South Carolina Business Review

As the year winds down, a lot of financial reviews start to take place. And one of those can involve estate planning. Mike Switzer interviews Chris Cabri, a certified financial planner with Wells Fargo Advisors in Greenwood, SC.

It’s that time of year when many people take a look at making year-end charitable donations. But before you make that donation, you might want to review their financial information and check to see if that charity is even registered to solicit in our state. And that’s where our next guest comes in. Mark Hammond is the Secretary of State for South Carolina and his office is not only in charge of th...

Our next guest and her husband are filmmakers who recently relocated to our state’s Lowcountry. Their documentary about a Native American youth art project and its role in revitalizing their language and culture has won multiple awards across the country, most recently the Susan A. K. Shaffer Humanitarian Award at the Beaufort International Film Festival. Mike Switzer interviews Heather Steinberge...

You may have heard us interview companies who have received SBIR or STTR grants to help them fund the research that their young companies depend on to continue to grow and validate their business models. However, applying for these grants or practically any grant can be a daunting process. And that’s why the SC Department of Commerce is now making available free services to companies and entrepren...

Three years ago, Clemson University received its largest ever gift: $60 million from Wilbur and Ann Powers in an effort to transform the university’s business school, which now bears their names. What has happened since then? Mike Switzer interviews Wendy York, dean of the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business at Clemson University.

When the end of the year rolls around, it seems like there is always a lot to talk about when it comes to the economy and what the experts believe will be coming next year. And that’s why our next guest’s business school always hosts an economic outlook conference at this time of year. Mike Switzer interviews Joey Von Nessen, chief economist at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School...

An update of the news, events and issues that are trending right now across South Carolina's business community. Mike Switzer interviews Jason Thomas, executive editor of SCBizNews, the company that publishes the Columbia Regional Business Report, Charleston Regional Business Journal, GSA Business and SCBizNews magazine.

For a very long time, our state has been known as a manufacturing state. And during that time, a lot has happened with technology, enough so that a new segment has emerged known as advanced manufacturing. The recent announcements of several large, new such factories coming to our state has brought to the forefront the need not just for the specialized workforce training but also leadership trainin...

Nonprofit organizations are an integral part of the business community. In fact, board members of nonprofits are often local business leaders. Yet nonprofits also often struggle to recruit new board members which is why our next guest’s organization recently launched a new tool to help with that process. Mike Switzer interviews Madeleine McGee, president of TogetherSC in Columbia.

It’s not often we hear of a local start-up raising big money from outside the state, but that is what has happened with our next guest’s socially-minded e-commerce company, which has received $750,000 so far this year, most of which has come from a Cleveland-based venture capital firm. Mike Switzer interviews Jeff Spencer, CEO and co-founder of Playfora, in the Boyd Innovation Center in Columbia,...

Hard to believe but true, 2023 is winding down and 2024 is right around the corner. For investors, this is the time of the year for retrospection and prognostication. So let’s check in with one of our experts on these issues. Mike Switzer interviews Wes Johnson, a certified financial planner with ACT Advisors in Charleston, S.C.

If the tight labor market, inflation, and rising interest rates weren’t enough for the business community to worry about in 2023, then came artificial intelligence. Suddenly, it’s all companies can talk about…how can we use AI to grow our business and protect our business from competition? Our next guest’s business school has put together a conference to address these issues. Mike Switzer intervie...

Our state has long been a proponent of sustainability, and our next guest’s North Carolina company has long been a part of that, with three of its nationwide locations in South Carolina. Wes Carter is president of Atlantic Packaging in Summerville, S.C.

Our next guest’s company recently received a $250,000 investment from the South Carolina Research Authority’s investment affiliate, SC Launch. An investment he says will help them scale up their services for independent pharmacies. Darren Schaupp is CEO of SiteLabs, at the Duke Energy Innovation Center in the Clemson Research Park.

If you heard our recent interview with Laura Hutchinson who runs the Advanced Manufacturing and Skills Trade school at Midlands Technical College, you might remember her mentioning that the building construction class won the 2022 national championship and placed second in the nation this year. And so today, we have on the phone the director of that program. Mike Switzer interviews Robbie Sharpe,...

A lot has happened in the cryptocurrency market over the past several months so we thought it might be a good time to check in with our resident crypto expert to get his thoughts. Mike Switzer interviews Allen Gillespie, chief investment officer at FinTrust Capital Advisors in Greenville, S.C.

An update of the news, events, and issues that are trending right now across South Carolina's business community. Mike Switzer interviews Alan Cooper, founder and editor of three online business news websites in South Carolina: MidlandsBiz, UpstateBizSC, and LowCountryBizSC.

Many people are familiar with the term social entrepreneurship which involves creating companies that strive to solve social problems, such as poverty, education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability. Our next guest’s college has initiated a program to attract like-minded students. Mike Switzer interviews Dr. Ben Bailey, a political science professor at Presbyterian College and the directo...

The current unemployment rate in our state is about 3%, with companies continuing to struggle to find qualified workers, especially because so many are already employed and not actively seeking work. However, our next guest says that many underemployed people can be exposed to job opportunities that are a better fit for their skilled qualifications by using a technology known as programmatic adver...

With 26+ daily, nonstop flights to nine major cities, our next guest’s airport has decided that they will soon update the restaurant and shopping opportunities available to the one million+ passengers that use this airport. Mike Switzer interviews Mike Gula, president and CEO of the Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

Rising interest rates and more global conflict continue to put pressure on financial markets so we thought now might be a good time to check in with one of our resident investment analysts to get his take on the current situation. Mike Switzer interviews Tyson Halsey, a chartered financial analyst with Income Growth Advisors in Daniel Island, SC.

Low unemployment, an aging population, higher interest rates and inflation, and global conflict are all factors our next guest says are weighing on our economy. Mike Switzer interviews Bruce Yandle, Dean Emeritus at the College of Business & Behavioral Science and Alumni Professor of Economics Emeritus, both at Clemson University. He is also the Distinguished Professor of Economics at George M...

Our next guest has discovered that there are a lot of interesting and talented people in our state who need help connecting with others and showcasing those talents across the state, the nation, and even the world. Mike Switzer interviews Neal Kinard, founder of The Palmetto Network in Charleston, S.C.

It’s that time of year again when a popular music festival returns to the streets of our capital city, bringing with it a significant economic impact. Mike Switzer interviews Jay Matheson, owner of the Jam Room Recording Studio and founder of the Jam Room Music Festival coming November 4th to Columbia, S.C.

Our state has definitely built up a solid reputation as a manufacturing state over the past several decades, and that reputation has been built on the success of our technical school system and its workforce development programs. That’s something our next guest is thick in the middle of. Mike Switzer interviews Laura Hutchinson Davis, chair of the School of Advanced Manufacturing and Skilled Trade...