Small Business Startup Consultant – The SBDC offers access to confidential, free professional counseling for Georgia small business owners looking to grow or start their business. Our consultants have advanced degrees in business or management and have extensive experience helping emerging and growing businesses develop strategic plans to make better business decisions and achieve their goals.
Our consulting expertise focuses on areas of need for accelerating business growth. Some of these areas are:
Small Business Startup Consultant
No, consultations are provided at no cost to Georgia small businesses. All customers, their businesses, and related information are kept confidential – we will not share your information with anyone without your permission. approval.
How To Start A Consulting Business: 8 Tips You Need To Know
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From Pharmaceutical Sales Representative to Cookie Baker In December 2015, Jonny Womack was in the midst of a career change – he had just returned to school to become a registered nurse after working as a sales representative. Over the years, he gained a reputation for bringing home special cookies during his sales visits. “All right […]
Gig From Retirement to Retirement Mike Plowman is no stranger to the garbage collection business. Before doing that, he built and owned a very successful garbage collection business and sold it with the plan of saving for retirement. But the closing of the business clearly left a void in the community. After many requests from friends, neighbors […]
Turning Children’s Passion into Business After 20 years in the financial world, Steve Kanner was ready for a change. Thanks to some guidance from the University of Georgia’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Kanner turned his passion for cars into a new career. “When I was young, I used to make cars. […]
Do You Want To Be A Startup Marketing Consultant
When US Army Major Reginald Foster began planning his retirement, he and his wife Zenna began researching careers. They chose Tropical Smoothie Café and went to the Augusta office for help. Fosters employs 58 people and is set to open another store in Augusta.
UGA business support helps Thomasville cheesemakers grow and thrive Jessica and Jeremy Little Sweet Grass Dairy Thomasville, Georgia UGA SBDC at Valdosta State University Jessica Little grew up on her family’s farm in South Georgia. Although he was interested in sustainable agriculture and showing his cattle in 4-H, he did not want to return to South Georgia and […]
Carey Jones has had many businesses throughout his life. His innovation – Reliable Rolloff Solutions – is a commercial/residential service he launched with a dear family friend, Donald “DJ” Jones, in Wayne County in 2016. It quickly caught on. By Jones, this company presents different challenges for those who have previously launched. “I have never owned a business […]
Business Intelligence Together with Stellar Design Wins Clients and Awards for Atlanta Architect Monica Fenderson is interested in the design side of architecture, where she practiced with several private companies early in her career. But he wanted to start his own company, so he worked part-time as a construction manager for Gwinnett County and […]
Business Plan Template For Startups And Small Businesses [2023]
South Georgia couple launches turmeric supplement business with UGA support When customers ask Diane and Ed Taylor about pain relievers turmeric, they tell about Bo and Tarra. The two Asian elephants, living in the 850-acre North American Elephant Refuge (ERNA) in southern Georgia, are no longer suffering from arthritis since […]
Federal restaurant renovation funding has brought new life to the American community Tracia Tullis and her mother Gladys opened Gladys Kitchen in America 27 years ago. Known for its crispy fried chicken, signature sweets and delicious caramelized Butter Roll, the traditional restaurant is an important asset of the village, a popular place of weekdays, […]
Kyle Flanagan’s roots are in lawn care – the Florida native started mowing lawns in his parents’ neighborhood when he was just 11 years old. He moved to Athens in 2002 to attend the University of Georgia and worked for a regional chem-lawn company to pay the bills. As he builds relationships within the community […]
Metro Atlanta family farm gets new life as vineyard Tucked away in a residential neighborhood off Cobb Parkway in Acworth, this 500-acre farm is an anomaly. in an area where builders are grabbing the available land. “My grandmother Betty Gilbert bought it back in 1963,” said Emilee Gilbert. “His father said […]
Pitch Deck & Brochure Development / Market Research
Peiru Kim came to the United States from Taiwan when she was only 13 years old. After seeing the hard work of his parents, he also pledged to work hard to pay them back for their sacrifice and be proud of it. Kim took a traditional career path, graduating from Georgia Tech and working as […]
Ryan Loew is a Covington businessman whose equipment maintenance company has grown from 20 employees in 2016 to more than 150 professionals today. As president of Equipment and Control Systems, he works with customers in the US and abroad, including Fortune 500 companies who provide their equipment and maintenance needs to […]
In 1999, Jason Jones began paying for concerts and local events in order to support his career as a musician. Over 20 years later, the side project has become a multi-million dollar business, S&L Integrated. S&L Integrated currently operates nationwide, with staff in several states of […]
Pharmacists Briana Aycock and Sarah Swinson, both graduates of the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, worked together for six years to create a pharmacy feel at the Walmart Pharmacy in Baxley. Finally, they realized that they had to be independent to fully realize this dream for their patients. They started planning in April 2020. While […]
Startup Consultants: Everything You Need To Know About Hiring One
Important Smyrna Businesses Turn to UGA for Help During Pandemic Joseph is the owner of the UPS Store located on Cobb Pkwy in Smyrna, Georgia. The UPS Store is a local retailer that offers a variety of products and services specifically designed to help and support small businesses in the community. In 2012 Joseph’s bank suggested contacting a local UGA […]
Good Business Needs and Medical Loan Assistance Douglas Business Thrive Teresa McElroy’s business, The Therapy Tree, is a lifesaver for South Georgia families in need of work, speech and su Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), many of whom are with their foster children. He launched the business with one patient in his family trailer in 2008. Twelve years later, his staff of 35 physicians serves nearly 500 children in offices in Douglas, Fitzgerald, Hazlehurst, Baxley, and Vidalia. In […]
UGA helped Team Clermont stay afloat after COVID-19 shut down live music venues and banned large gatherings Nelson Wells announced the liberation of musicians and musicians in Athens and beyond since from 1997. “People stopped spending money and social activities,” said Wells, whose company, Team Clermont, includes two full-time employees and two part-time employees […]
Strategic Plan and Process Prepare a Visionary Manager to Turn Leads into CEOs The secret sauce in Ryan Burton’s digital marketing agency, Leads Near Me , he and his team lead with love. “We have a great team of dedicated people here working for people we love and care about,” Burton said. “Our work is based on the principle one: we care. We love our customers. Maintain and perform […]
Guide To Working With Business Consultants
Master Plan GrowSmart® Training Aids Like sprinters who pass the bullet, fitness experts Chris and Melissa Conti have gone nine times to the first 10 years of their marriage to work in the business. Within two years of moving to Atlanta, they faced another change. The company Chris joined has gone out of business. […]
Advance Planning Leads to a Successful Launch and Development Plan Deciding where to start is often a challenge for people starting a business. The Davis brothers from coastal Georgia decided to take that first step by putting together a solid, well-researched business plan to promote their idea and outline their next steps. While still working hard, they quickly realized that it would be a challenge to honor their commitments to their bosses and give […]
PolyTech Fibers LLC is a minority and employee owned manufacturer of recycled polyester fibers. Launched in Chatsworth in 2014, it has three production lines in three factories and employs more than 100 residents. Its historical revenue growth is more than 10 percent annually. Polytech is a success of economic development and an example of […]
In the spring of 2020, photographer Diane Dodd’s business was put on hold due to COVID-19. Dodd is the owner and photographer of Diane Dodd Photography, a Savannah-based business specializing in family, elopement and engagement photography. “When the Coronavirus broke out, all my spring books were completely canceled, I […]
Small Business Startup Essentials (podcast)
When Atlas Medical Services opened in December 2019, they did not think that a few months later it would be affected by a global epidemic. Atlas Medical Services is a medical transportation company, but their services also include providing educational classes, plumbing services and in-home skin checks for their customers. “I first heard about [the UGA […]
Working Behind the Scenes to Stock the Shelves There’s a reason your favorite grocery store is stocking shelves – stocking companies like Performance Trucking, Inc. work around the clock to deliver food and essential products to select supermarkets across the United States. Performance Trucking, headquartered in Lawrenceville, GA,
