2020 GSA Business Report - Book of Experts

BOOKof EXPERTS

December 24, 2020 | Volume 23, No. 24

2

2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

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visit:

HTBforBusiness.com

Publisher - Rick Jenkins rjenkins@scbiznews.com • 864.720-1224 Account Executive - Ryan Downing rdowning@scbiznews.com • 864.720.1221 Account Executive - Angie Hammond ahammond@scbiznews.com • 864.720.1974 Editor, Custom Publishing Division Steve McDaniel smcdaniel@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3123

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Rick Jenkins Publisher

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f you run a business, you have a recurring need for experts in your life. Let’s face it, we can’t be expected to know everything, right? Sometimes we need an accountant. An attorney. A banker. Or maybe a marketing or HR consultant.

Not only are experts more knowledgeable in their chosen field than we are, but they’re faster as well. They’ve done it over and over.

They have extensive experience through practice and education.

GSA Business Report was born on Sept. 15, 1997, when the very first issue was mailed to thousands of business executives throughout the Upstate. In the ensuing 23 years, I like to think that we, and those that came before us, have been experts in what we do. We provide our readers — high level business executives just like you — a wealth of information every business day. It is that expertise that has allowed us to keep doing what we do for the past

two-plus decades. One way we distribute that expertise is through the business resource guide you now hold in your hands — our annual Book of Experts.

Within these pages, experts will provide advice, share knowledge and demonstrate why they are proven leaders in their respective fields. Six experts are pictured on the front cover. But they are more than experts. Each of them is a leading executive within their company; a few even founded the company they now lead.

I hope the advice given within these pages delivers value to you as you search for information that can help you make wise decisions in your business and even your personal life. Enjoy!

Sincerely, Rick Jenkins Publisher, GSA Business Report

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION GSA Business Report (USPS 8460) is published twice monthly by SC Biz News 35 Cessna Court, Suite A, Greenville, SC 29607-2700 Periodicals postage paid at Greenville, SC and additional mailing offices.

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Annual subscribers receive 24 issues of GSA Business Report, including Book of Experts, Market Facts, and the Book of Lists.

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Subscribe, renew, change your address, or pay your invoice online at www.scbiznews.com/subscriber-services or call 864-517-1492.

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Any reproduction or use of the content within this publication without permission is prohibited. SCBIZ and South Carolina’s Media Engine for Economic Growth are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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About the cover:

COVID-19 has impacted our daily lives at home and at work in ways we could have never imagined. It affects almost every facet of our lives in one way or another. The photo shoot for Book of Experts was no exception. How do you bring together six executives for a group shot and do so safely with mask and social distancing protocols? Well, thankfully, we had a creative photographer.

Our photographer was Matt LaPenna, with Drum Creative. What did Matt do? He brought in the “experts� one at a time, positioned each in a different place on the set and took six individual photos. Then, with the assistance of Photoshop, magically brought them all together for the cover shoot. Check out the individual shots and the finished product below. Thanks, Matt!

Pictured left to right in the group shot:

William Jackson, Co-owner, Instel Power Products Bill Simmons, Founder, Thrive Business Strategies Randall Bentley, President, Lee & Associates Chris Manley, CEO & Co-founder, Engenius Van Swafford, President, Swafford Transport Lauren Simer, VP for Institutional Effectiveness, Greenville Technical College

BOOKof EXPERTS

, No. 20 | Volume 23

December 24, 20

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Matt LaPenna Photographer 6

2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

Special Advertising Supplement | 2020 Book of Experts

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FEATURED EXPERTS

36

16

8

14

12

10

Thrive Business Strategies

18

12

Lee & Associates

20 Engenius

14

Instel Power Products

26

Metal Chem, Inc.

16

Greenville Technical College

27

Kyel Group Inc.

2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

Swafford Transport And Warehouse

FEATURED EXPERTS

32

18

26

28

Greenville Chamber

34

Allen Tate

31

HR Experts

36

Visual Infonomics

32

Upstate SC Alliance

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MARKETING

Thrive Business Strategies finds the leak in your business Expert consultant pinpoints strategies to maximize revenue/profit goals B Y B I L L S I M M O N S • F O U N D E R • T H R I V E B U S I N E S S S T R AT E G I E S

D

oes this sound familiar? You’re working really hard at your business across all areas -- trying to improve systems and processes, paying attention to your brand and positioning, performing quality control -- yet you still can’t achieve your revenue and profit goals.

When I see this happening, it’s often because there’s a leak in the business.

At Thrive Business Strategies we look at business like a barrel. The slats that comprise the barrel and hold the water are the foundation of your business. We have identified eight slats: leadership, marketing, production, people management, quality control, operation, and sales. The whole barrel is the container that holds business revenue and profit, but its structural soundness is only as good as its individual slats.

These eight functions have a great impact on your company’s growth. While you may be doing a great number of things well, you’re only ever as good as your lowest denominator. For example, maybe you’ve become really good at delivering your service, but you struggle with hiring good people. You have people coming and going, and onboarding costs coming and going with them. That’s your lowest slat.

No matter how good you are at your service, if you constantly have a revolving door of onboarding costs, you’re leaking that revenue. It’s spilling over the edge of that slat.

As a part of Thrive’s Fractional COO services, we do a deep dive with businesses to identify their minimum slat and growth opportunity, so we can increase the size of their

How can a Fractional COO expand your business?

We Focus on people and processes so you can focus on growth and profits. Schedule your complimentary Strategy Session today at www.fractionalcoo.info. www.mythrivestrategies.com • bill@mythrivestrategies.com 864-326-5744

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2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

Bill Simmons, Founder, Thrive Business Strategies

Strategy.

Execution.

Results.

thrive

TM

BUSINESS STRATEGIES

MARKETING

revenue and profit. One of the things we have done recently for a local in your barrel. When you’re unaware of these holes, your growth suffers. company was create documentation and training that enabled the staff to So, the question to ask yourself is, “Where’s my leak?” Which area needs to become more productive and therefore profitable. be plugged, patched, or perfected? If you can’t determine this for yourself, A second-generation, family-owned company in Travelers Rest, S.C., had consider working with someone who can help you closely investigate your tremendous growth opportunities but were not business and pinpoint the hole. providing consistent or clear training to their staff.

“I didn’t know how much I If you’d like to get more info about the eight We went in and met with the business owner and functions and the barrel principle text THRIVE needed a Fractional COO discovered all the business’ processes were in his NOW to 33777 to get your free resource today. until I hired Thrive.” head -- and nowhere else. We documented them, Bill Simmons is the founder of Thrive Business refined them, and turned them into the training Strategies in Greer, South Carolina. With over - PAUL PAPPY the company needed. That business owner told us 30 years’ experience helping individuals and we were able to do what no one else was ever able PRESIDENT, entrepreneurs clarify and execute their visions, he’s the to do: extract and identify how he ran his business SONFAST CORPORATION one to turn to when you’re ready to grow your life or and make it accessible to his team. organization. He’s mastered the process of clarifying a “I didn’t know how much I needed a Fractional vision, creating a strategy for action, and seeing the plan through to success. Reach COO until I hired Thrive,” Sonfast Corporation President Paul Pappy said.

If you’re not generating the revenue you know is possible, there’s a leak out today at mythrivestrategies.com.

The only podcast that takes a deep dive into celebrating Greer, SC as an amazing place to do Business.

Hosted by Bill Simmons and Rick Stroud www.greerbusiness360.com

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REAL ESTATE

Randall Bentley: Four decades of local expertise Firm specializes in large commercial projects throughout the Upstate B Y R A N D A L L B E N T L E Y • P R E S I D E N T • L E E & A S S O C I AT E S

Q

uietly, over a career that spans more than 40 years and shows no sign of sign of slowing down, Randall Bentley is part of a generation that has left an indelible mark on the Upstate. President of the commercial real estate firm Lee & Associates / Greenville-Spartanburg, Bentley’s signature seems to be everywhere – just drive south down I-385 and you’ll see his company’s logo flying proudly on massive banners announcing another major new industrial building.

Not a bad legacy for a fellow who grew up in Fountain Inn. There, in the rolling hills of southern Greenville County, Bentley developed an appreciation for the land, along with a natural gift for meeting people and building lasting friendships. After graduating from the University of South Carolina, Bentley returned to the Upstate and began learning the dynamics of commercial real estate from the best in the business. In 2011, he saw the opportunity to join with Orange County, CA-based Lee & Associates and opened the Greenville office.

The firm specializes in the acquisition, disposition, and leasing of industrial, office, retail, flex, land and investment properties. But for Bentley, his love and expertise has always been in working with large scale manufacturers and distributors to find the ideal building to meet their needs.

“At the heart of Greenville and Spartanburg is a simple love of going to work,” he says. “From the textile mills of the past to today’s modern manufacturing plants, we like to make things and we do it well. I suppose my true passion is helping

Randall Bentley, President, Lee & Associates

Successful projects don’t just happen.

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2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

REAL ESTATE people and companies find the perfect place

with Trane and (international agricultural

to do their best work.”

equipment manufacturer) Alö. But, just

Today, in a world that thrives on depersonalized

digital

a few years ago 385 Business Park was an

technologies,

empty field. Working with Hughes, we saw

Bentley is a welcome throwback to firm

a need and felt that piece of land offered all

handshakes and simpler times. Obviously,

the solutions. That’s the real fun of what we

his offices are “plugged in” digitally, but

get to do in this business.”

Bentley has guided his team at Lee & Associates to take a holistic approach to every client’s situation. As he notes, it’s important to see beyond the transaction.

“Sometimes

it’s

business, and part of our mission is helping

companies

locate precisely the right space to meet their

needs,”

he

says. For example, Bentley helped Trane establish a 55,000 square-foot regional distribution

a

transactional

“There’s no exclusivity there; I serve many masters,” he says with a smile. “I just enjoy

PRESIDENT, LEE & ASSOCIATES

the to

opportunity share

ideas,

collaborate and see a great project come to life that benefits the Upstate. We’re very blessed to work with many of the Upstate’s most

Randall Bentley, President, Lee & Associates

experienced

developers. There’s a

center

joint initiative with Hughes Commercial the

Cothran and others go back 20-30 years.

“Sometimes it’s a transactional business, and part of our mission is helping companies locate precisely the right space to meet their needs.”

- RANDALL BENTLEY,

at Mauldin’s new 385 Business Park. A Properties,

Bentley’s relationships with successful developers like Jackson Hughes, Mark

155,000-square-foot

deep level of trust there.”

Lee & Associates also works with private investors who have the right desire

complex provides five-minute interstate

and vision. According to Bentley, the

access, a sizable employment base, plenty

company takes the extra time to get to get

of housing within a 15-minute commute

to know each client and understand the

and high-profile visibility – all of which was

unique objectives.

important to Trane.

“I look any client in the eye and tell

At the heart of the deal was Bentley’s

them, with complete honesty, that I will

grassroots knowledge of the Upstate

treat your money like it’s my inheritance.

market, as well as sensing the perfect timing

Nothing is more important than our

and bringing the right partners to the table.

integrity and commitment to do the right

“You see that building today and it feels

thing.”

like a great fit for Mauldin and the Upstate,

“Projects that bring lasting value come from 40 years spent understanding industry, construction, land and people. It takes a willingness to listen and the ability to visualize where others might not see possibility. That’s why I love our business.”

Randall Bentley, SIOR, CCIM President - Lee & Associates Greenville | Spartanburg

www.lee-associates.com 864-704-1040

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CONSTRUCTION

Keeping the power on for over half a century The electrical experts at Instel Power Products know what it takes

BY WILLIAM JACK SON • CO - OWNER • INSTEL POWER PRODUCTS

O

ur world runs on electricity — that becomes obvious whenever there’s an outage. It’s a hassle to lose power at home, but imagine what it’s like for a company, where every minute of downtime affects revenues, schedules, and employees. The annual dollar-cost to U.S. industry due to power loss runs in the tens of billions.

Preventing this loss requires regular testing, maintenance, and upgrading of a facility’s electrical system.

When Instel Power Products was founded in 1967, there were few independent companies that offered electrical testing services. If a business needed to test their equipment, they could only go to the large manufacturers like Westinghouse, Siemens, and GE. Instel was established to give customers an alternative service independent of the manufacturers.

With more than five decades in business, we’ve seen it all. Our electrical solutions are backed by a team of highly trained professionals with a deep knowledge of both modern equipment and legacy products. In many cases, we know more about vintage equipment than the manufacturers do.

We pride ourselves on being problem-solvers first because our customers rely on us to keep them operational, and to be there at a moment’s notice in an emergency.

A team and a family When my father, Stuart Jackson, took over as company president in 1983, Instel moved beyond just a testing company to become a major provider of electrical equipment, service, and repairs, and the company has grown

Matt, William, and Stuart Jackson.

YOU CAN DEPEND ON OUR EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE For more than 50 years, the electrical experts at Instel Power Products have kept our customers running with fast, reliable service, customized solutions, and an extensive inventory of parts.

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2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

INSTELPOWER.COM | 864-963-1856

CONSTRUCTION by leaps and bounds since. He brought me and my brother, Matt, into the company, and taught us everything we know about running a successful business—from the technical aspects of what we do, to how we treat customers, partners, and coworkers.

Our family is close, and we carry the strength of those values to the entire Instel team as well. We work together in a spirit of cooperation, trust, and accountability, and we all understand the value of being there for our customers.

A focus on solutions and services The Instel team can help with any power project — from consultation and design, to installation and troubleshooting, to future upgrades. We perform a full menu of field testing and preventive maintenance services to identify and fix equipment problems before they cause a power failure.

The experts in our shop deliver first class manufacturing, repair, and refurbish capabilities, as well. In fact, Instel was an industry pioneer in refurbishing outdated or obsolete electrical equipment to extend service life.

Our team specializes in electrical emergencies and we’re set up to be there at a moment’s notice when a problem occurs. When we roll up in one of our fully loaded field services trailers, we bring onsite capabilities to quickly analyze any situation and create an immediate solution to get the customer up and running immediately.

The key to our responsiveness lies not only in the experience of our team, but also in our comprehensive parts inventory that includes all major manufacturers and products — even vintage equipment from the 1940s to the present. When other distributors need hard-to-find parts, they come to Instel.

A commitment to high standards In the electrical industry, we deal with some of the most powerful forces on Earth. Instel’s commitment to the best products, services, and support means we hold ourselves to industry standards for everything we do. The two main standards we rely on are published by the International Electrical Testing Association (NETA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). A third set of standards — the Professional Electrical Apparatus Reconditioning League (PEARL) — has developed over the last 25 years to cover reconditioning new and used equipment.

Instel has been involved with PEARL from the beginning and even hosted the 2018 PEARL Conference here in Greenville. We fully comply with all NETA and ANSI standards, and all of technicians are fully certified to PEARL standards.

When it comes to installing, testing, or maintaining electrical systems, Instel does it the right way.

After over fifty years of service, the thing we’re most proud of at Instel is the relationship we develop with each customer. When a power failure threatens their business, it becomes the biggest problem in the world — and we treat it that way.

We love to serve and respond with a sense of urgency.

We’re dedicated to solving problems no one else can, so whether a customer needs rapid-response services, a fast refurb for aging equipment, or reliable preventive maintenance, our team of electrical experts is ready to help.

Above, a reconditioned substation for large industrial use.

Below, a reconditioned substation unit for large industrial use.

WHEN A POWER FAILURE THREATENS YOUR BUSINESS, INSTEL IS READY TO ROLL! Field Services • Preventive Maintenance Transformer Services • Emergency Services Shop Services (Repair and Refurb)

INSTELPOWER.COM | 864-963-1856

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EDUCATION

Greenville Technical College exemplifies organizational excellence GTC leverages national model to execute institutional processes

BY L AUREN SIMER • VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITU TIONAL EFFECTIVENESS • GREENVILLE TECHNICAL COLLEGE

O

ftentimes, we are constrained by our own thought process. My favorite quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson states, “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” Recognized internationally as the standard of organizational excellence, the Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework and systems approach provides any organization with the ability to remain focused on achieving best-in-class performance, even in the most trying times.

In 2012, Greenville Technical College (GTC) began applying Baldrige criteria to achieve service excellence through continuous improvement of operations and today, as a S.C. Governor’s Quality Award Gold Achiever recipient (2016), this customer-centered approach steers the college’s collective decision-making processes.

As vice president for institutional effectiveness at GTC, one of my chief responsibilities is to lead the institution’s strategic planning process. Guided by Baldrige criteria and informed by my training as a Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence Examiner, this comprehensive process includes committee review of mission and vision, conducting community surveys and focus groups, and developing an indepth economic impact study. It culminates in action plans throughout the college for continuous quality improvement.

Reflecting our mission and vision, GTC sharply focuses on increasing persistence, retention and graduate success.

This year, using a model from The Four Disciplines of Execution (4DX), the college instituted a new strategy to create a higher level of performance excellence surrounding these key metrics across every department. From the facilities team analyzing customer satisfaction data to the tutoring department analyzing online service impact, continuous

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Visit www.CHIGreenville.com or call 864-250-8835 for upcoming classes and developing news about the campus. To register, call 854-250-8800.

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2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Lauren Simer

EDUCATION quality improvement blankets the entire college.

This view of the planning process looks both inward and outward. With their mission of access and success, community colleges like GTC offer many students hope by providing services and access to education that might otherwise be unattainable. Greenville Tech must also take this student base, and through partnership with industry, create a workforce that can compete not just locally or regionally – but globally.

Recently, GTC opened the Truist Culinary and Hospitality Innovation (CHI) Center, an innovative approach that combines private sector, local government, and education partners working together to bring inclusive economic mobility and workforce development to one of Greenville’s most distressed neighborhoods. The strategic location of CHI in West Greenville leverages a purposeful, Baldrige systems approach that is “baked-in” to GTC’s culture of performance excellence. This is also an example of Baldrige’s “customer focus” looking beyond the traditional customer base of the student but including business leaders in that definition as well.

In 2016, I was charged by GTC president Dr. Keith Miller to design a “think tank” focused on service excellence, whose purpose was to a) research, analyze and implement new programs and new or better processes and b) provide leadership for the integration of leading-edge practices and services through innovative systems thinking and analysis, forecasting, and project management. With no budget, facility, or resources, I sought volunteers

from a cross-section of 25 faculty and staff.

Daunted by lack of budget stalling our thought process, we visited similarly positioned organizations that created a dream and were subsequently funded. This visioning exercise changed our perspective – and influenced a new 15-year college plan based on futuristic-thinking grounded in the Seven Dimensions of Wellness.

It also resulted in a significant change in the way the college will onboard its students. The college is now remodeling an existing building that housed our library resources and other services into a “onestop” facility, conveniently located for students to find all enrollment and related student access services in one location.

The new Dreisbach/Anderson Student Success Center is expected to open next spring, and all business processes have been redesigned based on students’ input, using the principles learned from humancentered design theory and staying true to a core Baldrige value: delivering a consistently positive customer experience.

Lauren Simer has led the college’s Institutional Effectiveness Division since March 2010. She also serves in leadership roles for the National Alliance of Community and Technical Colleges (NACTC) and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Commission on Institutional Infrastructure and Transformation.

A GTC student services staff advises a student pre-pandemic.

The new Truist Culinary and Hospitality Innovation Center .

Follow your path. Lead the way.

Workforce Solutions Professional and workforce development training and certificates in Lean & Lean Six Sigma, Supply Chain, Leadership, Safety and more.

Find out more at www.gvltec.edu/edct/.

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MANUFACTURING

Swafford Transport and Warehouse a leader in Third-Party Logistics A strong 3PL partner allows businesses to focus on their core activities B Y D U S T Y L O C K E • V P O F O P E R AT I O N S • S W A F F O R D T R A N S P O RT A N D W A R E H O U S E

I

n 1983, our CEO, Van Swafford, launched Swafford Transport and Warehouse. Starting as a freight brokerage service, the business has evolved into a multiple service Third-Party Logistics provider (3PL).

So, what, exactly, is a 3PL? A 3PL provides services that allow a manufacturing or sales organization to focus on their core business activities.

For example, if your business is great at producing, marketing, and selling a product, that should be your core focus. You shouldn’t start a trucking company to move the product or a warehouse to store it; you should find a 3PL partner to handle those activities.

Transportation is the most basic need of virtually all businesses. As our economy has become more global, the supply chains have become longer and more complex.

Whether the source of your raw material is foreign or domestic, your 3PL partner can arrange to have the material picked up and delivered. Less-than-truckload (LTL), full truckload (FTL), and drayage services (moving loaded or empty ocean containers) can all be handled by your 3PL. Just knowing equipment requirements can be daunting.

For domestic product, a 53-foot van (enclosed trailer) or flatbed (no top or sides) would most likely be the choice. For imported product, a wheeled chassis is required. The ocean container is placed onto this chassis with a crane at the port of entry. Once secured to the chassis, a truck will pull the container to its destination and return the empty container back to the port.

One of Swafford’s day cab tractors.

WE CAN HANDLE IT LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED WAREHOUSING • TRANSPORTATION • FOREIGN TRADE ZONE

SERVICE YOU CAN DEPEND ON 18

2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

MANUFACTURING Even the chassis are specialized

building with a higher roof could be used to

due variations in size and weight of the

accommodate the racking and a specialized

containers. Containers can be 20, 40, 45 or

forklift would be used to access the product

53 feet long and weigh more than 50,000

in the multi-level racking. Heavier, non-

lbs. A tri-axle chassis would be used for

uniform product might require a different

heavier containers and a permit might be

storage solution because racking might not

required if the combination of the truck and

be an option due to the weight and odd

loaded chassis exceeds 80,000 lbs.

dimensions of the product. Unless you plan

The type of truck will also vary based on

to employ an engineer, a real estate expert

the distance the driver must travel. A truck

and a material handling equipment expert,

with a sleeper berth is used for loads that

partnering with a 3PL makes a lot of sense.

keep the driver out

In addition to storage and distribution,

more than one day.

3PL

A day cab is used for local or regional work that allows the driver to return home by the end of the workday.

Your 3PL partner manages these details so you don’t have to become an expert on the

transportation

“Transportation is the most basic need of virtually all businesses.

As our economy has become more global, the supply chains have become longer and more complex.”

- DUSTY LOCKE

warehouses

offer kitting, sorting, inspection, repacking and other services.

Another service 3PLs can offer to importers and exporters is a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ). The imported

Swafford FTZ quality inspection.

Inside a Swafford warehouse.

goods can reside in the FTZ duty and tax free until they

industry - and all the specialized equipment and regulations associated with it.

A warehouse or distribution center is another basic need for manufacturers, importers, and sales organizations. If the product isn’t moving directly to the consumer, it will need a storage place until shipment. The size and layout of the warehouse is dependent upon the type of product. Lighter, dimensionally uniform product might allow for a racked storage solution to improve product density and reduce the square footage required. A

are either converted into a finished product (materials going to a manufacturer) or sold to a retailer or consumer. Companies can better manage their cash flow and react to the seemingly ever-changing tariffs and duties imposed on imported commodities with the help of a 3PL partner who operates an FTZ. Having a relationship with a reputable 3PL will help you manage and grow your business by allowing you to place your focus where it should be -- on your customers, your product, and your services.

1630 Old Hwy 14 South | Greer, SC 29651 864-848-3854 | 1-800-366-1895 | www.swaffordtransport.com Special Advertising Supplement | 2020 Book of Experts

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DIGITAL MARKETING

Digital marketing is now more important than ever Engenius is the trusted digital marketing and website partner for over 100 Upstate brands

BY CHRIS M ANLEY • CEO • ENGENIUS

H

alf a dozen years ago I read a study suggesting that, by 2025, Fortune 500 companies would be spending 80% of their marketing budget on digital marketing and only 20% on traditional marketing.

Traditional marketing encompasses things like television and newspaper ads, event sponsorships, and billboards – historically trusted places to invest marketing dollars. Many at the time laughed at imagining businesses pulling away from these so heavily to spend on things like websites, online ads, and search engine ranking.

2020 has been full of uncertainties. The one thing that has been constant since mid-March is how much we’ve shifted even more so to digital. Between March 1 and March 17, home internet use in the United States increased by 18% - in less than three weeks. By late March, over 80% of consumers said they either already had begun consuming more online content or expected to in the coming weeks.

During times of uncertainty, many companies look to cut marketing budgets. History shows that’s not a smart move. In fact, companies that recover best coming out of hard times invested in modernizing their marketing plans and engaging their customers in new ways.

Digital Marketing is Here to Stay American’s habits have changed and most experts agree that we won’t go back to the way things were even once we’re past the pandemic. Consumers have become more reliant on online shopping versus brick-and-mortar stores. Businesses are doing more vendor research online versus the ubiquitous

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2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

Engenius CEO Chris Manley

DIGITAL MARKETING lunch meetings of old. People are staying home and working from home more than ever before – changing how they consume media.

of combined digital marketing experience to craft a strategy for your business. That trusted partner can tell you where to invest in marketing and, most importantly, where not to waste valuable time and resource.

Is Your Marketing Budget Up-to-date?

The world has changed. People’s We get asked frequently, “how much behaviors have changed. Is your company money does our business need to allocate adapting?

Is your digital marketing strategy toward marketing?” The answer is: it positioning you for success? Is your depends. Are you trying to grow 5% a marketing budget aligning with today’s year or 15% a year – or even 50%? Is your trends and data? Do you have a digital customer base one-and-done or do you marketing partner to help you navigate the have a recurring revenue model? fast- changing marketing landscape?

While these questions are important, If you want to it is also important be successful on the to ask how your “To navigate the other side of this marketing budget constant evolution of uncertain time, these should be spent. marketing, it is critical are the questions you Most surveys indicate to have a trusted should be asking. that corporate partner.”

Digital Marketing is marketing budgets here to stay. Those have approached and who invest in it wisely are now exceeding - CHRIS MANLEY, will be the companies 50% going toward CEO, ENGENIUS that thrive. digital marketing – deploying these resources toward web design, content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), online ads, social media ads and more.

One of our talented client success managers, Taylor Craig

Over 100 Greenville brands rely on the Engenius Team to be their trusted marketing partner.

A Trusted Partner is Key Having a great website isn’t enough for most businesses to succeed in digital marketing – but it’s a great first step.

To navigate the constant evolution of marketing, it is critical for businesses to have a trusted partner to help chart their marketing path forward. Often for less than the cost of a full-time marketing professional, small businesses can begin a relationship with a firm that brings decades

Special Advertising Supplement | 2020 Book of Experts

21

BOOKof EXPERTS “With their mission of access and success, community colleges like GTC offer many students hope by providing services and access to education that might otherwise be unattainable.”

- LAUREN SIMER GREENVILLE TECHNICAL COLLEGE

“If you’re not generating the revenue you know is possible, there’s a leak in your barrel. When you’re unaware of these holes, your growth suffers.”

- BILL SIMMONS THRIVE BUSINESS STRATEGIES

22

2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

BOOKof EXPERTS “I just enjoy the opportunity to share ideas, collaborate and see great projects come to life that benefit the Upstate.”

- RANDALL BENTLEY LEE & ASSOCIATES

“During times of uncertainty, many companies look to cut marketing budgets. History shows that’s not a smart move..”

- CHRIS MANLEY ENGENIUS

Special Advertising Supplement | 2020 Book of Experts

23

Jusn Hill NMLS# 789457

Greer Market Executive

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banking in the places we call .

home

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Doug Thackston NMLS# 789452

Eastside Market Executive

864.834.9031 bankoftravelersrest.com

INDUSTRIAL

Metal Chem, Inc.: Specialists in surface-finishing chemistries Company’s new Mauldin facility will increase production capacity by 200 percent B Y M A R C A L E K S I N A S • G E N E R A L M A N A G E R • M E TA L C H E M , I N C .

F

or the past 35 years, Metal Chem has been actively involved in improving the chemistry used in the surface finishing industry. Focusing on research and development (R&D) and production, our technology is the direct result of research chemists dedicated to the needs of our customers.

As many industries have been compelled to reduce their environmental impact, Metal Chem and its owner, Mike Aleksinas, recognized the need to develop bright electroless nickel products without the use of heavy metals defined by the restrictions on hazardous substances (RoHS). (Electroless nickel is the deposit of a nickel-alloy coating by chemical reduction without the use of electric current.)

Being first to market with these chemistries that did not sacrifice performance, Metal Chem built a brand as a surface finishing innovator, committed to R&D of “what’s next.”

According to technical director Jordan Beavers, “we help companies achieve their productivity goals by providing meaningful technical support, customer-driven research and the ability to custom engineer formulations specific to our clients’ applications.”

Metal Chem’s commitment to customer service and satisfaction has led to its growth from distributing products in the Carolinas and Georgia to beyond North America.

With this growth, Metal Chem is celebrating the opening of its Mauldin facility, which increases production capacity by more than 200%.

However, it’s the R&D department where Metal Chem invested most in its $4 million expansion. Metal Chem increased bench space by more than 400%, including 5 new hoods and a new pilot line for validation of process for customer projects.

Metal Chem’s expansion will increase our R&D capability, better support our growing list of customers and help us maintain our best in class technical service.

Our customers’ trust in the quality of our products has helped us achieve this growth. But, most importantly, the new facility represents our recommitment to continue to grow with them and continue to invest in the future with our customers.

We look forward to continued growth in Mauldin.

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Mike Aleksinas, owner of Metal Chem, Inc., with son Marc Aleksinas, General Manager.

The leading name in innovative Electroless Nickel Chemistries.

Metal Chem, Inc. is a specialty chemical business located in Mauldin, South Carolina that concentrates its efforts on the development, manufacture, and service of pretreatment, post treatment, and waste treatment products used in the metal finishing industry.

Metal Chem technology is the direct result of over 100 years of experience by dedicated people with extensive backgrounds in research and development, focusing on the needs of many industries which include aerospace, automotive, battery, computer, electronics, fasteners, and textiles among others.

25 Ellwood Ct • Greenville, SC 29607 (864) 877-6175 • Fax (864) 877-6176 • www.metalchem-inc.com

2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

HEALTH CARE

When the pharmaceutical medical model fails your employees KYEL Group Inc. can help create a physically and fiscally healthy work environment B Y E R I C B . M I C H A E L , O T R / L , C H T, M S I H · S E N I O R P A RT N E R · K Y E L G R O U P I N C .

I

n the early 1990s, I was treating many patients in the clinical setting suffering from similar mechanisms of injury. Although they worked in diverse industrial settings, the root causes of their injuries had many parallels. I questioned how I could help prevent these recurring injuries.

How could I intervene and make a difference in peoples’ lives? How could I assist industry in improving safety metrics and improving key profitability measures?

After visiting multiple manufacturing facilities, I was convinced that most of the injuries I was treating in the clinic could be prevented in the work environment. As the old adage goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” In ergonomic terms, paraphrasing OSHA, “for every $1 spent in prevention is $3 earned.” I could see that providing quality onsite services, making ergonomic changes, educating employees and working together with employers could bring real results to both the employee and employer. I could see that employees needed to feel empowered to make a difference in their health, safety and quality of life. I could see employers needed assistance in empowering employees: to take an active role in improving their wellbeing; to become critical thinkers; to improve the process; and to drive out wasted motion. Rehabilitation could no longer be done as it had always been done.

The traditional medical model in the clinic is no longer effective. By the time patients with industry-based injuries come through the door of the clinic, there are unnecessary losses -- lost time for healing, lost time for proper treatment, lost time from the job and lost time from life. The companies are losing profits and the patients are losing quality of life.

In 1998 the idea for KYEL Group Inc. was born because something had to change. KYEL Group Inc. is a therapist owned and run organization. As therapists with orthopedic training, we understand the acute and chronic types of injuries and how to treat these injures. After 30 years of experience in industry we understand occupational tasks and how to adapt jobs to prevent injuries. The improved health, productivity, quality, scrap rates, sales, morale and presenteeism is tremendous. We have found what works!

Eric B. Michael, Senior Partner, KYEL Group Inc.

Special Advertising Supplement | 2020 Book of Experts

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Greenville Chamber leads the charge into the future Chamber’s Accelerate initiative serves as important economic development conduit

BY CARLOS PHILLIPS • PRESIDENT/CEO • GREENVILLE CHAMBER

F

or more than 130 years, the Greenville Chamber set bold visions for Greenville’s future and rallied the community to meet these challenges. In 2009, business leaders formed Accelerate, the Greenville Chamber’s private sector fueled economic development initiative, as the conduit through which much of today’s transformative, economic development work is done.

This summer, Accelerate unveiled its new direction in its pursuit of “Growing a Greater Greenville.” New to the program’s list of priorities is increasing educational attainment for working adults ages 25-64.

Increasing education attainment will be the foundation of Accelerate’s work by implementing a Lumina Foundation-informed initiative to ensure that 60% of 25 to 64-year-olds have a high-quality, post-secondary credential or degree.

As of the Lumina Foundation’s latest “Stronger Nation” report in 2019, Greenville stands at 45.4% in high-quality, post-secondary credential or degree attainment among working age adults. “This new direction will provide a North Star for increasing economic activity in our community,” Greenville Chamber President/CEO Carlos Phillips said.

Meaningful credentials lead to better career opportunities, higher paying jobs, and greater opportunities for prosperity for all. For Greenville to compete with peer metro areas across the nation, enhancing opportunity to these types of opportunities is essential. Dr. Cheryl Garrison, Greenville Chamber’s Director of Talent and Workforce Solutions, is leading much of this critically important work. Success in meeting this lofty goal will be heavily dependent upon convening the many non-profit, economic development, private-sector and education partners performing work under the same umbrella. “For us to be successful, it will require a comprehensive approach with cross-sector partners moving forward in lockstep towards a common goal,” Garrison said.

The economic impact potential that education provides will not only radically enhance the quality of life in our community but will help Greenville more effectively succeed in the globally competitive environment. It is essential that the workforce is prepared for highwage, high-demand and high-skill career opportunities. High-quality credentials and degrees serve as an essential launching pad for these opportunities.

Another key element in successfully implementing this strategy moving forward will be raising awareness of these needs throughout the employer and workforce communities. Building bridges between the employer community’s needs and driving potential talent to the training needed will play a pivotal role in filling these gaps. This alignment between job-ready professionals and industry needs will better position Greenville for the future.

“With our business community’s support, this new strategy will usher in another decade of vibrant growth and prosperity for the Greenville area,” Phillips said.

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2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

Carlos Phillips, President/CEO, Greenville Chamber.

The Greenville Chamber’s new office.

YOUR RESOURCE FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS In the year ahead, let’s work together to move our businesses and our community forward.

www.GreenvilleChamber.org

THE NEWEST ADDITION TO THE SC BIZ NEWS FAMILY What’s new on SCBIZtv this week?

Check us out on YouTube. With more than 100 archived videos (and counting), you’ll find a wide variety of businessrelated content, including: Virtual awards shows, Power Events, interviews with high-level business executives and several ongoing video series, including Coffee With…, 120 Seconds, Industry Trends and Coping with Covid.

Here’s just a taste of what you’ll find on SCBIZtv this week

VIRTUAL AWARDS SHOWS

120 SECONDS

COFFEE WITH…

COPING WITH COVID

From Women of Influence in the Upstate to 40 Under Forty in the Low Country to Icons and Phenoms in the Midlands, you’re sure to find executives you know being honored in a variety of ways.

This ongoing video series features business executives sharing insight about their business, the industry in which they work and the community in which they live.

This ongoing series features CEOs answering as many questions as they can in two minutes. You’ll definitely learn something personal about the executive and get a thoughtful answer on a serious topic to boot.

This ongoing series explores the impact the Coronavirus is having on our daily lives, both at home and at the office.

This is just a sampling of what you’ll find on SCBIZtv. Check us out on YouTube to find a complete library of archived videos.

HUMAN RESOURCES

HR Experts on Demand helps businesses find the right human resources solutions

BY J E N N I F E R F LOY D, P R E SI D E N T

E

nsuring your people are engaged in your business is a vital ingredient to your company’s success.

Launched in 2016, HR Experts on Demand specializes in helping businesses succeed by leading them through identifying the best solutions for their HR needs. But those solutions start with employees — people — and underpinning it all is company culture.

In fact, your culture may be the single most important factor determining your company’s success or failure, yet, too often, we find that companies have either ignored it or don’t even realize it exists.

I’ve heard business leaders say, “we don’t really have a culture.” Yes, you do — it just may not be the culture you want.

What is company culture and why is it important? Simply put, it’s the “how we work” that gets the “what we do” done. More specifically, it is a widely shared set of beliefs, values and practices supported by a company. It’s the way a company empowers employees to handle an angry customer, how it responds to a workplace crisis, or how leaders address employee performance problems. When a culture is toxic, employees often engage in behaviors that negatively impact the business.

According to the Society of Human Resources Management, $223 Billion were spent on turnover costs because of culture-related resignations. Forty-nine percent of employees have considered leaving their current company because of culture, and nearly 20% of the workforce has changed jobs in the last five years and cited culture as the reason.

Organizations that best prioritize culture start with establishing clear values and communicate them often, reiterating their importance continually to keep them front and center. Creating and maintaining a healthy, positive culture takes hard work and honest reflection from business leaders. The best tip for an executive team to establish a positive culture? Add it as a standing item on the staff meeting agenda and ensure the topic never gets skipped.

People costs are usually the highest expense on the books. What better way to spend your resources than to tend to your most expensive asset?

Discuss your culture with the same vigor and engagement you use in budget discussions and watch what happens.

Investing in a healthy culture is never wasted effort — it’s truly bottom-line impacting work.

President, Jennifer Floyd

Special Advertising Supplement | 2020 Book of Experts

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Recruiting business and talent to the Upstate Upstate SC Alliance positions 10-county region to excel in the global economy B Y D A N I E L L E B E S S E R • P U B L I C R E L AT I O N S M A N A G E R • U P S TAT E S C A L L I A N C E

J

igsaw puzzles saw a huge surge in sales in 2020, as many people hunkered at home.

In an uncanny coincidence, puzzles were a theme at the Upstate SC Alliance’s 20th anniversary celebration in February 2020.

As nearly 600 regional business leaders arrived at the event, many added a piece to a puzzle wall. The picture they were building? A vibrant South Carolina and its Upstate region.

The Upstate SC Alliance was formed in 2000 to market South Carolina’s 10-county Upstate for global business investment, and today it works to position the region to succeed in the global economy.

The interactive moment symbolized how the region has come together.

“The Upstate has seen tremendous success thanks to visionary leaders,” says John Lummus, President & CEO of the Alliance. “We’ve seen growth in population, the number of jobs available, and an increase in entrepreneurial activity in addition to the $17.9 billion in capital investment and 52,598 jobs announced from 2009-2019.”

It also symbolizes the collaborative approach of the Upstate SC Alliance, which brings together research, relationships, business support assets, and trends to make the case for doing business in the Upstate.

Working Collaboratively Relationships are integral to the public-private partnership, which touts the collaborative spirit of #TeamUpstate – within the region and beyond.

For the 180+ private companies who invest with the Alliance, short-term benefits include networking and access to research, programs and market insights, with a long-term

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2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

Upstate SC Alliance President & CEO John Lummus speaks at the organization’s 20th anniversary celebration in February 2020.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT role in shaping the region’s growth strategy.

The Alliance works alongside the SC Department of Commerce, and city and county economic development organizations, to showcase the region across the globe.

Within the region, the Alliance is a regional convener, providing a sounding board for local economic developers and a forum for collaboration, all backed by research support.

For years, the Local Economic Developers group used to meet quarterly, though in the early days of the pandemic, the Alliance took to hosting weekly virtual meetings to discuss trends, ideas and resources.

“During the pandemic, the Upstate Alliance provided local economic development offices with key resources. They established a hosting mechanism to share pandemic related community initiatives and public safety messaging. Over the past ten months they wisely pivoted from traditional marketing and business development efforts to focus on virtual meetings, talent recruitment, and increased research initiatives,” says Merle Johnson, Director of Community & Economic Development for the City of Greenville.

Responding Creatively Prior to the pandemic, a global marketing strategy included door-to-door travel, building relationships with site selection consultants and foreign trade offices, and shaking hands at tradeshows.

“This year, our team has been all about creativity and new approaches,” Lummus says. “A video tour of the region, direct mail with a taste of the Upstate, exploring new data-driven ways to identify prospects.”

Looking into 2021, business recruitment and marketing efforts will focus more on innovative growth opportunities, such as companies that offer could industrial technology and optimization to the region’s 2,000+ manufacturers as well as entrepreneurs looking

for a supportive environment to grow.

“We talk about big-picture strengths,” Lummus adds. “Our location between Atlanta and Charlotte. The collaborative spirit that drives us to create solutions to business challenges.

Graduates from more than 27 colleges and universities. Our location and assets like the Inland Port and GSP International Airport.”

As cities like Greenville and Spartanburg target office and professional projects, the Alliance is tailoring its approach in support.

The group will continue to pursue key industry targets: automotive, aerospace, engineered materials, and life sciences industries, and food processing. And, international relationships with countries with business synergy – Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany – will continue to be fostered.

Move Up + Skill Up And, with workforce continuing to dominate site selection criteria, the Upstate SC Alliance has an initiative on that front: Move Up and Skill Up. Move Up, and MoveUpstateSC.com, were launched in 2019 to help companies attract and retain professional talent to the Upstate region.

The site includes community maps, a job board, a cost-of-living interactive that allows users to compare the Upstate with other markets, and more.

In response to the pandemic, the Alliance created an enhancement to Move Up: Skill Up, and SkillUpSC.com, which showcases resilient, in-demand occupations that can be accessed with 12 months or less of technical training.

Occupations on display range from information technology specialist to pharmacy technician to commercial truck driver — and, among the in-demand occupations featured on the site, there have been 46,899 job postings in the last 12 months, with an average earning potential for in-demand careers of $72,037.

“Our goal is to inspire individuals to acquire

new skills for better paying, more resilient indemand jobs, and connect people with programs available at the Upstate’s technical colleges that can launch their careers,” says Upstate SC Alliance President & CEO John Lummus.

Move Up and Skill Up are free resources for companies to use, though a newly launched partnership opportunity gives companies the chance to market their careers in collaboration with Move Up. It’s a puzzle with many pieces, and each is a reflection of how #TeamUpstate works together to inspire and rise.

Interested in learning more?

Contact Lauren Scoggins, lscoggins@ upstatealliance.com, or 864-283-2305 to discuss how your company can get involved with the regional recruitment strategy or Move Up.

The puzzle comes together as guests add their pieces at the Upstate SC Alliance’s 20th anniversary celebration in February 2020.

Special Advertising Supplement | 2020 Book of Experts

33

REAL ESTATE

Upstate real estate market expected to remain strong in 2021 Allen Tate leaders forecast continued demand B Y A L L E N TAT E C O M P A N I E S

W

hen it comes to residential real estate, the Upstate is in the right place at the right time.

The vibrant, diverse market continues to attract millennials, retirees, and relocating and expanding companies and their employees. The region is a welcome alternative to larger cities like Atlanta and Charlotte, with many of the same amenities but less density.

“The challenge is that everyone wants to move here but no one wants to leave,” said Mark Bardo, Allen Tate Companies regional vice president, Upstate SC region.

“This contributes to a lack of inventory, but it’s a wonderful problem to address.”

The 63-year-old Allen Tate Companies entered the Upstate region in 2008, expanded to the Mountain Lakes region in 2018 and operates eight local offices spanning from Greenville and Easley to Lake Keowee and Lake Hartwell.

In 2020, the Carolinas’ real estate leader found itself navigating a real estate market like never before, said Pat Riley, Allen Tate Companies president and CEO. “Since June, housing across this country has recovered in an unparalleled way. After a considerable loss due to COVID in the spring, we have made up for the market in the second half of the year,” Riley said.

Across the country, about 6 million homes were sold in 2020, an increase of 10.5 percent over 2019, Riley said. One million of these homes were new construction, an increase of 43.2 percent over the previous year. And mortgage applications are up more than 30 percent, thanks to historic

Pat Riley, Allen Tate Companies president and CEO

We are Realtors. We are Mortgage. We are Insurance. We are Relocation. We are home.® Easley/Powdersville | (864) 752-4663

Lake Hartwell | (864) 972-3042

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Lake Keowee - Seneca | (864) 882-1166

Greenville/Simpsonville | (864) 516-7465

Lake Keowee West | (864) 888-2258

Greer | (864) 416-3900

Rochester Highway | (864) 888-3211

Keowee Key | (864) 944-2400

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2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

REAL ESTATE

Allen Tate Realtors® Greenville-Downtown office.

low interest rates.

“Today, the word is move — or refinance,” Riley said.

In the Upstate, low interest rates will continue to sustain active buyer demand, Bardo said. But interest rates could spike as early as summer 2021, as the country continues in an inflationary cycle, Riley said. That could cause some undecided buyers to get off the fence in the short term. But finding a home to purchase is the bigger issue.

Inventory will remain a challenge for several reasons. Baby Boomers — who have been dragging their feet for the past decade — have delayed selling for another year because of COVID. New construction still lags because of a builder labor shortage, tighter government regulation, and a COVID-disrupted supply chain. And all those people who bought new homes —or refinanced their home — will

contribute to the inventory issue, as they comfortably settle in and stay put, Bardo said.

“High demand with low supply is expected to provide the catalyst for additional appreciation,” Bardo said.

Riley said that throughout the Carolinas, homes will continue to appreciate at a rate of 8 to 11.4 percent, but he reminds sellers that real estate is very, very local.

“This appreciation is the result of lack of inventory, but it does not forecast another housing bubble like 2006, when lending standards were very relaxed and people were disenchanted with the stock market,” Riley said.

“Depending on inventory and demand, some areas could see lower appreciation.”

One strong advantage for the Upstate region is the secondary housing market.

“COVID has taught us that we deserve an escape home at the lake, mountains or beach.

And interest rates say, if ever, now is the time,” Riley said.

First-time homebuyers and buyers relocating from other markets will create most of the demand in the region, Bardo said.

“Our region is blessed with a culture that is attractive to buyers who desire to escape the larger cities for less dense markets,” Bardo said.

“But we still need to remedy the inventory problem — which is happening in many desirable markets, not just the Upstate.”

With a limited number of starter homes, first-time buyers must be ready to purchase and prepared to compete, Riley said.

Despite the unpredictability of 2020, the New Year brings promise.

“The forecast for the Upstate residential real estate market remains optimistic, with strong tailwinds,” Bardo said.

number one in the carolinas Special Advertising Supplement | 2020 Book of Experts

35

VISUAL INFONOMICS GROUP

Visual Infonomics Group can turn your data into a compelling story Create a common understanding among your stakeholders that builds consensus, accelerates results

T

elling your story can be a complicated process. Getting your message to prospective clients and the public at large is difficult in a noisy world full of digital products, TV and printed ads, social media hashtags, and on and on.

Distinguishing your message from all of that requires someone who can integrate great visual designs with coherent words to create a clear, effective and appealing product. Visual Infonomics Group has the expertise to do just that.

Spreadsheets full of data can look daunting when you’re trying to figure out how to turn all those facts and figures into compelling, accessible content. With years of experience in transforming raw data into engaging, award-winning graphic layouts, VIG can turn rows of statistics into easy-to-digest pages of information and digital productions that reach thousands of people in full-color publications and memorable online presentations.

Visual Infonomics Group brings your data to life. We distill complex information to its most impactful components to tell compelling stories.

Our targeted approach to data visualization uses infographics, charts, animations and presentations to reveal the stories within the data.

We analyze data and create engaging, easyto-understand reports that help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to set goals, collaborate, plan and execute.

This approach creates a common understanding among your stakeholders that builds consensus and accelerates results. This collective impact brings your community together to address the issues and challenges you face with impactful, approachable and vital data.

From 30-second animated data clips to share online, to in-depth data-driven reports, Visual Infonomics Group has a number of ways to tell your story and reach your intended audience. We can customize the right solution that delivers the most results and fits your budget.

Data-driven strategies and communication are vital in times of crisis. The global coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally changed workflow,

36

Visual Infonomics Group’s informative, compelling data storytelling can help your company create a common understanding among stakeholders.

communication and interaction within companies and with their clients, vendors and suppliers.

Information and guidelines about the virus change constantly.

With the dramatic effects the pandemic has had on day-to-day life, it’s more important than ever to make data-driven decisions to keep your organization, and community, on track and focused on the same goals. Prior to the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent economic

2020 Book of Experts | Special Advertising Supplement

shutdown, many communities, businesses and organizations were enjoying a very successful economic run.

Getting back to pre-COVID-19 levels will take time. We can be sure your stakeholders remain informed by distilling the complexity of this time to understandable data that can be used to create an action plan. This data-driven plan can have data that is benchmarked over time, so progress can be tracked and goals can be achieved.

1802 Dayton St., Suite 101 North Charleston, SC 29405 843-343-5533 visualinfonomics.com

WE’RE DATA STORYTELLERS BRING YOUR DATA TO LIFE

We distill complex information to its most impactful components to tell compelling stories. Our targeted approach to data visualization uses infographics, charts, animations and presentations to reveal the stories within the data.

DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING

We analyze data and create engaging, easy-to-understand designs that help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to set goals, collaborate, plan and execute.

ACCELERATE YOUR RESULTS

When you can create a common understanding among your stakeholders, you build consensus and accelerate your results. Address the issues and challenges you face, and capitalize on your strengths, with impactful, approachable and vital data.

Find out more: VisualInfonomics.com FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MARK WRIGHT

843.343.5533 | mwright@scbiznews.com Special Advertising Supplement | 2020 Book of Experts

37

2020 GSA

The definitive resource guide for business professionals in the Upstate.

BUSINESS REPORT BOO

MARCH 27,

2020 | VOLUM

E 23, NO. 6

K OF LISTS

The Book of Lists includes up to date information on more than 1,200 companies in the Upstate. Because businesses are ranked according to number of employees, revenue, square footage and other criteria, it is an invaluable business resource.

BUSINESS WWW.GSA .COM

The Book of Lists has a 12-month readership life and appears in print and electronic format. It is distributed to area chambers of commerce, economic development offices, commercial real estate firms, and every subscriber and advertiser of GSA Business Report.

SPONSO

R E D BY

Put 12 months of exposure to work for you.

PUBLICATION DATE: March 26, 2021

|

ADVERTISING DEADLINE: February 13, 2021

For advertising information, contact Rick Jenkins at (864) 720-1224 or rjenkins@scbiznews.com

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39

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SPONSORS

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BUSINESS STRATEGIES