2 bystanders shot during dispute inside DeKalb business, police say

Business News

Two people were shot at a DeKalb County business Saturday morning.The incident happened inside a business in the 4800 block of Rockbridge Road. Police crowded the parking lot of an Ingles at the corner of Rockbridge and Hairston roads, and police tape blocked an entrance to the grocery store, according to Channel 2 Action News.Officials said multiple people who knew each other got into a dispute inside the business, and the situation escalated to gunfire.Two people not connected to the incident were injured by the gunfire, police said. They were taken to a hospital with “moderate” injuries and were said to be alert.No details were released about what led to the shooting or whether anyone had been detained.— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.

Tarleton State Names Dr. Natalya Delcoure Dean of the Dr. Sam Pack College of Business

Business News

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Dr. Natalya Delcoure has been named Dean of Tarleton State University’s Dr. Sam Pack College of Business, effective July 1. Since 2013, Dr. Delcoure has been Dean of the College of Business Administration at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. During her time at TAMUK, she guided the college through a successful initial accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business in 2017 and the reaccreditation process in 2023. Under her leadership, the college increased undergraduate and graduate enrollment by 6.5% with no decline in admissions standards. “Dr. Delcoure’s experience in building a positive and goal-oriented culture with a focus on student success is impressive,” said Dr. Diane Stearns, Tarleton State Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. “She has a proven ability to lead others while also expanding research efforts and growing enrollment. Through strategic initiatives and key collaborations, she will guide our Dr. Sam Pack College of Business to new heights.” While at TAMUK, she doubled the research budget to support faculty and staff development, summer research and data acquisition. This inspired faculty excellence in teaching and multidisciplinary research. Over the course of her career, she has personally produced nearly 60 refereed publications. Prior to her time in Kingsville, Dr. Delcoure served as Associate Dean and Professor of Finance for the Lucas Graduate School of Business at San Jose State University. She also held a leadership role as Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Business Programs at the Cameron School of Business at the University of St. Thomas. Her other prior experience in higher education includes stops at Sam Houston State University and the University of South Alabama, She received her MBA from the University of Louisiana Monroe and Doctor of Business Administration from Louisiana Tech University. Additionally, she is on the Texas Business Professionals of America Board of Directors. “I am honored to be selected for the role of Dean of the Dr. Sam Pack College of Business,” said Dr. Delcoure. “This opportunity allows me to lead with purpose while deepening the college’s commitment to community engagement, innovation, student success and alumni connections. With established locations in Fort Worth and Waco, I am excited to build on our metropolitan presence while also strengthening our foundation in Stephenville. Supporting the development of doctoral programs in business and fostering impactful partnerships will position the college to serve students and communities across the region with excellence.” For more information on Tarleton State’s Dr. Sam Pack College of Business, visit www.tarleton.edu/cob/.

Comcast Business advances to top rank on Vertical Systems Group’s 2024 U.S. SD-WAN LEADERBOARD

Business News

While the Nitel acquisition could affect future SD-WAN standings, Rosemary Cochran, principal of Vertical Systems Group, said that since Comcast only completed it earlier this month, “their sites aren’t included in the Year End 2024 SD-WAN LEADERBOARD.”In addition to taking charge of the SD-WAN market, Comcast and the cable industry are continuing to advance in the business segment, particularly in the Ethernet segment.In its Year End 2024 LEADERBOARD, Spectrum Enterprise held the third position on the Ethernet LEADERBOARD, while Comcast was fifth.Cochran noted, “Spectrum Enterprise and Comcast Business were the only LEADERBOARD companies with port share gains.”Market shiftsDuring this reporting period for SD-WAN, there were other notable shifts.Lumen advanced to the fourth ranking, which moved Hughes to the #5 position.VSG noted that the 2024 LEADERBOARD roster will consist of six companies instead of seven, as Zayo dropped into the Challenge Tier.Eight companies (alphabetically) attain a Challenge Tier citation for year-end 2024: Aryaka, Cogent, Cox Business, Fusion Connect, MetTel, Spectrum Enterprise, TPx, and Zayo.Providers in this tier have a share of between one percent (1%) and four percent (4%) of U.S. Carrier-Managed SD-WAN sites.Meanwhile, Market Players include all other providers selling Carrier-Managed SD-WAN services in the U.S. with a site share below one percent (1%), including global network providers that manage U.S. customer sites.For related articles, visit the Business Topic Center.For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.

Marketing Roadmap For Small Business Month May 2025

Business News

Small Business Month is coming in May 2025, and it’s a great time to market your business to customers looking to support Small Businesses. Effective marketing is opportunistic; it means making plans to leverage eyes into money ahead of time.

If you want to make the most out of Small Business Month, there are three things you can do to market your small business effectively.

Highlight The Importance Of Shopping Small
Educating your community about the importance of shopping small can not be overstated. After all, small businesses account for nearly half of the labor force in the United States. Many customers don’t realize that they help keep jobs in the community when they support a small business.

The taxes paid by small businesses into the community go directly into services used to support the community, such as social and emergency services. People usually don’t make the connection between the Ten dollars they spend at a local restaurant and their community. Still, business owners are in a unique position to spotlight this link.

Create A Compelling Offer
If customers in your industry are price sensitive, making a compelling low-barrier offer to try your service or product will reduce the friction to doing business with your business. Retail companies have been using low-barrier offers, which they call loss leaders, for decades. In the book The Department Store: A Social History. Leicester University Press, 1995, by Bill Lancaster, talks about how retail stores in the late 1800s discounted products to attract customers to buy, which laid the foundation later for retail and department stores to use the loss leader strategy to attract customers.
Loss leaders are when retail or department stores sell certain products in their inventory at cost or just below dost to attract customers into their stores, leading to purchases of other products, thus driving product sales overall.

So, how do you execute this? First, decide which product or service you can sell at cost without driving you into debt. Second, create a creative social media ad highlighting the discounted price during small business months. Third, ensure that your ad includes urgency to buy (expiration date) and a call to action telling them what you want them to do.

Build Anticipation
Don’t wait until the last minute to start marketing this initiative for Small Business Month. Create a 2-3 week marketing ramp to when your product or service goes on sale. You could highlight your product or service through social media posts, email blasts, testimonials, or press releases to local news outlets. Utilize countdown timers, be specific about how a prospective customer can find you, and try to answer questions in advance.
Typically, what works well is creating a short FAQ that will address past questions that your customers had when they purchased and key information about engaging with your business, such as parking constraints, whether your store is accessible by public transportation, are a cash-only business.
Bonus Point For Small Business Month
National Small Business Month is a great time to partner with other local businesses adjacent to your industry and create cross-referral opportunities. Cross-promotion gives your business visibility to a customer base you usually wouldn’t attract to your business.
Don’t leave money or connections on the table. Take advantage of National Small Business Month in May to position your business as a leader in the small business space, and you will create fans and a strong community.