|
A power networking session and champagne reception will be held Oct. 6 at The Peninsula Club in Cornelius in honor of Business Today’s 2010 Top Women Business Leaders. The sixth annual event recognizes the contribution of women in business in the Golden Crescent. Former winners include Realtors Abigail Jennings, of Lake Norman Realty, and Diane Honeycutt, of Team Honeycutt in Concord; Pat Horton, president of Cabarrus Bank & Trust; Robin Smith of Lake Norman Chrysler Jeep Dodge; Dakeita Vanderburg Johnson, CEO of Southgate Masonry & Lumber in Concord; and Ginger Griffin of Ginger Griffin Marketing and Design in Cornelius. Business Today columnist and UNCC instructor Cheryl Kane will conduct the power networking sessions, after which the 2010 winners will receive their awards, complete with champagne toasts. The event, which starts at 6 p.m., is $12.50 to attend, Visa and MasterCard accepted at time of reservation. More info: Phone BusinessToday at 704-895-1335 or email nebiztoday@gmail.com for more information. Registration opens at 5:30 p.m.
|
|
|
Heart Group of the Carolinas, with offices in Concord and Albemarle, has merged with Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute. The practice will now begin operating under the Sanger name. |
|
|
More than 100 Denver area business owners will meet at Verdict Ridge Golf Club Sept. 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the annual Denver Area Business Association networking luncheon. Non-members are invited to attend the event which will honor long-time Denver business leader Joe Turbyfill and his wife Jean. Michael Thompson, director of corporate communications for the Charlotte Bobcats, will discuss overcoming adversity in the business world. The cost is $17 for pre-registration at www.dabanc.org or $20 at the door. More info: Denis Bilodeau, dbilodeau@aquestainsurance.com |
|
|
Jim Trogdon, the chief operating officer for NC DOT, will be the featured speaker at a Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce luncheon Friday at NorthStone Country Club. Trogdon will discuss local road improvements including HOT lanes, commuter rail and the diverging diamond interchange planned at Exit 28 on I-77 in Cornelius. Tickets are $16 for members and $20 for non-members. More info: 704-892-1922. |
|
|
During its 2009-2010 fiscal year, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College was awarded $2.654 million in grant funding from public and private organizations. From July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, the 21 grant awards produced a single-year grant-funding record for the college. Funded projects include scholarships for students with financial need, a major updating of RCCC’s IT infrastructure, the JobsNOW certificate programs, initiatives to develop new curriculum, and programs to help students quit smoking and assist local citizens adversely impacted by changes in the tobacco industry.The funding agencies include the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Margaret C. Woodson Foundation, the Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation, the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund, the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund, the North Carolina Community College System, the Proctor Foundation, and the N.C. BioNetwork. |
|
  
|
 |
| LAWRENCE |
What does a professional planner really do to help clients?
Let’s say you want to hold a customer appreciation event but you want it to be more than just a party. Your company’s reputation is on the line. You have to make a decision whether to leave this important function to a professional or to unskilled hands? In this case, a planner can be a valuable asset |
| Full Story Here |
|
|
 |
| DeMAO |
In the last of this three part series, Sherre explains how reviewing your current involvements can help you achieve your goals through putting you in direct contact with your ideal target market, in direct contact with those who could refer you to your ideal target market, or to help you gain needed support or resources for growing your business. |
| Full Story Here |
|
|
Since the dawn of mankind we have been buying and selling “stuff”, and over the centuries a predictable pattern has developed between buyers and sellers. The buyer-seller dynamic can spell “commission catastrophe” for the sales professional who lacks the artful skill of effective questioning. |
| Full Story Here |
|
|
Partnership highlights need for experience, trust |
A couple of experienced entrepreneurs are joining together as partners. One is a veteran restaurant and nightclub operator, the other has a marketing and event management firm.
Their joint venture: XO Tapas Wine Bar. Owners of 68 percent of the business are Robert Shelton, formerly an owner of NV Lounge in Cornelius, and Angela Swett, owner of Image Promotions, based in Cornelius.
 |
| New partners: Angela Swett and Robert Shelton |
It’s a good time to get into the club business, Shelton said. “When it comes to entertainment, it’s never out of vogue. When times are tough, people want to find a way to spend their last five dollars and that means having a drink.”
While the bar will play a key role in the operations and profitability of XO, healthy food is the focus. They have hired an experienced chef who will create smaller dishes, with “big” flavor. The healthy-size servings are to be combined and/or shared. Prices range from $5 to $12. The actual bar is in a different room in the 5,000 square foot facility on Bethel Church Road. The restaurant seats 130 to 140 people.
Patrons can get out for about the same as a more traditional restaurant and “still feel full,” says Swett, who has a master’s degree in public relations and marketing.
XO was originally the brainchild of two entrepreneurs who ran Mia Famiglia for several years in Cornelius. When they decided to expand by opening a tapas-focused nightspot and another restaurant nearby, their plans to dominate the Cornelius restaurant scene collapsed like a soufflé.
Swett and Shelton are taking over the XO Tapas, redecorating and redirecting the business. Older children are welcome, smoking is not. Jay Colavalla, owner of JK Racing, is also a partner in the business. They anticipate a total of 25 to 30 employees.
Why is XO Tapas a good idea: “It goes back to the whole health conscious society, big flavor, particularly in this economy. It’s a price point thing; you go into large restaurants—how often do you eat everything that’s on your plate,” said Shelton, who has owned nightclubs in New Orleans and Miami. “In really big restaurants, the price points are huge.”
Total investment needed to launch: $200K
Source of financing: Self-financed.
Break-even: Within the first two years.
Average ticket, per couple: $40, including food and drinks.
Projected annual revenue: $750,000.
Secret to a good partnership: “Balance and a good foundation that includes trust. The other person is bright and knows what they are doing,” Shelton said. Indeed, he was Swett’s client when he operated NV Lounge until it was sold earlier this year.
Unexpected learning experience: Mecklenburg County requires a special oyster sink, so XO won’t be serving fresh oysters until the entrepreneurs can install one. |
|
|
 |
| RUSSELL |
By Bill Russell
Wouldn’t it be nice to pick up a paper and read only pleasant headlines for a change? The news in Washington this week is that we have retired the national debt, unemployment in North Carolina has sunk to it’s lowest levels since 2006, and a group hug broke out in the streets of Baghdad.
Unfortunately that’s not the headlines we read. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the annual difference between what our federal government collects in tax revenue and what it spends will be $1.3 trillion this fiscal year alone. Combat troops are leaving Iraq, however, we are still a stretch from a tension free region. Closer to home, North Carolina’s unemployment rate dipped to 9.6 percent in July and has declined for five consecutive months but still remains higher than the national average of 9.5 percent. |
| Full Story Here |
|
|
 |
| GILROY |
Many of us were chilled to the bone a few weeks ago at what Charlotte City Councilman David Howard said at a Lake Norman Transportation Commission meeting. Howard, a Democrat who has focused on inner city affordable housing issues through his position as vice president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership since 1997, was quoted several times:
|
| Full Story Here |
|
|
It’s a mixed bag in the luxury market. Some homes are closing at steep discounts, while some pristine homes in superb locations are closing near their asking prices.
Prices per square foot edged upward about 1 percent in Lake Norman during the second quarter vs. 2009 levels, but realized values are still off 20 percent to 25 percent compared to 2007 levels, according to Reed Jackson of Ivester Jackson Distinctive Properties in Cornelius. |
| Full Story Here |
|
|
These home sales and property transactions in the Golden Crescent were recorded by the Register of Deeds in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Iredell. |
| Full Story Here |
|
|
These new businesses in the Golden Crescent have registered with the N.C. Secretary of State. |
| Full Story Here |
|
|
Staff directory, emails, phone and fax numbers along with other general and subscription information |
| Full Story Here |
|
|
