for Spanish speakers.
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Thanks to these New Greenville Chamber Members for their Investment in our Business Community A Public Affair PR, LLC American Lung Association of the Upstate AppleOne Employment Services Armstrong Event Services, LLC AUDIOGON Big O Dodge Chrysler Jeep Don Pablo’s Energetic Choices Enterprise Services, LLC Environmental Holdings Group Epignosys IT, LLC Global View, LLC JACs James White Enterprise, LLC LA Dance Factory & Company, LLC Lejarza HR Consulting
Marketplace Staffing Services, Inc. Messina Consulting Services Michanna Talley - Attorney at Law Oil and Vinegar PinPoint Molecular Professional Healthcare Services PSA Healthcare Quality Inn & Suites - Airport Signal Insurance Group, LLC Siser USA LLC Staffing Consultants Upstate Digital Sign Sales, LLC Veteran Scholarships Forever Vinings at Laurel Creek WFS USA
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24 CLEVELAND ST. GREENVILLE, SC 29601
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UBJ Innovate
By JOHN WARNER
From Concepts to Companies Creating High Growth and Wealth The Greenville Chamber’s economic scorecard shows our per capita income relative to the rest of the country has declined for a decade and a half. It’s past time to refocus our economic strategy. Harvard professor Clayton Christensen, the leading authority in disruptive innovation, says the creation of new businesses that grow entirely new markets is the only source of longterm growth and wealth creation. We don’t do that very well, but we need to. Developing the capability to start new high-growth businesses is crucial to entrepreneurs, investors, universities and corporations. Every presentation at InnoMobility 2013 on Nov. 6 will be framed through the lens of a systematic lean startup process, which was described by Matthew Klein in a recent UBJ Innovate column. On Nov. 7, a Concepts to Companies workshop will explore working together with a common process to create high growth and wealth.
Old habits die hard In the 30 years I’ve been involved with entrepreneurs, here’s what too often happens: An entrepreneur starts a new business based on an intuitive insight about an emerging market. To raise an initial round of capital, investors require a long-term business plan with a multi-year financial forecast. Once this looks compelling, the investors write their checks. The leading evangelist of the lean startup movement, Stanford professor Steve Blank, anticipates what happens next: “Business plans rarely survive first contact with customers.” The entrepreneur finds that some of her assumptions aren’t correct, but she’s now out of cash. So she revises her
business plan and goes back to her investors for more money. They’re none too happy but begrudgingly invest more. Then rinse and repeat. Months later the entrepreneur is still finding her way in the market. Out of cash once more, the entrepreneur revises her business plan again. This time the investors balk. The first two plans failed, so the entrepreneur’s credibility is shredded. A similar result occurs if the entrepreneur finds a corporate partner. Corporations have to make large bets to be worth the trouble. So the executive team vets the entrepreneur’s detailed, multi-year plan with the operationally excellent, data-driven management tools that work so well in the existing business. This is signed off by multiple layers of management. It doesn’t take long to find out that some of the assumptions are off, but the plan is locked in by the big commitment and management sign-offs. Now nary can an executive be found who thought this was a good idea, as fingers point in anticipation of heads rolling.
The scientific method The lean startup is an entirely different approach. It acknowledges, as Blank does, that “no one other than venture capitalists and the former Soviet Union requires five-year plans to forecast complete unknowns.” All involved must acknowledge that at the beginning the entrepreneur doesn’t have a business plan, but a business hypothesis. Startups are not small versions of large corporations. Existing businesses execute a business model. Startups discover one. The lean startup is a systematic, robust process for testing and
validating assumptions about how to provide what customers really want. The entrepreneur needs investors or corporate partners willing to fund this discovery process – the scientific method applied to business models.
At the beginning the entrepreneur doesn’t have a business plan, but a business hypothesis.
The seed capital should be enough to fund the first phase of experiments, where the entrepreneur meets with prospective customers and vendors to test her hypothesis. While as expected some assumptions prove inaccurate, she discovers what is true in the marketplace and revises her hypothesis. Pleased with her progress, the investors agree to fund enough for the next phase of more narrowly focused experiments. After several iterations, the entrepreneur has sufficient validation to recruit a proven team and raise a large round of capital to shift from discovery to execution of a scalable business model. Even though the business the entrepreneur ends up with is profoundly different from the entrepreneur’s original intuition, investors are thrilled with her
success. We need to nurture a community of entrepreneurs; investors, universities and corporations well versed in lean startup principles. Investors too often ask startup entrepreneurs what revenue will be in five years. Investors need to let the entrepreneurs know what they would like for revenue to be so entrepreneurs can plug that into their spreadsheets. Not only don’t startup entrepreneurs know what their businesses will be years out, the answer is unknowable. There is no way entrepreneurs can account for all the serendipitous connections that will cause their businesses to morph in unpredictable ways. Forcing entrepreneurs to write the great American novel is a waste of time and resources. Most executives I work with experience Christensen’s paralyzing innovator’s dilemma – while creating new markets is the only source of long-term growth, it’s impossible to predict which startups will be the big winners. A corporation should make small investments in a portfolio of early ideas aligned with their priorities, which will often be found in universities. Then cull many of the ideas after the first milestone and invest a larger amount in the rest. After several rounds, the corporation has invested most of its resources in the winners without knowing at the beginning who the winners will be.
It is time again for the community to come together to discuss how to get to the next level. Join us for InnoMobility 2013 on Nov. 6 and for the Concepts to Companies workshop on Nov. 7 to discuss working together to create highgrowth and wealth.
John Warner is CEO of InnoVenture, whose global Web platform helps people with big ideas attract needed customers, capital, talent and technology. InnoVenture.com partners include major corporations, universities and entrepreneurial companies regionally and around the world.
October 4, 2013 Upstate business journal 9
UBJ working well Rick Davis, CPA Firm Managing Shareholder
It Won’t Work Without Effective Communication
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Setting up a comprehensive workplace wellness initiative takes a good bit of time and energy. You have to get top-level buy-in, gather data and develop goals. You create an action plan to work toward accomplishing your goals, then fun things like realistic timelines and budgets come into play. By the time you get to the actual programming, you may feel like you’re at the end of a marathon – your energy is zapped and you just want to drag it over the finish line. However, the presentation of your wellness offerings will have a huge impact on the success of your wellness initiative. Here are a few key points to help you effectively communicate the power of wellness to your employees: 1. Establish a brand for your wellness initiative. Your logo may have a graphic or could simply be the name of your program in a particular font, with a specific color. You will be covering a variety of topics throughout the year – from serious to fun – so keep that in mind when setting the “feel” and name. This logo or name should be included somewhere on all communications. 2. Know your audience. Everyone thinks paper is dead, but it’s still hanging on. Company-wide emails, e-blasts and intranet will probably hit most of your folks, but don’t stop there. Not everyone has computers, or you may not have an email address for everyone. Old-school methods like flyers, posters and paycheck stuffers should be considered. You may find that a significant number of your folks prefer texts.
10 Upstate business journal October 4, 2013
Make sure your workplace wellness plan includes ways to get in front of employees multiple times. 3. Build a manageable system. Unless you’re an advertising or PR firm – or have a marketing department at your beck and call – you must develop a system that can be handled by just one or two people who have many other tasks screaming for their attention. Take the time to set up a system you can pull off every time, throughout the year. Decide what two to four items need to be produced and handled for each program (flyer, email, intranet post, etc.) and assign tasks to specific wellness committee members. Create the most involved item first; the other pieces will be derived from that one. Consider purchasing a stock art CD or subscribing to an online service for images, and consider input from a marketing professional on the front end. 4. Be consistent. In keeping with your brand, use a consistent look for each item. It will help streamline the process – so you don’t have to start from scratch with each program – and will help your employees identify wellness-related messages. This should also be developed up front, with input from your wellness committee members and feedback from your employees. >>
UBJ working well 5. Shotguns vs. snipers. If I’m worried about hitting a deadline then racing home to make dinner before my daughter’s soccer practice, I might not read an email before deleting it, or notice a poster. Make sure your plan includes ways to get in front of employees multiple times.
By RICHARD OSBORNE
the first place. Imagine you’re being paid a commission based on participation, or think about the difference this program could make (or start to make) in someone’s life – whichever thought motivates you the most. 7. Combine jabs with knockout punches. If you treat every program like a big deal, then people will assume you’re just overzealous. If you just tick along with everything at a moderate level, then no one will notice. Go through your action plan and strategically pick topics two or three times a year and make a splash. Do giveaways in the
6. Sell it! When it comes to wording, assume that no one cares about it or understands it as much as you and your wellness team. Very important: Use engaging wording in subject lines and headlines. Your people need to be motivated; otherwise you wouldn’t need a wellness initiative in
LiveWell Greenville’s At Work Group helps Greenville businesses create and improve their workplace wellness initiatives.You’ll find more information and free resources at livewellgreenville.org. lobby, a banner in the parking lot, get shirts made, etc. These big punches will hopefully engage a few new people each time, and your regular programming and marketing will be enough to keep them there. Comprehensive planning and solid programming is a must for your wellness initiative, but your efforts will not be maximized unless you combine those with effective communication.
Richard Osborne is a workplace wellness consultant for LiveWell’s At Work Group, the publisher of Go Magazine and a Greenville native.
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UBJ Digital Maven
By laura haight
Don’t Be Powerless Against Technology We can argue about whether
outlet. Enter the liberator cord. Lots of companies sell these 1-foot extension cords for roughly $5 each. Plug the brick into the liberator and the liberator into the power strip, and you can use all the outlets in your power strip. • But you still have a cable problem. Raise your hand if you have a lamp or book holding down your cellphone or tablet charger cable because the cord is just long enough to reach the desk, but not long enough to avoid falling off the edge. I thought so. Enter a number of simple, small and cheap devices that do this. But the Sumo ($11.95, from Bluelounge) has a little bit of basic cable management involved. It’s a small black or white box held in place on your desk with suction with a dual channel inside to run small cables through. When not in use, the cables are held in place.
iPhones are better than Android, or whether tablets can be real computers. But no matter the color of your phone or the flavor of your operating system, we all have one thing in common. Cables. You’ve got a desktop/laptop, external monitor, tablet, smartphone, maybe a cordless phone, and probably some kind of external drive or USB hub for connecting additional devices. You may have a charger for an external headset. Here are a few cheap gizmos to help clean up your office, reduce the clutter and make it easier to travel with the tools you need. • Power. The great leveler. No matter what devices we have, we all need to plug them in and power them up. Sadly, until virtual power becomes a reality, that means having big bricks of transformers to plug into inconveniently located power strips. Those seven or eight devices are never going to fit in a power strip with the larger transformer bricks taking up two slots, so you have a second power strip plugged into the first one or devices that should be on your desk powering across the room in another
• The great thing about mobile devices is that they are mobile. But when you ready yourself for the day, you need to be prepared for any eventuality. That means lugging a bunch of these cords with you. The Recoil Automatic
Bye-Bye Blackberry
Winders are refreshingly simple. For roughly $10 each, Recoil offers a small (headset), medium (charging cable) or large (laptop charger) rewinder. Attach the cable over a small hook inside the rewinder and pull to release the tension. Bam. Ready to hit the road. • Now what? Throw them all in your laptop bag? The best $24 I have ever spent went to buy a Grid-It. It’s a panel covered with rubberized woven straps that can hold anything you want in any configuration that works for you. A mouse, cables, remote controls, an external drive, whatever. Everything in one place and held in place. Filled with devices, the Grid-It slips neatly in my laptop bag like a file folder. The Grid-It comes in different colors and sizes.
Last week, Blackberry announced losses of nearly $1 billion that will most likely precede the end of the Blackberry device. For most users, this may not get much attention, but we should take a moment to remember the company that started it all. At the turn of the century, the Blackberry was the musthave device for businesspeople. Its secure email and business-focused application set was highly sought after and highly paid for.
Blackberry taught us to type with our thumbs, and everyone of any importance, from the president to the Queen of England, had one. Blackberry taught us to type with our thumbs, and everyone of any importance, from the president to the Queen of England, had one. Like Kodak – the company that invented photography being unable to survive the digital photo age it helped create – Blackberry just couldn’t make its business-focused model cool enough for the masses.
Laura Haight is the president of Portfolio (portfoliosc.com), which works with small businesses to incorporate emerging media and technology into its business communications, operations and training.
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October 4, 2013 Upstate business journal 13
UBJ guest column
By Don Reichert
It’s Tough to Argue With Good Documentation Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of knowing many entrepreneurs. It never ceases to amaze me how a creative idea, a small amount of capital and a lot of hard work come together to create a fortune. It also amazes me how some business owners become so engrossed in running and growing their businesses that they fail to address the most critical of details necessary to preserve, protect and eventually monetize their equity interest in the business they’ve worked so hard to build. I’m referring to such critical documents as buy-sell agreements, employment contracts, stay-pay arrangements, business valuations, audited financials, and corporate minutes, to name just a few of the most important.
Most savvy investors holding a traditional security portfolio do not think twice about paying an annual fee of 1 percent to asset managers or their investment advisors to provide professional management of these liquid asset pools. It stands to reason that since the largest equity interest that the average entrepreneur has is the investment in their business, they should not think twice about allocating 1 percent of gross business revenues annually to ensure their business is compliant with tax laws, business principles and prudent risk-management practices. While there is no such thing as a free lunch, the usual allocation of money and effort will generally enhance the value of the business and protect against many unforeseen and often costly
14 Upstate business journal October 4, 2013
events. Let’s examine just a few of the more important business practices.
Operating agreements: Most generic operating agreements deal with the major contingencies a business may face, but the document of choice is a well-written buy-sell or stock restriction agreement tailored to the unique attributes of the operating company. These agreements are carefully deliberated and drafted by competent legal counsel in advance of such contingencies as premature death. It is important that these agreements are carefully addressed and have the mutual understanding and consent of all stockholders while they are of sound mind and body. The arrangement should specifically address not only the method of business value but also the timing of same relative to the business cycle. Most well-written agreements require an annual review and business valuation. In the event the stockholders fail to address the value annually, it is imperative that appropriate default language specifically and fairly lays out the valuation method. A well-thought out and articulated stock restriction agreement acts as an umpire. It lays out well-defined rules on how all stockholders and related parties will deal with unforeseen contingencies. How and at what price stock will be redeemed should be agreed upon in this written agreement well before premature death, disabil-
ity, lawsuit, divorce or the bankruptcy of a stockholder. If you don’t clarify your understanding on how to deal with these contingencies while all stockholders are of sound mind and body, you may find yourself having to renegotiate your “understanding” of what was intended with your deceased or disabled former business partner’s heirs, executives or legal counsel. An often-overlooked item is the longterm disability of a shareholder, particularly one who is working and whose service is essential to the business. The language in the stock restriction agreement should mimic (not conflict with) the definition of disability in various individual disability and buy-out policies, if there are any. Finally, it’s important to consider that the stock redemption of a deceased, disabled or retiring stockholder is a non-deductible business expense. Unless these exit paths are addressed well in advance with either life or disability insurance, or an adequate sinking fund, the redemption could be financially burdensome to the remaining stockholders.
Stay-pay agreements: The challenge faced by the majority of small business owners who are sole stockholders or owners is that the value of the business is heavily dependent on their services or
>>
UBJ guest column customer and supplier relationships. They are often supported by one or more personnel, such as a general manager, who significantly adds to the capacity of running the business without the owner’s involvement. In the event of premature death or disability of the owner, the surviving spouse or heirs often find themselves at a severe disadvantage in trying to run or sell the business. Without the ability to retain key personnel, the ability to monetize the full value of the business is almost impossible. This is where a written agreement becomes essential with a key person to stay for a specified period of time to assist the heirs to either wind down or sell the business. These agreements bind a key person to a specified commitment of time, provide a significant monetary incentive to fulfill the commitment, and can – in the right circumstances – create or facilitate the
creation of a market for the company in the form of a purchase by those same key personnel. The foregoing documents require some careful thought and deliberation, and most stockholders would rather be playing golf and enjoying time with the family than dealing with the prospect of death, disability or other similar challenges. However, as the old saying goes, “Pay me now or pay me later, but later is often at a much higher cost.” My advice to my business owner clients is to spend the time, energy and a small amount of money to preserve the value of their most valuable equity holdings – their interest in their businesses. Once you get set up and the heavy lifting is done, maintaining and adjusting these documents to changes in the business environment is relatively easy and is best accomplished through annual business meetings with all of your advisors.
Don Reichert is the president of Capital Design Associates Inc., an intergenerational wealth management firm. For more than 20 years he has served as the personal financial officer for Upstate families, business owners and medical professionals. He leads a team of 10 personnel, and through Capital Design’s proprietary planning process, they provide an integrated approach to business, estate and retirement planning services.
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October 4, 2013 Upstate business journal 15
cover story
THE PUSH IS ON FOR WORK READY CERTIFICATION
I
National program measures employability in a community By Jennifer Oladipo | senior business writer joladipo@communityjournals.com
It’s good to have standards, and even better to have vision. So while a small group of community leaders works to meet goals that will earn Greenville County the distinction of becoming certified by the nationwide Work Ready Communities program, they are looking beyond those goals to Greenville’s future. Dick Wilkerson was president and chairman of Michelin North America for three decades and is now a member of the small steering committee leading the county’s Work Ready certification effort. Work Ready promises major benefits for Greenville because “it sets measurable objectives and gets everyone around those objectives,” he said. “Everyone” includes various parties focused on employment, education, health, economic development and other sectors of the community. Overhauling the workforce to meet the demands of a changed economy requires the comprehensive approach that only comes from these groups working together, Wilkerson said – but so far, the approach has been piecemeal.
Getting With the Program The Work Ready program is administered by Iowa-based ACT, the nonprofit that administers the standardized tests by the same name that stu-
SC Work Ready Communities in Progress
dents take as an alternative to the SAT. Just as the test gives universities an objective measurement of a potential student’s performance, Work Ready gives companies and communities way to gauge overall employability in the community. Target areas include high school graduation rates, soft skills development, business support and the number of National Career Readiness Certificate holders. As of Aug. 31, Greenville County had attained 66 percent of Work Ready goals. At its core is the WorkKeys assessment, which gathers detailed information about what skills
16 Upstate business journal October 4, 2013
As of March 2013, 34 of S.C.’s 46 counties had earned the South Carolina Work Ready Community In Progress designation. Source: SC.gov
“There’s a crying need for everything, but technical jobs are even more needed and harder to fill right now.” Dick Wilkerson
Participation in the Upstate County Percentage of Work Ready Goals Met Employers Supporting
NCRC Total
Oconee
58
26 577
Pickens
70
37 825
Greenville 66 Anderson Laurens
7 2963
53
30 1075
100
49 1053
Spartanburg 44
are needed to do a given job and assessments that allow workers to gauge their aptitude for jobs. Aptitude is measured at three levels: bronze, silver and gold. From that assessment, workers are issued a National Work Readiness Certificate (NWRC), which staffing experts say may eventually replace the high school diploma as the measure of job readiness. Work Ready sets targets for the number of employers that should recognize the NWRC. Greenville County’s goal is 301, and so far seven businesses have officially signed up. Wilkerson believes increasing the response is just a matter of getting the word out. The support is there, he said, but so is the administrative challenge of educating hundreds of companies and getting them signed up. The plan is to reach the goals by March 2015, but they will likely be reached by next summer.
23 1265
Such diversity is built into the Work Ready program, and Wilkerson wants more. He is a passionate advocate for early childhood education, for instance, and believes organizations such as the Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) should be a part of the discussion on job readiness. He sees a direct and crucial connection between the regular visits NFP nurses make to the homes of vulnerable first-time mothers and the workforce that will emerge as their children come of age. Then there’s the attitude shift that would make manufacturing and related jobs seem attractive again, and Wilkerson said primary and secondary schools are largely responsible for that.
Wilkerson said students must understand the prosperity that can come from manufacturing, that it can be interesting and stimulating work. “There’s a crying need for everything, but technical jobs are even more needed and harder to fill right now,” Wilkerson said.
Statewide Approach Removing cost barriers is one way to push the effort forward, said Susan Pretulak, vice president of economic and workforce competitiveness with the SC Technical College System. The state is one of four pilot sites for the program. Clarendon County became the second Work Ready Community
in the nation in August 2013, and the first in South Carolina. Pretulak said the state negotiated a statewide contract with ACT to provide some no-cost assessments in order to get the process going. Only a few counties like Clarendon did not wait for the extra incentive, but Pretulak said more are sure to follow now that the contract is in place. The intent of this enterprise “was for us to put in place an initiative where counties had no excuse not to meet their goals,” she said. Will it pay off? “Well, we’ll definitely see,” Pretulak said. She, too, hopes South Carolina communities will aim higher than just attaining the goals. She notes that the bronze level certification, the base level, only qualifies people to do 16 percent of the jobs in the United States. She echoed Wilkerson’s notion that the goal is to foster a sustainable system to address problems, and expects the process to evolve and perhaps look a little different after 2015. “There’s not a cookie-cutter approach,” Pretulak said. “I think you’ll see more creativeness now that everything’s in place.”
Going Further A major selling point for Work Ready Communities is that it helps communities attract employers. Asked how much difference that assistance will make in Greenville, Wilkerson said, “some, but our objectives ought to be well beyond this.” That is why representatives from businesses, education and government have come together to make it work.
Source: ACT Work Ready Communities, workreadycommunities.org
October 4, 2013 Upstate business journal 17
UBJ Milestone William Pelham of Pelham Architects collects souvenirs of landmark buildings from around the world.
‘I Can’t Ever Imagine Not Doing This’
Greg Beckner / Staff
Architect Bill Pelham looks back on 30 years of success by design By Sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com Bill Pelham wanted to be an architect since the fourth grade. As his company celebrates its 30th birthday on Oct. 4, he is confident he made the right decision. Pelham says his father was a real estate appraiser while he was growing up, and they would go looking at homes together every weekend. That instilled in him a love for home design and architecture. He attended Clemson University and received a bachelor’s degree in pre-architecture in 1977 and a master’s in architecture in 1981. After college, Pelham took a job in Fluor Daniel’s architectural department constructing commercial buildings. He says he worked on mostly industrial projects – an apartment building in Saudi Arabia, the Coors East Coast Brewery and a visitors center for Kellogg in Battle Creek, Mich. “I had to make myself credible to my colleagues every day,” he says. But he realized his true passion was residential architecture, so he started designing houses on the side. When he
was hit by downsizing, he decided to go out on his own. Initially Pelham did commercial and residential – pretty much anything that came in the door except for churches and government work, he says. But about 10 years into it, he decided to focus mostly on residential architecture. “Homes are very personal, and that’s the challenge.” Over the years Pelham has had clients and projects ranging from master bath renovations and garage additions to multi-job projects and even some occasional commercial projects like offices and restaurants for customers. Today his business is about half home renovations and half new-home design. Pelham enjoys the process and tries to make it “fun and painless” for his clients. He sees part of his job as educating his clients on the process and counseling them to make decisions that will add value to their homes and make them sellable in the future. “I try very hard to be respectful and enhance the original home,” he says.
18 Upstate business journal September 27, 2013
with a landscape designer. “We consult with each other on occasion,” he says, “but his work is very different from what I do.” Pelham stays connected through various boards and organizations. He served for 18 years on the board of directors for the Warehouse Theatre. He’s also served on the Peace Center board, the Museum Association board, and the Arts and Public Places Commission, and is currently president of the Clemson Architectural Foundation. “It’s a good way to give back and meet new people. It’s a good way to get out of your sphere of influence,” he says. The company has moved several times over the years but has always been in downtown Greenville. When Pelham first started the company, he was working out of his studio at home. Upon advice from his father – who told him he needed to “get out of the house to be credible” – Pelham leased some office space on Toy Street. Later he moved to Williams Street and then to offices on Whitsett Street and Washington Street before settling in his current office at RiverPlace. As an ever-changing, evolving architect, Pelham plans for the future by keeping up on the latest technology and trends in the business. He intends to relocate his company once again to office space in the renovated Bank of America tower when it’s complete in about 18 months. “I can’t ever imagine not doing this. You never quit learning in this business,” says Pelham. “And that’s what makes it fun.”
Most of Pelham’s customers come through referrals and family and friends, and projects are mainly located in the Upstate at communities such as The Lakes and The Coves. He has done one project in Cape San Blas, Fla., and some in western N.C. and Columbia. Over his 30 years in business, technology has been the thing that has changed the most, he says. When Pelham first started out, drawings were done by hand in pencil and parallel bars were the main tools of the trade. “You really have to be able to draw.” Today, computers and PHOTO PROVIDED AutoCAD software take some of that away, but Pelham says a new trend is going back to doing some sketches again by hand. Pelham has kept his firm small, with just himself and two employees, a designer and an One of Pelham Architects’ first projects was the renovation of administrative assistant. the George Lee photography business and residence on South He currently shares space Main Street in the early 1980s.
October 4, 2013 Upstate business journal 19
UBJ made here
Hair Today, Gone Today Catty Shack Vac tames the hair after cat grooming By Benjamin Jeffers | contributor | bjeffers@communityjournals.com
You could say that Danelle German has pioneered innovation in the world of cat grooming. “I was the first person to shave a cat live on stage,” she said. And though some may laugh at her career, German has worked to legitimize cat grooming by developing a certification process, starting a cat-grooming school in the Upstate and speaking at grooming trade shows. She also holds the patent to the Catty Shack Vac, an animal drying system, and she recently developed a new cat shampoo, Chubbs Bars. Both products are manufactured in Greenville. German, founder of the National Cat Groomers Institute of America, headquartered at 701 Pendleton St. in Greenville, said she ships Catty Shack Vacs around the world and also has a manufacturer in Australia.
How did you come up with the idea for the Catty Shack Vac? Clients would walk into the salon on their way to work, especially guys dressed in their black slacks and black jackets. They’d drop off their cats to be groomed, and I’m blow-drying a Himalayan, which means there’s hair everywhere. I thought, “This is not a pleasant environment if you have to de-hair yourself on the way out the door. I’ve got to eliminate that.” Plus, I didn’t like it. I was eating it. It was in my eyes, and I was breathing it. I’m having hairballs myself. So I told my husband that we’ve got to fashion something that would suck that hair up. I actually went to Lowe’s and bought this industrial dust collector thing, and through that, we developed the Catty
Shack Vac. My husband actually made the first prototype out of PVC pipe just to see if it would work. It fell apart very quickly, but it worked. Then he made one out of metal framing. And then someone put me in touch with a manufacturer.
You said your husband made the first prototype. Does he typically invent things? He’s just a handyman. He’s good at that kind of stuff. But no, he is not an inventor or engineer or that type of thing. In fact, I said I will never invent anything
20 Upstate business journal October 4, 2013
ever again. It was a lot of work. But it’s part of growing that cat-grooming industry. You give the students and customers the skills to do it and the knowledge to do it, but they have to have tools to do it too.
Can the Catty Shack Vac be used for other animals? They do put small dogs in them. Anything under about 40 pounds. There’s a woman I talked to in Illinois, and she bought one a number of years ago in Chicago when I was up there doing a show. She doesn’t
“I said I will never invent anything ever again. It was a lot of work. But it’s part of growing that cat-grooming industry.” Danelle German A cat gets a bath using a Chubbs Bar at the National Cat Groomers Institute of America. Danelle German created Chubbs Bars when she recognized the need for a high-quality cat and dog bath soap. Chubbs Bars are manufactured in Greenville.
just for the sheltie hair. Most people will say that it knocks 30 to 40 percent off their drying time as opposed to table drying. So that’s huge. If you can increase your production by 30 percent in a day, you pay for it very quickly. Some groomers pay for it in a week.
You recently developed a new cat shampoo. Why did you develop that? I’d been using and recommending a shampoo made in New York for about 10 years, but that company has had some issues lately. I had customers coming to me saying that they can’t get this shampoo, so I worked with two chemists, exhausted their efforts and finally got to the point where I didn’t know what to do. Then, on a whim, I whipped up, in my Crock-Pot in my kitchen, a shampoo bar, and I called it Chubbs Bars because my cat’s name is Chubbs. And I said, “Chubbs, you’re getting a bath.” And I washed him in it and it was fantastic. groom cats at all, but she grooms a lot of shelties, and she said she ordered one
What’s your motivation for making these products?
WHO IS WHO IN OUR CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT TODAY? The UBJ’ upcoming event, Who’s Who recognizes the people in our community who are committed to advancing their fields. Whether new on the scene or veterans in the trenches, they’re the professional to look out for and look up to. Many have gone uncelebrated. Until now. Also including, but not limited to Accounting, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Political/Government, Design, Finance, Hospitality Legal, Marketing/PR, Non-Profit, Real Estate, Tech/IT.
NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY! Nominations will be accepted from
SEPTEMBER 20-NOVEMBER 8
A third party panel of Community Leaders will select 8 “Who’s Who” recipients, from the nominations submitted, that will be announced in February 2014. Self Nominations are also encouraged.
FORMS CAN BE FILLED OUT HERE: upstatebusinessjournal.com/whos-who
It was to meet a demand. Every bit of it was to meet a demand. We’ve got a worldwide cat-grooming industry going on now. PHOTOS BY Greg Beckner / Staff
October 4, 2013 Upstate business journal 21
“What we’ve got to do is get young people to play golf to fill the vacuum of members when they’re dead and gone.”
UBJ Square Feet
Work and Player Golf legend Gary Player tees off the Cliffs at Mountain Park course opening By Jennifer Oladipo| senior business writer joladipo@communityjournals.com
The golf course at the Cliffs at Mountain Park development in northern Greenville County officially opened last Friday. It was designed by golf great Gary Player and his team from Gary Player Designs (GPD). The company has developed more than 300 golf courses around the world, but the Upstate has the distinction of having drawn Player, his company and his family to settle here. Player, GPD President Scott Ferrell, and senior designer Jeff Lawrence sat down with UBJ to talk about the game and the business they’ve built upon it. They discussed the course’s design, which Player said aims to allow experts to amateurs to play a game they can feel good about without being exhausted. Then they discussed the work that goes on before the play. Are these “player-friendly” courses where golf is headed? Gary Player: Well, golf course development in America has come, not to an end, but there is very little today because the economy has changed this considerably. This is one of the very few that will be open in America today.
Jeff Lawrence: There will be less than five this year. Scott Ferrell: To give some perspective, in the 1990s there were probably 300 or 400 opening a year in the United States. GP: What we’ve got to do is get young people to play golf to fill the vacuum of members when they’re dead and gone. I think this is something we’re doing very well [through the Player Foundation] in South Africa. What’s the relationship between the business and Player’s golf career? SF: This is a competitive business, but Mr. Player has been known for 60 years as an international ambassador to golf and won golf tournaments in every corner of the world. We build the brand around him, which allows us to sell our services much easier. And our clients benefit from his notoriety and his exposure in order to sell real estate. So we’re as much a marketing company as we are a design company because of the brand that he’s created about his playing career. GP: I’ve been able to sell a lot of real estate because I’ve only got to mention
Gary Player Greg Beckner / Staff
a particular development on national television or in prominent magazines, and people will buy. You can have a local sales force, but what you need is an international voice that’s going all over and appealing to the masses. If you’re going to sell real estate, you’ve got to appeal to the masses. What about on a more personal level? GP: The personal overlap is that having traveled so many miles and played in so many different golf courses for more than 60 years, I really understand what is required to make players happy. We incorporate that into our design and our business, because no education – not even a Harvard degree – can compare to traveling around the world. An average Harvard grad wouldn’t know what’s happening in China or India beyond what he reads, but I go there and I see what’s
happening. SF: Golf is a very difficult game and you’re going to lose more than you win. You have a lot of adversity. And we have had a lot of adversity particularly in the last five years in the business world. I think Mr. Player’s example of persevering through adversity as a golfer has carried over into persevering through difficult times in business. GP: A lot of other design businesses are gone. They folded up while we still had 10 jobs a year going because I have got on a plane as a young man, and now Jeff and Scott are doing it. When we go in, it’s more than just a golf course. In South Africa, for example, we have a development fund for getting very poor young people exposed to golf. So it’s more than a business. It’s also trying to contribute to society. I think that’s the thing we’ve done better by a mile than all the architects that have ever lived, if I may say so.
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UBJ Square Feet
Artist’s rendering of the new Village at Greer community.
New Senior Community Planned for Greer By Sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com
A new 65,000-square-foot assisted living and memory care community is coming to Greer. Spartanburg’s Pulliam Investment Company announced a partnership with Thrive Senior Living, an Atlanta developer and operator of 11 current senior communities across the Southeast. Thrive is expanding its reach into South Carolina and will be collaborating with Pulliam to tap into the company’s 30-plus years of senior housing development experience in the Upstate.
“This truly is a one-of-a-kind partnership in North America, and we are proud to be a part of it,” said Jeramy Ragsdale, founder of Thrive Senior Living. The community, named the Village at Greer, will have a two-story building with 89 total units. Of those units, 64 will be assisted living units and 25 units will be solely dedicated to memory care. With a staff member whose title is “director of excitement,” residents can expect arranged activities such as dancing, gardening clubs, art classes,
The Upstate Land Rush
Out-of-state investors are snatching up local real estate By Sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com
As yet another sign that the Greenville area real estate market is heating up, an onslaught of out-of-state investors have been gobbling up area real estate. This is resulting in a shortage of finished, available home lots and potential rental properties. Black Orchid Equity is one of those firms. Based in St. Petersburg, Fla., the boutique private equity company just completed a multimillion-dollar, fivestate, 1,500-lot deal with thousands of acres of excess land for future development. Of those, 483 lots are in Upstate subdivisions. “We went through and picked cities that had the best underlying economics,” said BOE Managing Director Blake Whitney Thompson. “The cost of living is in line in Greenville, people are able to get jobs, and we thought it would be
“There is a pending shortage of finished lots. We did not develop a lot in this market for almost five years.” Michael Dey, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Greenville a smart idea to come there.” The deal originated from non-performing loans originally from Regions Bank that were then sold to Rialto Capital Management. BOE was able to go through Rialto’s portfolio and choose lots that fit the firm’s investment strat-
and wine and cheese tastings. The Village at Greer is also expected to have an onsite beauty salon and barber, movie theater, library and housekeeping and laundry services. Residents can also receive transportation to doctors’ appointments, assistance with dressing and grooming, and onsite dining. Ragsdale believes there is a growing need in Greer for their services. “We have seen a ‘previous generation’ of senior living communities become noticeably outdated,” said Ragsdale. “This
has been compounded by very strong residential growth in the past ten years that has not yet been served by new senior living communities.” The two companies also announced plans to build a similar community called The Village at Prince Creek in Murrells Inlet, S.C. Construction on The Village at Greer will begin December 2013, with a scheduled completion of late 2014. For more information visit villageatgreer.com.
egy. “I took every lot they had in Greenville,” said Thompson. Of the 483 lots BOE purchased, 133 are in Hawthorne Ridge in Simpsonville. The others are in Hembree Station, Covered Bridge and Oakhill in Anderson; Shoally Brook in Boiling Springs; and The Orchards at Reidville in Spartanburg. BOE is already working with homebuilders who will finish out the lots. Thompson has a deal in the works for another 265 lots, thanks to local builders contacting him with deals over the past three weeks. Most finished home lots have been locked in by builders now, said Michael Dey, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Greenville. And most of those builders are from outside of Greenville. The lots that are left are primarily held by banks that are moving them now that demand has returned. “There is a pending shortage of finished lots,” said Dey. “We did not develop a lot in this market for almost five years. While building volume was low during
that time, it was still sufficient to absorb most of the lots that were on the market in 2007.” Seabrook Marchant, owner of the Marchant Company, a Greenville real estate firm, said that this is indicative of what is going on in the market right now. “Greenville is a progressive place and people want to be here,” he said. His company also has a customer that is an out-of-town investment group that has purchased about 30 homes in the area so far this year. “People are seeing that there are a lot of investment opportunities in real estate instead of the stock or bond market, and Greenville has been the beneficiary of it,” said Marchant. Another firm, American Homes 4 Rent, based in California, has a different investment approach. Local real estate professionals said the firm submits offers close to the asking price for area homes that are for sale, pays in cash and then rents the homes. The firm has purchased 264 homes in Greenville County since the beginning of the year.
October 4, 2013 Upstate business journal 23
UBJ The Fine Print
PULSE Begins Laurens Road Rail Line Project PULSE, a Greenville Chamber LEAD program and the state’s largest young professionals group, recently announced a partnership with the Greenville County Economic Development Corporation (GCEDC) to transform 3.4 miles of discontinued rail line parallel to Laurens Road over the next three years into a GCEDC-owned rail line right-of-way that stretches from Pleasantburg Drive to the CU-ICAR campus. PULSE became involved with the rail line through the What If Green-
ville project, which is a Webbased collaboration between Greenville Forward, OrangeCoat and LG Legacy, a 10-year endeavor of Leadership Greenville to focus on the region’s connectivity through parks and trails. In addition, PULSE leadership had been following the efforts of Greenville County Councilman Fred Payne to spur and develop interest in developing the rail line for use as bike and walking trails as well as neighborhood electric vehicles (NEV) and electric personal
on-demand driverless (ePOD) vehicles. “The GCEDC needs active partners to develop a multi-modal transportation corridor,” Payne said. “One of those is PULSE, who will help endorse the GCEDC multi-modal corridor and help us create an exemplary transportation
link between Greenville and Mauldin.” During its three-year commitment to the project, PULSE will create and manage surveys on usage/ideas; serve as general advocates; assist in clearing of the trail as needed; host and assist with community forums; and help spread the word on the project. “This is a big step for PULSE,” said John Boyanoski, chairman of PULSE. “Our goal is to build leaders, and this project will give us a clearer focus as we go forward.”
Pacolet Milliken Qualifies for $7B in Federal Contracts Spartanburg-based Pacolet-Milliken Enterprises Inc. recently qualified along with 12 other biomass technology companies in the nation to bid for future U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracts that total $7 billion over 30 years. “We look forward to continuing to build strong relationships with industry and our defense communities, which will help us remain a strong Army,” said Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment. “We are making this announcement just as we are about to kick off October Energy Awareness = Action Month. During the month, we will recognize our outstanding partnerships with industry, promote energy leadership, uphold examples of innova-
Provided
tion and excellence which enhance our mission capabilities, and advance a secure energy future.” The companies chosen will work with the Corps’ Engineering and Support Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the Army Energy Initiatives Task Force. According to a statement by Pacolet-Milliken, the company is “excited” to be selected. In addition, qualified companies will be eligible to bid on future biomass renewable energy task orders, including municipal solid waste and waste-to-energy projects.
24 Upstate business journal October 4, 2013
School of Architecture Celebrates Centennial With Symposium Clemson University’s School of Architecture will celebrate its 100th year with a symposium on “The Architecture of Regionalism in the Age of Globalization” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, in Lee Hall. The event will feature speakers including noted architectural historian-theorists Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre; and award-winning, Southeast-based practitioners and educators Marlon Blackwell, Merrill Elam and Frank Harmon. The symposium, to be followed by a Beaux Arts Ball, marks the fourth and final major event of the school’s
centennial year. In March, Clemson celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Charles E. Daniel Center for Building Research and Urban Studies in Genoa. In May, the school celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston. And in August, the school celebrated the 45th anniversary of its Architecture and Health Program.
SME SOUTH-TEC Expands Show Floor for Greenville Expo SOUTH-TEC, SME’s manufacturing industry showcase, said it has expanded its show floor to accommodate demand for more exhibit space at its Oct. 29-31 expo in Greenville’s TD Center.
The showcase will feature more than 300 companies to house product demonstrations and interactive exhibits before an expected 4,000 attendees. “The Southeast – and South Carolina specifically – is one of the fastest-growing manufacturing regions in the United States. We are proud SME SOUTHTEC has recognized this by choosing Greenville to showcase manufacturing progress and technology innovation,” Sen. Lindsay Graham said. “Greenville, and the surrounding areas,
are distinctive in their advanced manufacturing leadership that benefits countries across the globe through trade and raises per-capita income in South Carolina.” The trade show floor features tactical and strategic sessions in the new Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing Resource Center. Additive manufacturing is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model instead of removing material through machining. “Experts on manufacturing technology will share knowledge about advanced techniques, productivity, new technologies and skilled workforce to representatives of industry, innovation, government and education,” said Dennis Bray, SME president.
Dish Loses 2 Local Stations Broadcaster Media General and satellite network provider Dish Network failed to reach an agreement by the Sept. 30 deadline, leaving Greenville area viewers unable to watch two local channels through Dish. Negotiations had been stalled on negotiation of the contract that allowed Dish to rebroadcast WSPA (CBS channel 7) and WYCW (CW channel 62). Dish was prohibited by law from carrying stations owned, operated or serviced by Media General without a retransmission agreement. Media General maintained that Dish
had refused to acknowledge the fair market value for the price of retransmission in the Greenville market, but Dish accused the broadcaster of price gouging. Dish said Media General was trying to extract overly high fees before it is acquired later this year by Young Broadcasting, a broadcaster with which Dish has a long-term agreement in place. Media General refused the offer of a short-term extension of the existing contract until then. Stations in 15 other markets were also affected, mostly throughout the Southeast.
Financial Strategies Institute Offers Retirement Workshop The Financial Strategies Institute is offering “The Complete Financial Management” workshop, open to anyone planning for retirement or looking to improve his money management skills. The seminar will take place at Greenville Technical College over three evening sessions, totaling 7.5 hours of instruction. Classes will be offered either Tuesdays, Oct. 8, 15 and 22 from 6-8:30 p.m., or Thursdays, Oct. 10, 17 and 24 from 6-8:30
p.m. with a light dinner being provided. Instructor Jim Yarbrough has taught the material in this financial management series to over 1,200 attendees, according to Financial Strategies. The workshop will cover key areas of finance management, including cash and risk management, tax planning and estate conservation. More information is available at financialstrategiesinstitute.org/seminars.cfm.
October 4, 2013 Upstate business journal 25
UBJ On the Move HONORED
HONORED
HIRED
HIRED
PROMOTED
Lindsay McPhail
Pam Melbourne
Mark Bjelland
Sallie Smith
Karen Taylor
Received the Charter Business Pulse Volunteer Award for September 2013. McPhail is a member of the PULSE Connects committee and earned a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University. She currently works in human resources for Global Lending Services LLC.
Awarded the Palmetto Award, South Carolina’s highest end-of-life honor, for her vision and leadership in hospice care. Melbourne is CEO of Hospice of the Upstate, where she has been employed for 10 years.
Joined Core Care Medical as director of operations. Prior to joining Core Care Medical, Bjelland spent over 20 years in physician practice management, and served as practice administrator for Cardiology Consultants in Spartanburg.
Joined NAI Earle Furman as a marketing and research specialist. Previously, Smith was the director of marketing and communications for the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts at Clemson University. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Clemson in 2009.
Promoted to director of corporate services and relocation at Prudential C. Dan Joyner Co., Realtors. Taylor previously served as an agent with C. Dan Joyner Co. in the Simpsonville office.
CLOTHING: Delta Apparel recently announced that Rod McGeachy will become president of the group’s sports and military brand Soffe. McGeachy was most recently chairman and CEO of Tandy Brands Accessories. CONSTRUCTION/ENGINEERING: O’Neal Inc. has hired Carl Whitaker as electrical estimator. Whitaker has more than 30 years of electrical construction and estimating experience. He previously worked for the Davis Electrical Constructors and comes to O’Neal from CH2M Hill. EDUCATION: Shannon Finning has been named dean of students and associate vice president of student affairs at Clemson University. Formerly dean of student affairs at Babson College, Finning, a Clemson alumna, has more than 16 years of experience in the student affairs field. Finning earned her BA from Bryant University in 1996 and a master’s in education from Bridgewater State College in 1999. She came to Clemson in 2006 to earn her Ph.D. in educational leadership. Finning will start Nov. 9.
The Furman University Board of Trustees recently welcomed three new board members. Ed Good is a 1967 graduate of Furman and holds a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He established the Hampton Development Company in 1985 and now serves as president. Gordon Herring graduated from Furman in 1965 and obtained an MBA from the University of Virginia in 1970. He joined the TeleCable Corporation in 1970 as director of research, and retired as executive vice president in 1989 upon the sale of the company. He is one of the founders of the Weather Channel. Richard W. Riley served as U. S. Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and was elected to two terms as governor of South Carolina (1979-1987). He is a 1954 graduate of Furman, and formerly served as chair of the Furman Board of Trustees. The Rotary Club of Greenville recently named Anne Kelsey-Zibert its Teacher of the Year. Zibert is a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Northwest Middle School and is a graduate of Princeton University. Adam Massey, a business education
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teacher at Greer High School, was first runner-up; Tom Rogers, a physics, statistics and computer science teacher at Southside High Academy, was second runner-up; and third runner-up was Mandy Waters, a first-grade teacher at Westcliffe Elementary School. FINANCIAL SERVICES: World Acceptance Corporation recently announced that Kelly M. Malson plans to retire from her position as senior vice president and chief financial officer of the company. Malson’s eight-year tenure with the company began in 2005. Markel Valuation PC recently announced that CPA John R. Markel earned the designation Accredited in Business Appraisal Review (ABAR) from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA). Markel is principal analyst and business appraiser for Markel Valuation PC. He has been a CPA in Greenville for over 30 years and has specialized in business valuation and litigation accounting for the past 18 years. GOVERNMENT: The Greenville Area Development Corporation has added Jackie Antunes
as an intern for fall 2013. Antunes joins the GADC from Clemson University, where she is a senior. She previously interned at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston. LEGAL: Wyche recently welcomed Suedabeh Walker as an associate, focusing her practice on transactional matters including corporate, environmental and commercial real estate. Prior to joining Wyche, Walker worked with the Environmental Protection Agency, Turner Environmental Clinic and the Southern Environmental Law Center. Kenison, Dudley & Crawford LLC announced that Townes B. Johnson III was recently made partner. MANUFACTURING: Dr. Richard Vosburgh, KEMET Corporation’s senior vice president of human resources, was recently voted to the board of directors of HR People & Strategy (HRPS) as vice-chairperson (in succession to become chairman of the board). HRPS is a professional society with membership exclusive to top HR executives.
UBJ On the Move MEDICAL: The Greenwood Genetic Center recently welcomed Elliot Stolerman, M.D., and Swetha Krishnamurthi, M.D. Stolerman is a 2000 graduate of SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics. Krishnamurthi is a 1994 graduate of Maulana Azad Medical College at the University of Delhi in New Delhi, India. She is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.
PUBLIC RELATIONS/MARKETING: DNA Creative Communications (DNA) recently welcomed Tierney Gallagher as a new account executive. Prior to joining DNA, Gallagher served as the graduate assistant for Clemson University’s Graduate School Publications Office and the graduate intern for the Office of Communications & Public Relations in the College of Health, Education and Human Development. STAFFING: Find Great People International
recently hired Rebecca Garvin, Arlene Johnson and Jennifer Aughtry, promoted Rhiannon Poore, and expanded Aaron Mishler’s job role. Garvin joined Find Great People in July as an executive search business coordinator. Johnson initially joined FGP as an intern and is now responsible for FGP’s accounts payable processes and procedures as one of the company’s accountants. Aughtry is the new marketing manager for Find Great People. Poore was promoted to senior executive recruiter. Mishler transitioned from the
human resources consulting department and is now FGP’s customer care specialist.
MOVERS & SHAKERS New hires, promotions and award winners can be featured in On The Move. Send information & photos to onthemove@upstatebusiness journal.com.
UBJ Snapshot 1
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The Greenville Tech Foundation honored four local entrepreneurs for their success in business and contributions to the prosperity of the Upstate at the Entrepreneurs Forum Gala presented by The Spinx Co. last week at the TD Convention Center. Honorees were Marion Crawford (1), president and CEO of Crawford Strategy; Walter Davis (2), Co-CEO and founding member of CertusBank; Jennie Johnson (3), executive director of the Liberty Fellowship; and Barbara League (4), chairwoman and CEO of G.F. League Inc. Bob Howard (on left), president of the Greenville Tech Foundation, emceed the event, and presented the awards along with Dr. Keith Miller (on right), president of Greenville Tech.
Photos Provided
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UBJ HOT TOPIC
By Sherry Jackson | staff sjackson@communityjournals.com
Heating Up Real estate leaders discuss the state of the local market
THE GOAL OF THE CITY of Greenville’s quarterly Real Estate Breakfast is simple: Get people together each quarter to talk about what’s happening in the market. UBJ asked each panelist to answer the question, “What trends are you seeing in the Greenville commercial lending market right now?” JUSTIN HILL: The Greenville area is a great market for commercial loan activity, comparatively speaking. While speculative lending and new projects are still tepid, commercial expansions EVENT: City of Greenville 3rd Quarter Real Estate Breakfast WHO WAS THERE: 50 local real estate, mortgage and lending leaders PANELISTS: – Justin Hill, senior vice president, Bank of Travelers Rest – Matt Good, vice president, Capital Advisors – Matthew Cotner, commercial relationship manager, senior vice president, CertusBank – Lisa Shelnutt, senior vice president, commercial real estate relationship manager, United Community Bank TOPIC: Update on the commercial lending market
and investments for both owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied properties are heating up. There are still remnants of the Great Recession, which have forced banks to rely on sound fundamentals of lending, but overall, there is much more optimism than there was even a year ago. Borrowers are more willing to invest capital in expanding or purchasing property, while lenders are aggressively looking for quality credits. Banks now have the capital and capacity to be aggressive in their business development efforts and stay extremely competitive from a pricing standpoint; therefore, it is great time to borrow! But ultimately, credit decisions, and where banks choose to invest, is driven by relationships with the customer and good ol’ common sense.
culty finding debt. For the best projects I am definitely seeing some good friendly competition amongst the Greenville banks. Some other trends I have noticed over the past six months include: • Construction lenders willing to loan up to 80 percent of project costs, up from 75 percent earlier this year • Many banks who were dormant for years are now aggressively chasing new loans • Life insurance companies offering construction/permanent loans for large trophy projects ($15+ million) • Aggressive terms and interest rates available for multifamily projects including “affordable housing” (up to 80 percent of appraised value, 30-year amortizations, long-term rates starting at 4.5 percent) • Historically low interest rates – even with the run-up in U.S. Treasury yields, interest rates for most deals remain in the 4 to 5 percent range.
MATT GOOD: In short, if you are a qualified borrower with a good project, financing is readily available from multiple sources, including banks, life insurance companies and other institutional lenders. I would define “qualified borrower” as a person with a good credit history, experience in their chosen property type, and adequate net worth/liquidity to match the obligation. The definition of “good project” is much broader. Most lenders will require adequate pre-leasing or presales, and preference will be given to projects with creditworthy anchor tenants and strong owner-occupied buildings. Inexperienced and undercapitalized borrowers will have diffi-
LISA SHELNUTT: Greenville’s commercial real estate market weathered the economic downturn better than most cities. The availability of New Markets Tax Credits enabled the development of new projects that likely would not have been possible otherwise. As a result, several major projects were initiated between 2008 and 2012, in contrast to many other cities. Keep in mind that during that time period, banks did tighten underwriting standards, but generally speaking there was very little demand. As we begin what will likely be a slow recovery, financing is becoming more readily available. In Greenville we are seeing less capital from the large national banks and more capital
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coming from local and regional banks like United Community Bank. Financing is more readily available now for well-conceived projects and sponsors with a good track record. Terms may not be as liberal as they were eight or nine years ago, but are certainly reasonable by historical standards. Equity and sponsor strength are key. However, land loans and speculative income producing loans are still difficult to secure. MATTHEW COTNER: We are seeing increased competition to finance projects with experienced developers, including those from outside the Upstate. At CertusBank, we work with developers of all types to forge strong relationships with builders who have strong, local project history, as well as those looking to enter the market. We see a number of solid projects where developers are initiating builds with strong commitments for permanent loans and takeout sources. With respect to operating companies, businesses have an increased focus on growing and capturing market share. This is creating more small business banking, SBA lending, and commercial financing opportunities. We are finding our solution-focused approach and holistic treatment of firms’ complete banking needs is adding to their market success. Over the next 12 months, we foresee an improving economy and don’t anticipate a huge run-up in interest rates, inflation or prices. As a result, we expect more demand and competition amongst lenders to launch commercial real estate projects and to help grow operating companies.
UBJ New to the Street 2
1. Brooks Brothers recently opened at 1 North Main St., the ONE building, in Greenville. The store is open Sunday noon-6 p.m. and Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 a.m.
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3. Cornerstone Studios Salon Spa cut the ribbon at 20 West Point Blvd. in Mauldin. For more information, call 864-286-9080.
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4. Purple Communications, a provider of communications technology for people who are deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-disabled, recently held a ribbon cutting at 300 E. McBee Ave. in Greenville.
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For more information, call 864-271-8425 or visit brooksbrothers.com.
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5. Allen Tate recently held an open house at its Greer office at 1380 W. Wade Hampton Blvd. The 4,000-square-foot flex space accommodates 38 realtors. It features an open floor plan, private offices, video displays, conference space and a coffee bar. For more information, call 864-416-3140 or visit allentate.com.
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UBJ Planner FRIday OCTOBER 4 CONNECT 2013 Brookland Baptist Church Conference Center, 1066 Sunset Blvd., West Columbia; 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Speakers: Craig Melvin, MSNBC anchor and NBC news correspondent; Jeremy Kingsley, president of OneLife Leadership; and Dr. Joe Trahan, III, APR, fellow, PRSA Cost: $150 for IABC/SC and SCPRSA members, $175 for non-members, & $50 for students. Includes refreshments and a buffet lunch. Register: http://bit. ly/2013Connect FIRST FRIDAY LUNCHEON Greer City Hall, 301 E. Poinsett St., Greer; 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost: $10 for Greer Chamber members, $15 non-members. Register: greerchamber.com First Friday Leadership Series Clemson at the Falls, 55 E. Camperdown Way, Greenville; 5-7 p.m. Cost: Free to attend Speaker: Edna Johnson,
VP of communication and brands, Michelin North America Register: firstfridayjohnson. eventbrite.com Contact: Amy Burka at 864-656-8090 or burka2@clemson.edu
MONday OCTOBER 7 GCS Roundtable The Office Center at the Point, 33 Market Point Dr., Greenville; 8:30-9:30 a.m. Speaker: Myles Golden Topic: The Collective Genius Theory Information: Call Golden Career Strategies at 864-527-0425 to request an invitation. Opportunity Greenville – Fall 2013 Greenville Chamber of Commerce, 24 Cleveland St., Greenville; 3-7 p.m. Topic: Economic Growth/ Diversity & Inclusion Cost: $325 for registrant spouse or three or more from same organization; $350 for Greenville Chamber members; and $750 for non-Greenville chamber members. Includes dinner
Register: 864-239-3743 or greenvillechamber.org Greenville Woodworkers Guild Meeting Education Center, 209 Hollyridge Drive, Greenville; 6:15 p.m. Presenters: Guild Members Jim Kilton and Dave Paul Topic: Demonstration on making Christmas ornaments on a lathe Information: greenvillewoodworkers.com
TUEsday OCTOBER 8 Business Before Hours Commerce Club, 55 Beattie Place, Suite 1700, Greenville; 7:30-9 a.m. Open only to Greenville Chamber members. Cost: $8.50 for those who pre-register online or $12 at the door Contact: Lorraine Woodward at 864239-3742 or if you are a Commerce Club member, Dot Drennon at ddrennon@ greenvillechamber.org Strategic Sales Development Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce,
SENIOR BUSINESS writer Jennifer Oladipo staff writers Sherry Jackson, Cindy Landrum, April A. Morris PRESIDENT/Publisher Mark B. Johnston mjohnston@communityjournals.com UBJ Associate Publisher Ryan L. Johnston rjohnston@communityjournals.com eXECUTIVE Editor Susan Clary Simmons ssimmons@communityjournals.com MANAGING editor Jerry Salley jsalley@communityjournals.com
contributing writerS Dick Hughes, Jenny Munro, Jeanne Putnam, Leigh Savage
105 N. Pine St., Spartanburg; 8-10 a.m. Speaker: Jim Geffert, Dale Carnegie Training Topic: How Smart Leaders Create Engaged Employees Cost: $49 per person, $195 for five people Register: spartanburgchamber.com
Cost: Free to Greenville Chamber members, $20 for non-members. Lunch provided at no charge.
American Society of Quality – Palmetto Chapter Monthly Meeting
Register: 864242-1050 or greenvillechamber.org
The Hilton, 45 W Orchard Park Drive, Greenville; 6-8 p.m.
Small Business Roundtable Spartanburg Library, 151 South Church St., Spartanburg; 9:15 a.m. Topic: What every employer should know about employing others Cost: Free Contact: Spartanburg Area Small Business Development Center at es2@clemson.edu or 864-592-6318
Speakers: Debbie Nelson, owner of DNA Creative Communications; and Victoria Kirby, communications expert and facilitator
Greenville (Downtown) Rotary Meeting Westin Poinsett Hotel, 120 S. Main St., Greenville; noon Information: greenvillerotary.org Non-Profit Alliance Greenville Chamber of Commerce, 24 Cleveland St., Greenville; noon-1:30 p.m.
Marketing Series The Palmetto Bank, 306 E. North St., Greenville; 5-7:30 p.m.
Topic: Communicating Your Message Cost: $25 per person Register: scwbc.net/ events/upstate Contact: Janet Christy at janet@scwbc.net or 864-244-4117 Introduction to PULSE Greenville Chamber of Commerce, 24 Cleveland St., Greenville; 5:30-7 p.m. Open to PULSE members and nonmembers. Light refreshments will be served. Register: 864239-3743 or greenvillechamber.org
marketing & advertising Sales representatives Lori Burney, Kristi Jennings, Donna Johnston, Annie Langston, Pam Putman Marketing & EVENTS Kate Banner DIGITAL STRATEGIST Emily Price
INTERN Benjamin Jeffers photographer Greg Beckner art & production art director Kristy M. Adair PrODUCTION MANAGER Holly Hardin ADVERTISING DESIGN Michael Allen, Whitney Fincannon
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Copyright @2013 BY COMMUNITY JOURNALS LLC. All rights reserved. Upstate Business Journal is published weekly by Community Journals LLC. 148 River Street, Suite 120, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601. Upstate Business Journal is a free publication. Annual subscriptions (52 issues) can be purchased for $65. Postmaster: Send address changes to Upstate Business, 148 River St., Ste 120, Greenville, SC 29601. Printed in the USA.
Speaker: Heather Bendyk, director of quality, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System Topic: Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare Cost: $25 for guests Register: palmettoasq. org Contact: sbartelt@srhs. com Successful Entrepreneur Lecture Series University Center of Greenville, 225 South Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville; 6-8 p.m. Speaker: Art Seaver and Matt Dunbar, Southern First and Upstate Carolina Angel Network Cost: Free, but participants must be registered Information: successfulentrepreneurship.com
WEDNESday OCTOBER 9 Pelham Power Breakfast
how to contribute Story ideas: ideas@ upstatebusinessjournal.com
Events: events@ upstatebusinessjournal.com
New hires, promotions, awards: onthemove@ upstatebusinessjournal.com
>>
UBJ Snapshot Located on the western side of Five Points, the Virginia Hotel was bordered on the left by West Coffee Street and on the right by Buncombe Street. Occupying the former site of the Greenville Opera House, it later became known as the Earle Hotel. With 54 guest rooms, the Virginia was numbered among Greenville’s first-class hotels when it opened in 1925. The building was demolished in the early 1970s to make way for the Peoples National Bank Tower (later Bank of America). The new bank building not only took over the hotel property but blocked off West Coffee and Buncombe Streets as well. The Bank of America tower now stands where the Virginia Hotel once stood.
From “Remembering Greenville: Photographs from the Coxe Collection” by Jeffrey R. Willis. Historic Photo available from the Greenville Historical Society.
PHOTO BY GREG BECKNER / STAFF
Rocky Creek Veterinary Hospital & Pet Resort, 111 Ebenezer Road, Greer; 8-9 a.m. Cost: Free for Greer Chamber members Register: greerchamber.com GSA Technology Council Learning Lunch Embassy Suites Hotel, 670 Verdae Blvd., Greenville; 11:30 a.m.1 p.m. Topic: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger – What’s Next in Tech Information: gsatc.org Diversity Connections Luncheon CityRange Steakhouse Grill, 774 Spartan Blvd., Spartanburg; noon-1:30 p.m.
Speaker: Brian Conner, Consumer’s Choice Health Plan Register: spartanburgchamber.com or 864-594-5000 Greenville Rotaract Club Saffron’s Westend Café, 31 Augusta St., Greenville; 5:30 p.m. Contact: Lindsey Stemann at mcmillion318@gmail. com Young Professional Toastmasters Commerce Club, 55 Beattie Place, Ste 1700, Greenville; 6 p.m. Cost: $5 to cover meeting space and one drink at the bar For more information:
Got a hot date?
visit yptm. toastmastersclubs.org
THURSday OCTOBER 10 Life Series Event: Maximizing Your Benefits Thornblade Club, 1275 Thornblade Blvd., Greer; 4-6 p.m. Speakers: Loretta Hartzell, Hartzell and Associates Inc.; and Joey Hines, Global View Investment Advisors
A dog-friendly festival featuring live bands and craft brew sampling.
Saturday, October 5th 12 Noon — 6 pm Watson-Aviation Road, Greenville, SC 29607
Topics: Mastering Medicare and Making Social Security Work for You RSVP: 864-2720818 or admin@ globalviewinv.com
Contribute to our Planner by submitting event information for consideration to events@upstatebusinessjournal.com
Tickets start at $25 at GreenvilleWoofstock.com. Tickets include unlimited brew sampling and live music.
“This is a rain or shine event. We’ve got you covered, man!” October 4, 2013 Upstate business journal 31
Michael Bolick, Selah Genomics, Biotechnology
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