South Carolina Business Review

Imagine that you have saved diligently over the years to fund your child’s 529 education savings plan, but instead of the expensive private college originally planned for, your daughter chose to enroll at a public university. So now that you have money left over in that 529 plan, what can be done with it? Our next guest says that the good news is that a new option is available now that could help...

Even though inflation continues to be on everybody’s minds these days, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s recent annual survey showed that the average cost of your recent family Thanksgiving dinner should have actually dropped by about 4.5% from last year. But our next guest also completed a recent survey of business leaders in our state and found that while inflation is not number one on their...

Ever since China stopped importing recyclable materials from the US several years ago, we have been hearing from people who say they believe recycling doesn’t matter anymore, and that everything is just going to the landfill anyway, so why bother? But the facts are that our state is home to over 300 recycling companies, a number which actually grew last year, bringing with them over $4 billion in...

Correction: the December 7, 2023 version of this story stated that the 90-mile corridor between Columbia and Charlotte sees more than 145 million people passing through each day; that statement was incorrect, and has been updated as of December 11, 2023 and should read as follows:“In case you didn’t know, 145 million people live within an 11-hour drive of the 90-mile corridor between Columbia and...

Last year, our next guest’s organization was awarded a grant of $1 million with more coming this year, all with the mission of funding collaborative projects benefiting our state’s citizens and NASA. Mike Switzer interviews Catherine Hayes, executive director of CORE SC and an industry manager with the South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) in Charleston, SC.

Many people who solicit the assistance of a financial advisor have preconceived notions of what to expect involving investment management, tax planning, estate planning, etc. However, our next guest says there is often a disconnect between those client expectations and the actual services provided by financial advisors. He says the solution may be a virtual family office. Mike Switzer interviews J...

Alan tells us about the current challenges to bettering education levels in our state and the recent task force survey from the SC Dept. of Education. Our prior interviews with teacher groups in SC: Teacher Shortage Continues Unabated in SC and Recruiting teachers is a priority in SC. Mike Switzer interviews Alan Cooper, founder and editor of three online business news websites in South Carolina:...

Our state is home to a family-owned paint manufacturer that has been in business for over 100 years and we just learned that they are celebrating another milestone as the two brothers leading the company have now reached fifty years in that business together. They are Pope and Bobby Walker, who run the Rose Talbert Paint Company in Cayce, SC and today, we have Pope on the phone.

If you’ve ever worn earbuds or the mini earphones that fit into your ears, you have probably experienced the hassle of them falling out or not being comfortable in your ears. Our next guest thinks his Upstate company has found the solution using 3D printing and as a result has spurred the South Carolina Research Authority’s investment affiliate, SC Launch, to invest a quarter million dollars into...

Although we’ve been doing this show for over 23 years, we continue to learn about niche segments of the business world that we hadn’t heard of before. And so it goes with our next guest’s company, owner of a local franchise that specializes in paving and maintaining parking lots. Mike Switzer interviews Charlie Mimms, who along with his wife, Melissa, own and operate Everline Coatings in Columbia,...

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,...