\u201cWe work with what we have right here to create the kind of business environment where all sizes of businesses can be successful. We lobby for the kind of quality workforce that employers need and to provide the resources and the assistance and services that startups, small businesses, and struggling businesses need to be profitable and to flourish.\u201d — Myrna Ballard, president Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Valdosta and Lowndes County community is often referred to as \u201cTitle Town\u201d and the \u201cAzalea City,\u201d but its recognition as Georgia\u2019s first Entrepreneur-Friendly Community is another proud distinction that was received in 2004 by the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD).<\/p>\n
The designation is part of a certification program that helps communities analyze their existing entrepreneurial environment and develop strategies to foster growth of small businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were the first community to receive this designation in Georgia,\u201d said Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce President Myrna Ballard. \u201cWe kind of helped them develop the program for the rest of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballard said Valdosta and Lowndes County were selected because of existing programs in place to grow and support small businesses, including the SEEDS (Sowing Entrepreneur and Economic Development Success) Business Resource Center, and collaboration with the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Valdosta State University.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had already put our resources where our mouth is by investing in the programs and staff to create a full-time entrepreneur resource center for our community,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cThe designation was also a recognition of our partnership with the SBDC. The City of Valdosta also invests funds each year for the SEEDS Center to ensure that any citizen in this area has access to high-quality services at absolutely no charge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Small businesses are the backbone of the country, especially in Georgia where the GDEcD identifies 99.8 percent of businesses are categorized as small (fewer than 500 employees).<\/p>\n
\u201cMost businesses, and most job growth, come from the aggregated growth of small businesses,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cThe role of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority is to recruit new jobs and new investment from outside our community into our community\u2014and they do it very well. The Chamber\u2019s job is to home-grow businesses; we don\u2019t recruit from outside the local area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballard explains that creating a pro-business environment is part of the Chamber\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work with what we have right here to create the kind of business environment where all sizes of businesses can be successful,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cWe lobby for the kind of quality workforce that employers need and to provide the resources and the assistance and services that startups, small businesses, and struggling businesses need to be profitable and to flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each year the SEEDS Center, located in the Chamber\u2019s office, provides free assistance to startup businesses as well as existing and expanding companies in Lowndes County and regional partnering counties.<\/p>\n
While the SEEDS Center has served as a \u201cvirtual incubator\u201d for more than a decade, there are plans to develop a physical, functional incubator to help small businesses grow and succeed.<\/p>\n
According to Ballard, Greenwood Consulting Group was hired to conduct a financial feasibility study to determine where the incubator should be, how much space will be needed, and how the incubator will be funded from development to continual operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreenwood Consulting completed a financial feasibility analysis in September,\u201d said Ballard. \u201cThey have narrowed it down to three potential locations and have run the numbers to determine what it will cost to acquire and remodel and operate each.\u00a0 The Incubator Task Force will select the location that has the greatest potential for success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballard says the next step is for the Chamber to develop a business plan.\u00a0 Greenwood Consulting Group will conduct this phase of the project as well. She anticipates the completion of the business plan in January 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the public sector\u2014especially Valdosta State University\u2014is very supportive of the incubator, I think it\u2019s going to be up to the private sector to make it happen,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cThere is a great deal of interest out there and I think the business community is intrigued by the possibilities of a one-stop-shop for building and growing successful businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the SEEDS Center, startup and existing small businesses are able to use professional business consulting services provided by the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center, located on the campus of Valdosta State University.<\/p>\n
According to Lynn Bennett, area director of UGA SBDC at VSU, the SBDC provides continuous support for entrepreneurs from the initial stages with preparing a business plan and cash flow projections to growing a business to the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a growing initiative within the Valdosta community to attract new entrepreneurs,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cThe spirit of entrepreneurship is growing and owning your own business can be a reality. The UGA SBDC at Valdosta State University is here to support and assist every step of the way and is a valuable source of continuing education for business owners.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>Bennett is appreciative of the support the SBDC receives from businesses and organizations that sponsor educational programs for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n \u201cGuardian Bank has been very supportive in helping the SBDC equip small business owners with the knowledge and training needed to take their small business to the next level, in turn developing our local economy and making this a great community in which to work and live,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cThe SBDC and Guardian Bank have a solid-based partnership because we share the same mission to help business owners grow and expand their businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n Guardian Bank recently provided financial support to host a five-week retail course focused on helping businesses improve their retail performance.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Guardian Bank we understand that businesses are challenged with economic and regulatory uncertainty and constant change. These challenges can be overwhelming without sound management practices, continuing education, and strategic planning,\u201d said Guardian Bank Chief Executive Officer Parrish Clark. \u201cThe partnership between the VSU SBDC and Guardian Bank was specifically formed to help small businesses receive contemporary and meaningful guidance in the ever-changing economic climate.\u201d<\/p>\n It Begins with a Plan<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n One of the most successful entrepreneurial efforts within Valdosta and Lowndes County is the annual business plan competition, which began in 2006 and is organized by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce. The Southwest Georgia Bank Business Plan Competition has a goal to encourage excellence in the planning stages of starting a new business.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the business plan competition sponsor, we are able to invest in our community by providing capital investment to help start a small business,\u201d said Jud Moritz, senior vice president for Southwest Georgia Bank. \u201cAs a community bank, we are focused on helping small businesses start, grow, and succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n Southwest Georgia Bank has sponsored the business plan competition since 2014 and is committed to continuing its support.<\/p>\n \u201cIt takes a committed and sustained effort for a community to intentionally build its capacity to nurture and grow businesses that can employ college and university graduates,\u201d said Ballard. \u201cKnowing that Southwest Georgia Bank is in it \u2018for the long haul\u2019 with the Chamber by supporting the annual business plan competition gives us confidence that we can sustain this effort.\u201d<\/p>\n Business plan competition winners have included financial management, technology, healthcare, educational services, and management consulting companies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Azalea Health, founded by Baha Zeidan, Doug Swords, and Dan Henry, was the 2008 business plan competition winner. Today, Azalea Health has 77 employees in three Georgia cities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The 2008 business plan winner was Azalea Health, a technology company formed by Valdosta State University alumni Baha Zeidan, Doug Swords, and Dan Henry. The company provides innovative health-related software products and services to increase the efficiency and profitability of healthcare businesses.<\/p>\n In eight years, the company has expanded to 77 employees in three Georgia locations\u2014Valdosta, Macon, and Atlanta\u2014and serves customers in more than 40 states.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s growth has not altered its original mission.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the beginning, Azalea Health has been focused largely on serving the rural market of medical providers,\u201d said Swords, vice president for Revenue Cycle Management. \u201cWe were one of the first Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems in the nation to incorporate Telehealth technology into our platform to help our providers better service the underserved rural markets.\u201d<\/p>\n The process of writing a business plan was beneficial to the early development of the company and its continued growth.<\/p>\n \u201cBaha, Dan, and I can honestly say Azalea Health would not be where it is today without the support we have received from the local community,\u201d said Swords. \u201cThe business plan competition helped us shape our plan and vision and allowed us to secure the initial funding we needed to begin operation.\u201d<\/p>\n Zeidan explained that it wasn\u2019t just the initial funding from the business plan that was helpful but the advice and guidance received from local businesses and organizations.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we first started talking about different ideas we knew we wanted to do something in health care since we were all working in that area,\u201d said Zeidan, Azalea Health CEO. \u201cWe went to the SBDC and took classes, and they told us about the business plan competition.\u201d<\/p>\n The three entrepreneurs agree that writing the business plan gave their company a strong foundation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not for the faint of heart. You have to have your mind focused and know what you are doing,\u201d said Henry, director of development. \u201cThe business plan competition helped solidify all the ideas we were having, and I attribute a lot of that success to going through that process.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Innovate Engineering Solutions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Bill Kent, president of Innovate Engineering Solutions, is pictured at the site of the City of Valdosta South Troup Street Enhancement Project. The project includes new sidewalks, curbs and gutters, bicycle lanes, underground storm sewer and drainage inlets, driveway aprons, and water and sewer mains and service connections.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>A Kansas native, Bill Kent moved to Valdosta 23 years ago and held the position of traffic and drainage engineer and assistant engineer for the City of Valdosta and assistant vice president for ASA Engineering and Surveying. At the age of 42, he began to think about opening a civil engineering firm.<\/p>\n Kent started writing a business plan and developing the concept for Innovate Engineering Solutions, a firm that specializes in land development planning, civil engineering, site design services, environmental engineering, and construction management.<\/p>\n \u201cWriting a business plan wasn\u2019t a big leap,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing an engineer, everything I do is planning. We start at the beginning and know what our goal is at the end, and we develop a plan on how to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n Innovate Engineering Solutions won the 2010 business plan competition and continues to be an economically vibrant business.<\/p>\n \u201cEntering the business plan competition was about discovering where I was as a business and where I wanted to be in a specific amount of time,\u201d said Kent. \u201cI attended classes through the SBDC, and they helped me gather data on competition in the area and expected revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n Kent explained that starting a business in Valdosta and Lowndes County has its advantages.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are set up very well with one of the best chambers in the country,\u201d Kent said. \u201cThey were extremely helpful and provided information and guidance throughout the startup process. If they couldn\u2019t answer a question, they would point me in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Kent said most of his projects are in South Georgia, but Innovate Engineering Solutions has completed jobs throughout Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, and Alabama.<\/p>\n \u201cOur primary work is civil and environmental engineering, which includes a lot of issues like wetlands, special permits, and determining if there is hazardous waste contamination on the site,\u201d said Kent, who earned a master\u2019s in civil engineering from Kansas State University. \u201cBefore a bank will loan money for a project they want an environmental study to get assurance and clearance that there won\u2019t be any environmental issues with construction.<\/p>\n Enay Coaching<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Members of <\/em>Enay Coaching Charlie Davis, Elton Dixon, Sloane Royster, and Damian Grey hosted Camp TIMBER in partnership with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. The summer camp promoted science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum for children ages 10 to 14.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Elton Dixon and his wife, Adrienne, started Enay Coaching to provide business training and education to schools, businesses, and organizations to help elevate teamwork-minded, purpose-focused engagement among the current and future workforce.<\/p>\n Before winning the 2015 Southwest Georgia Bank Business Plan Competition, Elton and a team of friends (Damian Grey, Charlie Davis, Carl Collins, Sloane Royster, and Chioma Madueke) volunteered at local schools, which is where they discovered their passion and vision for the company.<\/p>\n \u201cWe discovered that we were very passionate about our purpose, and as a result, we were able to get lots of experience, quality outcomes, and connections,\u201d said Dixon. \u201cIn other words, we proved to ourselves and our supporters that we are fully committed to what we are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n This summer, Enay Coaching worked in partnership with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College (WGTC) to develop Camp TIMBER, a course designed to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum to children ages 10 to 14. . Activities also included a ropes challenge course, teamwork hike, and wildlife presentation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe objective was to give students the opportunity to use the principles we teach as they take on various problem-solving challenges in an immersive setting,\u201d said Dixon. \u201cI have been connected with Bill Tillman, director of Economic Development at WGTC, ever since the business plan competition, and he was a natural partner for the Camp TIMBER project.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Dixon, Enay\u2019s future plans include expanding tutoring services, delivering more programs at local schools, and developing strategies to increase parent involvement in schools.<\/p>\n Dixon said winning the business plan competition has allowed Enay Coaching to further market and demonstrate its services to the local education and business community.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cWe work with what we have right here to create the kind of business environment where all sizes of businesses can be successful. We lobby for the kind of quality workforce that employers need and to provide the resources and the assistance and services that startups, small businesses, and struggling businesses need to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"azalea-health_1\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sgamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Azalea-Health_1-1024x644.jpg?resize=1078%2C696\")
<\/p>\n![\"Bill](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sgamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Bill-Kent_1.jpg?resize=1119%2C730\")
![\"Members](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sgamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Enay_edited_3.jpg?resize=1104%2C643\")