2012 Mount Pleasant Business Appreciation Week begins Sept. 13
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re you a Mount Pleasant business owner or entrepreneur interested in the local business climate? The Town of Mount Pleasant invites you to participate in Business Appreciation Week. •Breakfast with the Mayor Take part in the third annual Business Appreciation Week and participate in an open discussion with Mayor Billy Swails. Help strategize on how to keep Mount Pleasant attractive to new and existing businesses. Your active participation is critical to improve the business climate and the mayor encourages your questions, ideas and potential solutions to current issues. •Event Information Date: Thursday, Sept. 13, Time: Breakfast and Networking begin at 7:30 a.m. Program begins at 8 a.m. Location: Alhambra Hall, 131 Middle Street, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 Limited seating, please RSVP today. For more information, contact Ashley Richardson, Community Development & Tourism Officer, arichardson@tompsc.com, 843.884.8517
STAFF PHOTO BY VICKEY BOYD
Former Mount Pleasant Town Council member Paul Gawrych and Mount Pleasant Mayor Billy Swails attended last year’s Business Expo.
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What to expect at the 2012 Business Expo !Seminars: (five seminars in total) • Time Line: Seminars in Harbor Breeze Side Room: - 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: SCORE Presents: Business Basics – Thinking of Starting a New Business. - 1 to 1:30 p.m.: Mayor, MPBA & Moultrie News Welcome Announcement - 1:30 to 3 p.m.: John Carroll – Referrals and Word of Mouth Marketing: Planning for generating leveraging the world’s best advertising. - 3:30 to 5 p.m.: The Importance of Planning and Reviewing Performance in a Small Business -Ray Schipani Business Development Solutions, LLC STAFF PHOTO BY VICKEY BOYD
• Seminar on stage behind screen: - 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Lead Generation for your business - Presented by Joseph Klosik - 1:30 to 3 p.m. – Town of Mount Pleasant Presents “The Town of Mount Pleasant Business Support Plan: How Can We Help You?” Presented by: Chris O’Neal, Mount Pleasant Council Member and Ashley Richardson, Community Development and Tourism Officer
An overview • Referrals and Word of Mouth Marketing: Planning for, generating and leveraging the world’s best advertising – Presented by
Vendor booths such as this one set up by East Cooper Medical Center’s Shirley Nilsen will dot the conference center with informative, interactive displays. John Earl Carroll You’ve probably heard the famous quote from John Wanamaker, founder of the former department store chain by the same last name: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” How would you like to spend far less on advertising and generate much more business, both new and repeat business? In this lively and interactive presentation,
John Carroll will provide practical examples and proven tips on how you can increase sales and revenues through people who already know and love you, your product or service and your organization. Don’t know exactly where to spend your advertising budget? Invest it in referral-generating initiatives that get the phone ringing, the prospects coming in and sales skyrocketing. Why leave this year’s sales figures up to chance? Attend this session and come away with dozens of ideas to strengthen your customer/client relationships and have them become your dynamic and productive sales force. John Carroll is a Mount Pleasant businessman, consultant, entrepreneur, coach, author, national award-winning columnist and president of Unlimited Performance. He has been recognized internationally for sales excellence. His book, “Sales Illustrated: 68 Sales Lessons from Everyday Life,” is available in three languages and his approaches have attracted attention across the planet, including sales articles appearing in “Chief Executive China” magazine. In terms of referrals and word-of-mouth marketing, Carroll knows of what he speaks. His best referral ever: a longtime client recommended him to the owner/broker of a real estate firm with this: “Call John Carroll, tell him what you need and get out of the way.” John is married to Lori, has two grown
daughters, and lives in Mount look at the business plan steps Pleasant. and considerations for making your business a success. • Presentation Title: Starting Presentation Title: The Ima Business and Considerations portance of Planning and Refor Success viewing Performance in a Small - Presenter Joe Conti Business Joe Conti is the Current SCORE - Presenter: Ray Schipani of Coastal Chairman. He was born Business Development Soluand raised in New York City. He tions. is a mechanical engineer and Setting goals, establishing entrepreneur with a career that plans to reach your goals and spans 35 years. reviewing performance against After he left the Air Force, he plans are critical for long term attended Mondel Institute and business success. New York Institute of TechnolThis process does not have to ogy before starting his career be time consuming or interfere as an engineer and worked for with operating the business. It a number of fortune 500 high can be simple and quick or elabtechnology companies. He was orate as needed. responsible for the invention of But…it should be done. You a revolutionary circuit board tes- don’t get in your car and start ter and in 1985 founded a com- driving without a destination. pany; Integri-Test Corporation How can you manage your busiand became its president, grow- ness without goals? ing it into a multi-million dollar This session will cover good international corporation. management practices for setHe has traveled worldwide, ting goals, establishing plans holds 10 patents, has given and for accomplishing goals, and republished more than 15 technical viewing performance to plan. papers in the U.S. and overseas. Participants will discuss long Conti has raised three children term and short term planning, who have successful careers in business, strategic and operatboth the Air Force and corporate ing planning (budgets/revenue/ world and has mentored several cash flow); performance reviews young engineers who today are and business exit planning. successful managers. In his leiRay Schipani, the principal sure time he enjoys traveling, of BDS, has been a small busiskiing, tennis, flying, working as ness owner, involved in busia SCORE volunteer and Citadel ness start-ups, held various cormentor. porate management positions and mergers and acquisitions. • Presentation BDS provides management adParticipants will go through visory services and will function the thinking process of starting as an outsourced management a business. Then attendees will resource.
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Why do business in Mount Pleasant?
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ount Pleasant, South Carolina is home to stunning natural beauty, low taxes, the best schools, a low crime rate, and an unbelievable array of recreational opportunities, shopping, dining and culture. What you might not know is how attuned and attentive to business Mount Pleasant is with incentives, support and hands-on, real-time help built for startups and smart growth. Yes, Mount Pleasant just may have it all - plus, an indescribable magic and warmth the town can only explain like this: “Come on over.” • World Class Labor Market The labor market of the Charleston Region and the Town of Mount Pleasant is diversified and strong. The supply, quality and cost of labor are very competitive in
comparison to surrounding metro areas. A significant pool of talent exists in the region despite what the relatively low unemployment numbers would indicate. • Labor Market Overview The employment base of the Town of Mount Pleasant is one of the fastest growing in the Charleston Region. Substantial numbers of competitively priced employees, with a variety of skills, training and high educational attainment, are available to new, expanding or relocating business and industry. The town’s large outbound commuting workforce provides fertile ground for new companies locating within the town to attract professional, managerial and technical personnel. Many residents would readily accept positions in the town at competitive salary levels to end or minimize the
daily trek. • Positioned for Profit The dynamic growth and economic diversity of the Town of Mount Pleasant and the Charleston Region over the last two decades is due in part to its strategic location and transportation access to well over 60 percent of the nation’s population and industrial base. Centrally located within the major growth of the Southeast United States, the Town of Mount Pleasant offers an ideal location to reach major metropolitan and manufacturing centers in the South, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Midwest. With an integrated highway system, a growing international airport and the second busiest container port along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, businesses located in the town and the Charleston Region benefit from highly efficient
access the marketplaces – by land, by air and by sea. • Distances to Major Cities In Miles Atlanta – 324 Augusta – 188 Boston - 988 Charleston – 4 Charlotte – 212 Chicago – 915 Columbia – 117 Georgetown – 51 Greenville – 217 Hilton Head Island – 117 Miami – 598 Myrtle Beach – 85 New York City – 774 Norfolk – 442 Savannah – 116 Washington DC - 539 • Population 67,843 (2010) • Land Area: 42 square miles
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• Economic Development Incentive Grant Through a shared vision for future growth and a merger of planning, implementation and economic development, the Town of Mount Pleasant encourages selective business investment* as a key component of managed growth. The town works to create a sustainable local economy that encourages economic vitality, promotes fiscal integrity, and increases the local standard of living while preserving and enhancing the quality of life of the Town of Mount Pleasant. * (Selective business investment refers to companies that can essentially locate anywhere, and are not, or are minimally dependent (less than 30 percent of their sales or income) on the economy of Mount Pleasant or the Charleston Region. Visit http://www. townofmountpleasant.com/.
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The Moultrie News - East Cooper’s community newspaper
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t the Moultrie News, we take pride in our staff of trained and dedicated professionals. We work tirelessly to provide the East Cooper area with quality informative reporting on local events with knowledge, perspective and compassion. We also value our advertising customers. That’s why for the second year in a row, the Moultrie News has partnered with the Mount Pleasant Business Association as an example of our unwavering support for East Cooper’s wavering businesses. The Moultrie News was started in 1964 as a tabloid shopper by Carl Meynardie, who was the publisher of the Hanahan News. He ran the little paper for eight years. In 1972 the Moultrie News was bought by Charles Diggle and J.C. Long. At the time Diggle was publisher of several small papers. When Long died in 1987, Charles Diggle bought the Beach Company’s interest in the Moultrie News, and the Diggle family ran the paper for 11 years before selling it to the Evening Post Community Publications Group. Vickey Boyd was named publisher in April 2002. At The Moultrie News, we believe media
marketing should not be difficult. So we have created easy ways to understand it, buy it and, most importantly, be able to monitor your success. Our sales and advertising portfolio of services provided includes: • Client website development • Client mobile site development • Search engine marketing, also known as SEM or Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising • Social media marketing • Business reputation management • Text message marketing • E-mail marketing • Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, audits and consulting • Deals, discounts and coupons platforms For information on how to obtain a customized marketing plan call Moultrie News publisher Vickey Boyd at 958-7480. Today, the Moultrie News boasts a news staff of three professionals, including copy editor and reporter Penny Parker, news and sports reporter Tyler Heffernan and editor Sully Witte. To reach the newsroom, call 958-7482 or e-mail editor@moultrienews. com. To reach a member of the sales team IMAGE PROVIDED or to inquire about rates for print or online advertising, call 958-7480 or e-mail vboyd@ Take a look at what The Moultrie News looked like in the early days with this tear sheet from 1967. moultrienews.com.
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Supporting local business is what we do As a leader in the promotion and enhancement of the Mount Pleasant business community, the Mount Pleasant Business Association provides members with information, advocacy, education and networking based on a foundation of integrity, social responsibility and excellence. Mount Pleasant Business Association is a non-profit organization established in 1992. It celebrate success in bringing together businesses in the community for mutually valuable purposes. The membership is a mix of professions from various industries, including advertising and publishing, financial services, health care, retail, insurance, legal and service businesses of every description. The association meets the third Thursday of the month from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, Mount Pleasant. (RSVP required). The agenda includes a full buffet lunch, featured speaker and opportunities for networking and business promotion. Since its inception, the Mount Pleasant Business Association has partnered with various local charities, providing financial assistance as
well as bringing attention to their individual missions. Some of the charities include East Cooper Meals on Wheels, East Cooper Community Outreach, Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center, the American Red Cross and Windwood Farm Home for Children. For information about the association, visit http:// mympba.com. • Joe Brinson Scholarship The MPBA scholarship program honors the memory of Mount Pleasant resident, Joe Brinson. Throughout Brinson’s 30 plus year career in the electrical industry, he played a vital role in numerous educational organizations throughout the Carolinas, including the Construction Education Foundation. This scholarship program is intended to encourage and support students aspiring to a career in business. The next meeting will be held Sept. 20 at noon at the Holiday Inn - Mount PleasSTAFF PHOTO BY VICKEY BOYD ant. Department of Natural Resources’ Stephen Czwartacki will speak about the Mount Pleasant Business Association vice president Jason Biggs remiSouth Carolina Oyster Restoration and nisces about what it must have been like to be an old timey newspaper delivery boy. This photo was taken last year at the Business Expo. Enhancement Program.
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Business folks you know will come in droves
STAFF PHOTOS BY VICKEY
Stop by The Moultrie News booth to have your picture taken for our Hall of Fame like Will Haynie did last year. He is a senior writer at Mind Over Message.
Michele Lewis came to the Mount Pleasant Business Expo last year out of curiosity. Less than a year later, she is the proud owner of Sweet Bottom Cookies. Read her story in the Moultrie News August 22 online.
Reese McFaddin is an employee benefits consultant at Workplace Benefits. Her colorful booth attracted many visitors last year.
Mount Pleasant Business Expo 2012 will host more than 50 vendors with seminars lasting well into the day. The Moultrie News will be taking pictures for the Hall of Fame. Stop by and say cheese. You can also register to win one of three gifts: • A gift basket from Boone Hall Farms • A gift basket of books from Evening Post Publishing Company • Pig Swig Beer, Grace Chardonay and two T-shirts from Piggly Wiggly.
Ed Barbee is the construction information officer with the Town of Mount Pleasant. Her serves as the liaison between the public and the town and helps coordinate ongoing traffic improvements to Highway 17.
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SC Economics calls for Young Entrepreneur nominations When Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook at age 21, he proved to the world that one can never be too young to start his or her own successful business. S.C. Economics, a nonprofit organization aimed at helping students learn financial skills for life, is seeking nominations for the 2013 Young Entrepreneur Award. The nominees must be elementary, middle or high school students who are currently and actively involved in their business enterprise.
The South Carolina Young Entrepreneur award is sponsored by S.C. Research Authority, S.C. Launch and Tomlin & Company. It was established in 2004 by S.C. Economics as a way to recognize students who demonstrate a keen entrepreneurial spirit. According to S.C. Economics president, Helen Meyers, entrepreneurialism is a vital part of every state’s economy. “Entrepreneurialism promotes innovation, spurs job growth, and
encourages competition in our economy,” says Meyers. “The winners serve as role models for other students, giving them ideas to start and operate their own business. Past winners include entrepreneurs who sell fresh eggs from their backyard, manufacture biodiesel fuel in their barn, and bake cakes in their kitchen.” Nomination forms can be found at www.sceconomics.org and by clicking on Young Entrepreneur Award at the bottom
of the homepage. Nominations must include the student’s business name and description of business operations to be considered. The five award winners will be featured on the ETV Stock Market Program that is broadcast to schools during fall and spring semesters in conjunction with the S.C. Stock Market Game. Winners will also receive a $200 cash prize and recognition at SC Economics’ awards luncheon held in the spring.
S.C. Economics hopes this competition will encourage students to continue these extraordinary business-savvy talents as they grow into the next generation of successful businessmen and women. For more information on how to nominate a young entrepreneur, visit www.sceconomics. org and click on “Young Entrepreneur Award” at the bottom of the home page. Nominations must be submitted by Sept. 15 to be considered.
SCORE offers free business counseling services The Coastal Chapter of SCORE has been serving the Tri-County area for nearly forty years. With a diverse and experienced stable of mentors, SCORE Coastal serves the entire business community and the local economy. Whether you are just getting started, looking for sustainable growth, or need help staying afloat, SCORE is willing and able to assist. The Town of Mount
Pleasant is pleased to announce the opening of the new SCORE Coastal satellite office, and the continued commitment to providing support for business and the economy in Mount Pleasant! The Town of Mount Pleasant Community and Development Office has partnered with SCORE Coastal 285 to offer free counseling service to entrepreneurs and business owners beginning Nov. 1
at Town Hall Municipal Complex, 100 Ann Edwards Lane. “We are very excited by this new partnership,” announced Business Development Coordinator Quin Stinchfield. “SCORE Coastal 285’s new satellite
office will provide a convenient location for east of the Cooper businesses. This new satellite office will be located in our new incubator.” The SCORE Office will be managed by David Cole, who has been a SCORE
Counselor for more than five years and is active in the Mount Pleasant business community. Cole is also an ambassador to the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. This new office will be open from 10 a.m. to 2
Local First: A public business investment A Charleston-based 501 c3 non-profit, Lowcountry Local First is an alliance committed to educating and encouraging the public to invest in their local economy with their dollars, their voices, their votes and their hearts. As lovers of the Lowcountry, locals understand that people have a choice in what they buy and from whom they buy it. People have a choice in what they eat – and from where and by whom it’s grown. Collectively, choices have great power - to build or break a life, a business,
an economy, a city, a culture. The people of Lowcountry Local First offer a simple solution: choose the Lowcountry. It’s an understanding that if people choose to neglect the Lowcountry, something beautiful, meaningful and unique fades away. Lowcountry Local First is a way of life that celebrates and supports what locals love most: the local, independent businesses and farmers who reflect the unique character, flavor, and culture of the place we call home. You have a choice.
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p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Additional hours may be scheduled if needed. For more information about SCORE Coastal 285, visit them online at their website at coastal. score.org.
Town boasts vibrant business community Dear residents, entrepreneurs and business partners, It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 2012 Mount Pleasant Entrepreneur and Business Expo. Mount Pleasant is indeed a great place to incubate promising ideas, foster a new venture, or expand an existing business. We, at the Town of Mount Pleasant, have taken great steps towards creating a healthy and vibrant business community and are proud to provide value-added programs and first class customer service to our business owners. This year’s Expo features several seminars dedicated to helping start or grow your business. I encourage you to learn more about the town’s business strategy and how we can help you in your business by attending a seminar presented by Councilmember Chris O’Neal, chair of Economic Develop-
ment Committee and Ashley Richardson, Community Development and Tourism Officer. None of this could have been possible without the partnership and synergy existing between the Town of Mount Pleasant, the Mount Pleasant Business Association and The Moultrie News. I would like to acknowledge and congratulate those two entities for their long-standing commitment to our business community and the town of Mount Pleasant. I invite you to take a closer look at our business projects. Immerse yourself in our business culture and discover why Mount Pleasant was named “One of the Best Cities for Start Ups” by Business Week.
Best regards, Mayor Billy Swails Town of Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant Mayor Billy Swails
Expo designed to promote and enhance businesses
Shawna Garris MPBA President
As president of the Mount Pleasant Business association, welcome to 2012 Mount Pleasant Entrepreneur & Business Expo. The Mount Pleasant Business Association was established in 1992 to bring together businesses in our locale for mutually valuable purpose. As leader in the promotion and enhancement of the Mount Pleasant Business community MPBA provides its members with in-
formation, advocacy, education and networking based on a foundation of integrity, social responsibility and excellence. I would like to thank the Town of Mount Pleasant for supporting this event. Our partnership has allowed us to join together in our common goal to seek opportunities to support our local business community that will help foster a sustainable local economy. This event was designed to allow an existing or aspiring business to network with other businesses and service providers that can help start or grow business, thus creating jobs. The Expo will bring recognition to the Town of
Mount Pleasant and the Mount Pleasant Business Association while we position our collective efforts as the premier small business and networking event in the Charleston area. I would also like to thank The Moultrie News for sponsoring the Expo for a second year. Their dedication to helping the Mount Pleasant business community find new and innovative ways to reach their customers has helped to make this event a success. Thank you for your participation in today’s events.
Shawna L. Garris, President Mount Pleasant Business Association
Get your business interactive or get left behind How does your business compete in the ever-evolving interactive media marketing environment? Everyone should be asking themselves that since by 2013, a mobile device will be the number one tool used to search the internet. There is explosive growth and competition for consumers’ attention. Today’s local businesses have a world of opportunities to reach consumers, yet the combination of the Internet, mobile devices, social media and traditional advertising forms can feel overwhelming. At The Moultrie News, we believe media marketing should not be difficult. So we have created easy ways to under-
stand it, buy it and, most importantly, be able to monitor your success. The Moultrie News partnered with Jay Small, president of Informed Interactive, to help our clients navigate the interactive media universe. With more than 17 years of experience leading interactive media enterprises. Small and Moultrie News multi-media representatives can show clients how one can better position their business within the interactive world. Working alongside Zach Payer, (Vice President of Sales for Informed Interactive) the Informed Interactive team will serve as a thought partner and broker of capabilities for Moultrie News and their
clients. The portfolio of services provided includes: • Strategic consultation • Client website development • Client mobile site development • Search engine marketing, also known as SEM or Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising • Social media marketing • Business reputation management • Text message marketing • E-mail marketing • Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, audits and consulting • Deals, discounts and coupons platforms
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“The objective is all about using these new marketing tools in combination with the current printed and online editions of The Moultrie News to drive lasting results for local businesses. Now we are able to help in new ways and save businesses time by not having multiple providers, Payer said.” Informed Interactive and The Moultrie News are now offering one-on-one meetings with interactive specialists to help you dig deeper into your specific interactive marketing challenges. For more information on how to obtain a customized marketing plan call Moultrie News publisher Vickey Boyd at 958-7480.