South Carolina Business Review

Interest rates are on a lot of people’s minds these days as they continue to inch higher. So, we are going to check in with one of our resident financial advisors to see what his advice is for individuals and companies that may need some portfolio rebalancing or loan reshuffling. Mike Switzer interviews Jared Crawford, a certified financial planner in North Myrtle Beach, SC.

Mike Switzer interviews John Warner, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Innoventure in Greenville, S.C. John talks about a recent Post and Courier article about our state’s brain drain and how that will be addressed at the upcoming Innoventure Futures Festival in Greenville, S.C. Sept. 22, 2023.

An upstate business owner was recently named to the prestigious 50 Over 50: Impact list at Forbes magazine, recognizing the achievements of female entrepreneurs and leaders across the country over the age of 50. And that’s putting her in pretty good company alongside names such as Viola Davis, Jamie Lee Curtis and Gloria Steinem. Mike Switzer interviews Britt Vergnolle, founder and CEO of BDV Solu...

Most business owners would agree that a city’s quality of life is an important factor in the recruitment and retainment of quality employees. And that includes art and cultural events. Our next guest is working hard to maintain and grow the level of cultural activity in our state’s capital city. Mike Switzer interviews Mark Rapp, founder and executive director of ColaJazz Foundation, host of the u...

Careers in environment, agriculture, and forestry are becoming more and more popular in our state thanks to numerous job opportunities in those areas as well as to educational opportunities such as those offered by our next guest’s Upstate university. Mike Switzer interviews Kirby Player, coordinator of the Palmetto Leadership Program for the Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (PLEAF) at Clemso...

When was the last time your investment advisor suggested to you that CDs were the best place to put your money. I mean, they’re normally all about stocks, right? But our next guest says that, indeed, CDs are his favorite right now. Mike Switzer interviews Doug English, a certified financial planner with ACT Advisors in Charleston, SC.

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.

The start-up community in our capital city recently gained a new resource when our next guest’s nonprofit organization opened up their new facility which is providing co-working and networking opportunities and more thanks to some outside funding that they were able to attain last year. Mike Switzer interviews Caroline Crowder, executive director of GrowCo in Columbia, SC.

Like many states around the country, ours also has pockets across the state’s metropolitan areas where fresh foods are hard to come by…areas known as food deserts. Our next guest is a journalist that has been reporting on this issue and the new trend toward mobile grocery stores. Mike Switzer interviews Jessica Holdman, with the Post and Courier in Columbia, SC.

When the COVID-19 pandemic essentially shut down the international supply chain, many American businesses realized that locally sourced suppliers were going to be essential in avoiding future disruptions in the manufacturing process. As a result, our next guest’s organization decided to help bring a new tool to our state’s manufacturers in an effort to avoid this problem in the future. Mike Switze...

It’s that time again when we like to check in with one of our resident economists to get their perspective on the outlook for our state’s economy and the national picture. Mike Switzer interviews Frank Hefner, Director of the Office of Economic Analysis and Professor of Economics at the College of Charleston.

Mike Switzer interviews John Warner, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Innoventure in Greenville, S.C. John tells us about five big advanced manufacturers in our state that will be presenting the innovation needs at the Innoventure Futures Festival in Greenville, SC Sept. 22, 2023.

A 50-year-old Midlands-area agricultural supply company recently received a $150,000 South Carolina Agribusiness Incentives Grant to help with their $1.2 million expansion into a new county. Mike Switzer interviews Robert Ethridge, president of Mixon Seed Service in Orangeburg, SC.

Over 60 years ago, our next guest’s company got its start in New York launching a line of maintenance products for boats. Then, in 1995, after a merger with a coatings and flooring manufacturer, they relocated to our state and have since expanded into products for the light aviation and recreational vehicle markets and contract manufacturing. Mike Switzer interviews Maike Kowal with Life Industrie...

You may have heard our recent interview with Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association about the current teacher shortage in our state. Today, we will hear from someone affiliated with a teacher recruitment initiative funded by the SC Dept. of Education. Mike Switzer interviews Katie Crews, a senior program manager with TEACH South Carolina in Columbia. TeachSC Community I...

Paying off your mortgage early can seem like a great idea - who wouldn't want to own their home free and clear and stop making monthly payments? But is it always the best move financially? We’ve invited our next guest to the show today to help answer that question. Mike Switzer interviews Garet Strange, a certified financial planner with Hobbs Group Advisors in Columbia, SC.

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.

As we’ve noted recently, the pandemic motivated many people to start their own companies, and in one category more than others - food. After starting her own food truck last year, our next guest recently decided to also enter the commercial kitchen business. Mike Switzer interviews Carena Jones, co-owner of Just Jonesin’ Commissary Kitchen in Columbia, SC.

We’ve come to learn that while many companies closed during the pandemic, many also began. Our next guest is one such example. During the economic shutdown, she and her co-founder turned their hobby of jam-making into a growing enterprise with the help of a grant from the South Carolina Department of Agriculture’s Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship, known as ACRE. Mike Switzer i...

For some reason, most people still believe Georgia is the leading peach grower in the country but actually our state produces three times as much. In fact, only California is ahead of us and the second-largest peach farm in the country is here and is run by our next guest. Mike Switzer interviews Chalmers Carr, CEO of Titan Farms in Ridge Spring, SC.

Everyone’s heard the old adage “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. And you probably also know this is often applied to investment strategy. Unfortunately, the top 10 stocks in the US market, mostly technology companies, are now concentrated in major indices, like the S&P 500, to the highest degree in nearly five decades. While the performance of this handful of stocks has been terrific ov...

Mike Switzer interviews John Warner, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Innoventure in Greenville, S.C. John tells us about new electric vehicle news in SC and the director of the Center for Connected Multimodal Mobility (C2M2) at Clemson University receiving a $20 million grant from US Dept. of Transportation and starting a new center: the National Center for Transportation Cybersecurity and Re...

Over the years, we’ve come across many entrepreneurs who have utilized the free mentoring services provided by our next guest’s organization but it’s been a while since we’ve checked in with them. So today we’re ringing them up. Mike Switzer interviews Jim Helfgott, district director for the South Carolina chapter of SCORE.

Natural gas is often listed in the clean energy category. Some people might say a more appropriate moniker would be “cleaner than oil”. But either way, our next guest is plugging away at furthering the growth of the industry as part of a recently formed organization in the Carolinas that represents all parts of the natural gas supply chain, along with public gas entities and economic development g...

After over 20 years of planning, our next guest’s museum officially opened to the public this June, with a mission of helping visitors learn the full story of the African American journey. Mike Switzer interviews Dr. Tonya M. Matthews, president and CEO of the International African American Museum in Charleston.