BMW renews 10-year option, makes Charleston No. 1 for BMW imports By Matthew French Already one of the largest economic forces in the state, BMW Manufacturing Corp. earlier this month announced plans to increase the number of luxury automobiles flowing through the Lowcountry.
Greenberg: Growth on tap for MUSC By Martin Sinderman Following a year of expansion in programs that was also marked by an emphasis on relationship building with the state’s other research universities, 2005 will be a period of physical growth for the Medical University of South Carolina.
Bars face new challenges with switch from minibottles By Matthew French With the passage earlier this month of the law that will allow barkeeps and restauranteurs to opt out of the decades-old minibottle chains, many are now left to consider the ramifications.
QUICK NOTES: Courts should let half-cent sales tax vote stand By Dennis Quick Pathetic protest. On Nov. 2 Charleston County voted 59% to 41% in favor of the half-cent sales tax hike. That’s the second consecutive time voters approved the proposal, this time by a whopping margin. And for the second consecutive time, tax-hike opponents, led by Joey Douan (at this writing a Charleston County Council candidate), filed a legal suit against the proposal.
Merchants, shoppers unite for Shopping With Friends By Sarah G. McC. Moïse As holiday shopping gets under way, over 60 local businesses have joined together in one of the largest collaborative retail events in Charleston’s history. “Shopping With Friends” is a unified effort by area merchants to donate 10% of net sales on Dec. 4 to Lowcountry AIDS Services (LAS), the nonprofit social service agency serving people infected with HIV/AIDS.
Life 2.0: Have you found the ‘where’ of your happiness? By Bill Settlemyer Have you found the “where” of your happiness? Of course you have, because you’re living right here in the Lowcountry. Never mind that a new book about finding that special place takes some pot shots at Charleston.
Low S.C. taxes support economic development efforts By Martin Sinderman A low tax environment is garnering the Palmetto State a fair amount of recognition as a fertile ground for starting and growing a business. But at the same time, those close to the economic development action point out that low taxes are only part of what it takes to compete in today’s business attraction/retention arena.
S.C. MONTHLY OUTLOOK: South Carolina Film Commission revamps web site The South Carolina Film Commission has debuted an all-new version of FilmSC.com, an interactive web site designed as a one-stop shop for filmmakers scouting locations for their next award-winning motion picture.
EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT: Tapping the power of people By Wayne Outlaw Over the years I have discovered that one of the biggest obstacles both current and aspiring executives have to overcome is the ability to detach themselves from their business and tap the power of their employees to improve effectiveness and results. The typical executive and entrepreneur’s lament is, “I can do it better myself” or “If I do it, I know it gets done and done right.”
S.C. Federal Credit Union goes high tech By Matthew French In an age of ever-increasing reliance upon technology, the era of the face-to-face transaction appears to rapidly be coming to a close. With the widespread use of drive-up banking, automated teller machines and self-checkout at grocery stores, businesses have started to rely less on people and more on machines to process daily procedures.
MARKETING: Solid brand platform wins the day in business or politics By Elizabeth Boineau The recent unpleasantness known as media coverage of “Decision 2004” proved once again that having a strong brand and a consistent message is clearly the most effective way to win votes or customers. Whatever your political affiliation, watching this campaign evolve was pretty painful, and maybe now and again you too felt like you had accidentally stumbled into some family dispute you would prefer not to have witnessed.
ESOPs motivate employees, give tax relief to owners By Matthew French Small business owners looking to stay in control of their companies while increasing their liquidity have an option at their disposal that relatively few take advantage of. Called the Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, the business maneuver is a way a small business owner can increase his or her employees’ stake in a company while maintaining complete control and even providing some tax benefits, say industry experts.
Law, technology create changes for checking accounts By Sarah G. McC. Moise New laws and technology are making major changes in the way checks are processed and presented. Along with electronic check processing, changes are also imminent from the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, which went into effect on Oct. 28. More commonly known as Check 21, the law is intended to improve the nation’s payments system by bringing the traditional paper check into the digital age.
Community Banks see rising growth, customer base By Sarah G. McC. Moïse There is a strong presence of community banks in the tri-county area, particularly in Mount Pleasant, where five community banks operate within a three-mile radius, including Tidelands Bank, Southcoast Community Bank, Community FirstBank and the Bank of South Carolina—all showing astonishing growth in assets as well as competitive services.
Small companies should weigh 401(k) costs By Dennis Quick In the world of employee retirement savings plans, perhaps no plan has created as much buzz as the 401(k) plan. The federal government established the 401(k)—named for that section of the Internal Revenue Code—in 1981 and gave it special tax advantages to help employees save for retirement. Money is deducted from the employee’s paycheck and put into to the 401(k) plan before income taxes are taken out.
Tailored class ‘A’ office park slated for Cainhoy By Dennis Quick A new class “A” office park is in the works to attract to the region high technology and biotech firms—the kind of businesses that offer high-paying jobs.
New fund hosts investors under one umbrella By Matthew French A new investment opportunity for qualified participants has sprung up in the Lowcountry and is looking to make its mark on the financing landscape.
Bradford Mortgage expands into Lowcountry By Dennis Quick Bradford Mortgage Co., an independent mortgage banking company based in Winston-Salem, N.C., made its Charleston debut Oct. 1 by opening an office in West Ashley.
CureSource thrives despite stem cell controversy By Dennis Quick While the embryonic stem cell debate rages across the nation, a local biotech company is prospering quietly from stem cells originating from a different source—umbilical cord blood.
Real Estate People in the News
Stephanie S. Johnson has joined Linhart Realty LLC as a Realtor associate working in the residential and land division. She has 14 years experience in international logistics.
Five new agents have joined the Mount Pleasant office of AgentOwned Realty. Alison Crosby is a former small business owner and has experience in marketing, advertising and publishing. Tonia Jones is a graduate of Francis Marion University with a degree in biology. Deepa Patel is a graduate…
Drug plans benefit some; will be more costly for others Low-income people with Medicare who sign up for new “Part D” drug plans and receive the additional subsidies—an estimated 8.7 million people—are projected to pay 83% less for prescription drugs in 2006 than they would have spent if the Medicare drug law had not been enacted, according to a new report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Those who enroll in the new drug benefit but do not receive the low-income subsidies—an estimated 20.3 million people—are projected to pay on average 28% less out of pocket for their prescription drugs as a result of the new law, the analysis finds.
TIME WELL SPENT: Preventing holiday weight gain is easier than you think By Honor Hawkins Between the cookies in the office kitchen and chocolates on every desk, even the healthiest intentions may take a holiday between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. We pass on the gym to hit a cocktail party; pass on the raw broccoli for that cheesy mini-quiche.
Local company takes on food service distribution worldwide By Sarah G. McC. Moise A new Charleston technology company has launched its software in the global market, with a product designed to standardize the food service distribution industry by improving efficiency and increasing margins.
Tech Briefs
Wi-Fi hardware market up 9%, Wi-Fi switch revenue up 80%
Worldwide Wi-Fi hardware revenue is up 9% to $784.5 million and units are up 31% between the second and third quarters of 2004, as the key driver for Wi-Fi products, data mobility, remains strong across all segments, according to Infonetics. …
Local Realtor tops Hewlett-Packard technology list By Sarah G. McC. Moise Hewlett-Packard Co. has named local Realtor Warren Sloane of Sloane Realty an HP Top Technology Producer for his creative use of technology solutions to succeed in business.
PEOPLE
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Shaping Concepts LLC has hired Todd Fox and Shawn McDonald as personal trainers in the Mount Pleasant studio. Fox has a degree in exercise science from Murray State University. McDonald previously was manager of personal training services at World Gym in Asheville.
LAW
Margaret Lawton will join the faculty of the Charleston School of Law next fall as an associate professor. Lawton will teach criminal law and procedure, trial advocacy and…
CALENDAR
DEC. 1: Charleston Business Network. 11:30 a.m. at the China Gourmet on Sam Rittenberg Blvd. This group meets the first and third Thursday of each month. Information: Doug Holladay, 571 5044, ext. 18.
DEC. 1: Mount Pleasant Business & Networking Group meeting. Noon at Old Village Post House, 101 Pitt St. Guests and prospective members are welcome. Information: Tricia Casey, 364-1455 or Chris Kendra, 343-3701. …
Accolades
George B. Smythe with Coastal Mortgage Co. of South Carolina has been named to the chairman’s club level, having produced more than $40 million in new mortgage loans since January 2004. Smythe has been with the firm for 10 months and previously was a loan originator with Atlantic Savings Bank in Charleston. …
Appointments
R. Christopher Cullum has joined the Charleston Southern University board of visitors. He is president of Cullum Construction Inc. and will serve on the board until Dec. 31, 2007.
Andra L. Watkins has been elected to the board of directors for the Footlight Players. Watkins has been the administrator of Pratt-Thomas Epting & Walker PA for three years. …
