Rock Hill Business Networking Groups

Work from Home Business Networking

MeetUp.com shows the group has 49 members. Although they haven’t had an event recently, the group is still active with an organizer. MeetUp is made up of collaborative and engaging members; if the organizer isn’t coordinating any events, feel free to reach out and ask how you can help get the next one set up. Every member of the group will receive an email when a new event is scheduled.

Rock Hill Artists Group

Another MeetUp.com group, this group is geared toward artists and is just getting started. At the time of this post, a meet up is scheduled for Tuesday, May 28th, 2019. Check their Events page for future events.

PBA of York County

Piedmont Business Associates of York County is a small, intimate group that meets weekly every Thursday morning. If you want to join a group of business owners in a structured, professional setting, PBA of York County is a great place to begin.

Carolinas Referral Group – Rock Hill

Carolinas Referral Group began in late 2018 and has grown into a well-established group of entrepreneurs and business owners. They meet every Tuesday morning and are a branch of a large Charlotte-area group, giving members access to visit other chapters in Fort Mill, Ballantyne, South Park, and more.

York County Regional Chamber of Commerce

York County Regional Chamber of Commerce offers monthly Newcomers meetings and guests are welcome. Reservations are required for most events, be sure to register online.

1 Million Cups

1 Million Cups is part of Knowledge Park – a business growth and economic development project from York County. If you’re still in the business planning phase, 1 Million Cups York County gives you a neutral, peer environment to present your business idea and receive constructive feedback.

Hispanic Networking

If you’re looking for a networking opportunity within the Hispanic community, check out Sci-Way.net for a complete listing of groups and events. Many of them extend beyond Rock Hill, but they may be able to refer you to someone in York County.

Startup Weekend

Startup Weekend Rock Hill is coming up in the Fall of 2019 and will bring together many aspiring entrepreneurs for a weekend of planning, learning, and networking. Seats are limited so don’t wait to RSVP.

Coworking

If your business is established and you’re looking to branch out from a home office, joining a Rock Hill coworking place is a great place to start. You’ll meet other business owners who are in the same stages of growth, meet new people, and belong to a community of like-minded people.

The post Business Networking in Rock Hill first appeared on Collision Cowork.

The Collision Cowork community’s best entrepreneur apps and online productivity tools:

Best Entrepreneur Apps for Marketing

Effective marketing is critical for the growth of small businesses. Even if there isn’t much budget for marketing, entrepreneurs still need to do more than “get the word out” when it comes to digital marketing. Use these apps to help you keep your marketing up-to-date and relevant online:

Planoly

Planoly makes Instagram marketing a breeze! Denise Benson, family portrait and personal branding photographer, has over 4,000 followers on Instagram thanks to Planoly. App features allow Denise to create a visual story for her brand like no other Instagram posting tool.

InShot

Although you cannot replace Adobe Premier with InShot, the flexibility to use it for video editing and social media, vlogging and simple reviews makes it a great choice for entrepreneurs. Alease Michelle Jones, Founder of Lady Boss Club, uses the tool to train other entrepreneurs on how to achieve income and life goals.

Ripl 

Pamela Jenkins, Marketing Coordinator for Collision Cowork, uses Ripl to make and edit social media videos. Since 2018, Facebook has dominated YouTube for video content, so it’s important to use video on social media, even if you don’t run a business in the creative industry.

Zoho

Several of our members use Zoho to manage sales and marketing workflows. Integration is the best feature and makes Zoho popular with Fortune 500 companies such as Amazon, Citrix, and Netflix. Zoho applications offer industry-specific apps built for specific niches and activities, making it an entrepreneur favorite.

Best Entrepreneur Apps for Organization

Stay on top of all of your work tasks with these top organization apps:

Evernote

If you’re looking to improve organization with minimal effort, look no further than Evernote. The web-based and mobile app lets you view all tasks and projects and follow progress on the Asana board, and you can share notes, upload files and communicate without having to rely on email. Asana also integrates with Google Drive and Dropbox to attach files, and with Slack for communication to post updates to a Slack messaging channel.

Proven

Proven helps you organize hiring, allowing you to post job listings to multiple job boards with one click on your smartphone. You can also sort through dozens of application responses in minutes; categorize applicants into “yes,” “no” and “maybe” buckets, and note when you follow up with a candidate.

It’s a good fit for entrepreneurs that have sporadic hiring needs, or for an entrepreneur who juggles multiple business tasks and needs to save time on hiring.

BoxMeUp

The Android app Boxmeup organizes and tracks your packages, containers and other bulk storage items. It allows you to print the proper QR labels, which you can scan with your phone to access a list of items in each container at any time. There’s no iPhone app, but you can access Boxmeup’s mobile website using an iPhone.

GSuite

GSuite allows you to integrate web-based email, documents files and storage, and your company calendar in one interface. Everything you need to manage your colleagues and connections will live under one roof, simplifying your ability to connect, access, and control data and users.

Invoicing, Expense, and Time Tracking App

While QuickBooks is an accountant favorite, it can be expensive for someone who is still managing the finances alone. If you’re searching for an app that allows simplified invoicing, online payments, and project time tracking, marketing entrepreneur Markelle Harden at ClassyInbound recommends Freshbooks.

Markelle adds, “As an entrepreneur, delegating tasks is key to my success. While I have no problem outsourcing graphic design or web development projects, outsourcing my finances is something that makes me nervous. Freshbooks provides the easy, all-in-one secure system that keeps me organized and when I’m ready to outsource, I won’t have to change platforms.”

Freshbooks is very mobile-friendly, giving busy business owners access to expenses, invoicing, and payments on any device.

Other favorites

Here are some of the honorable mentions from our team and business associates:

Givolio

Givolio is a charitable giving app born and raised here in York County by local digital marketing group, Revenflo. Philanthropy and entrepreneurship go hand-in-hand, and Givolio eliminates the year-end rush to make meaningful contributions. While logged into your free account, you can search ALL 501(c)3 organizations in the United States.

MailChimp

MailChimp helps you build and manage your email lists and newsletters. MailChimp is popular among entrepreneurs because of their pricing model; monthly fees are very affordable for those who are just starting out and you can grow with MailChimp as your email list grows.

Productivity and business growth apps are critical to your success. They not only help entrepreneurs wear many hats, but they also create processes and systems that can be passed onto new team members when the time is right for expansion and growth. If you’re overwhelmed by the number of apps available, make a list of your priorities, and get started with one new app per month. By the end of the year, you’ll be an app pro!

The post Best Entrepreneur Apps first appeared on Collision Cowork.

The United States provides an incredible environment for startups, ranking 1st out of 138 countries using the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index.  While Charlotte steals the national spotlight when it comes to newsworthy entrepreneurs and startups, York County has its own bustling entrepreneur ecosystem. With a population of 266,439 (2017) and growing, there’s plenty of room to offer goods and services to people who want to support York County businesses.

Entrepreneurship in York County is Ready to Grow

With Knowledge Park underway and fully supported by the Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation (RHEDC), the City of Rock Hill, Winthrop University, and York Technical College, entrepreneurship ideas in York County are endless.

If you’re researching entrepreneur opportunities in and around York County, South Carolina, be sure to keep these business clusters and ideas in mind:

      1. Advanced Materials Industry

Almost 800 advanced materials companies call South Carolina home, and Rock Hill is full of industry and workforce resources. Producing elements for use in a broad range of end-products, including metals, polymers, ceramics, glasses, and composites. York County is home to over ten Advanced Materials companies, with plenty of room for growth due to the county’s research facilities and an exceptional workforce.

       2. Personal Services & Care

As the population of York County grows, so does the need for personal services and care. From salon services and massage therapy to senior care, professional service entrepreneurs have an opportunity to serve a growing population.

Curious about the competition or other personal service options? Check out the York County Chamber of Commerce list: Personal Services & Care in York County. 

       3. Professional Services

Supporting the infrastructure and business community is a goldmine for entrepreneurs. As more and more homes are built, professionals are needed to service them and maintain them. As businesses grow and expand, professional services like accounting, human resources, and consulting are in demand.  Gone are the days when one or two large companies provide the bulk of professional services to an entire community; startups and entrepreneurs have a strong foothold in York County as professional service providers.

       4. Distribution & Logistics

With easy interstate access and the proximity to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, York County is the perfect match for distribution and logistics startups. State and regional resources are available to provide industry, training, and workforce solutions.

While entrepreneurship invites exciting challenges, fear of failure can keep the best candidates from pursuing their dream business. Keep these ideas in mind as you explore your options:

Success

What’s the profile of a successful entrepreneur? According to the Kauffman Foundation, 95 percent of business founders surveyed had at least a Bachelor’s Degree. Founders were significantly more successful if they had worked previously in a similar industry before starting their own company.

While there’s no “cookie cutter” formula to success, improving your business skills is critical to the success of your business. If you don’t have time for formal training, YouTube is an incredible resource with business growth information. If you’re looking for a formal training option online, Coursera.org offers approximately 850 online courses for small business. If you’re already living in York County, check out Winthrop’s Small Business Development Center. They offer workshops, conferences, free consultations to help build business plans, and more.

Paying the Rent

Gone are the days of needing a business space right away. If working from home is too distracting or not an option. consider joining the nearly 1.2 million people worldwide who have already worked in a co-working space. If you have an industrial space but no place to put support staff, co-working may be the answer as well.

Growing Your Business

Starting a business is only part of the entrepreneur success equation; you must grow your business with new customers and clients as well as employees and staff. Winthrop’s Small Business Development Center offers marketing workshops.

If you’re starting a technology business, check out the Technology Incubator at Knowledge Park. Support includes hands-on consulting, resource identification, and educational and technical assistance.

Don’t forget about the York County Chamber of Commerce. Chamber Advocates can help you navigate the local economy and support you through a Legislative Agenda that supports businesses in York County.

The post Entrepreneurship Ideas in York County first appeared on Collision Cowork.

Freelance Photographer Day-to-Day

Starting a photography business is not an easy task due to start-up costs. Equipment is expensive, and income is needed right away to continue to grow your equipment collection and pay your bills. Instead of taking on debt to fund your startup, follow this day-to-day guide to begin making money right away and invest a portion of your proceeds in purchasing new or pre-owned equipment.  

Branding

A small portion of your day should be spent building up on your brand online and in the community. Once you have a memorable logo and a website or web page, spend a little time each day building messaging to support your brand. You can build brand messaging using all of these methods:

• Word-of-mouth (networking). Find a local group who doesn’t have a photographer, join the group, and promote your niche at every meeting and event. Be diligent; don’t expect referrals right away. The group members will need to get to know you and trust you before sending business your way, so show up regularly be helpful, and be patient. Don’t forget your purpose here: Branding your company. If you are going to specialize in wedding photography, don’t get pulled into business portraits while working within your networking group. Build your brand with your target market in mind.
  
• Online branding. Online branding consists of many options; select one that will be easy for you to execute daily:
  
  • Connect with Influencers. If you’re a wedding freelance photographer, look for companies that work in the same space who have a large social media following or who run digital ads. Wedding dress boutiques, tuxedo rental stores, limo rentals, caterers, venue businesses, etc. Approach them and ask about an influencer partnership; how can you support their business online while they help to promote your business? You may have to approach more than one business before you get an agreement, but spending the time to develop an Influencer relationship will be worth it. Need more direction? Forbes has a helpful article: Partnering with Local Influencers.
    
  • Serve as a News Source. Set time daily to scour local news articles that cover events that relate to your niche. If you’re a portrait photographer, look for community events that would benefit from having a portrait photographer on hand to boost attendance and participation. For example, if your local news site covers fundraising events, get in touch with the journalists and offer to contribute to an article that outlines ways that community members can improve turnout for fundraisers. As the source, you can easily add “Hire a portrait photographer” to the list of recommendations.
    
  • Get Reviews. Reviews are critical to the freelance photography industry. If you haven’t had enough clients to ask for reviews, offer a few services for free in exchange for online reviews. Choose carefully and ensure that everything is in writing. If you’re going this route, get organized and move strategically. Only offer services for free or at a discount to people or businesses who understand the value that you’re providing and that you expect a few referrals in exchange for your services. The last thing you want is a business or client telling their network about your free services! When requesting reviews, send them links to your Facebook page, your Google Places page, and your Yelp page.
    

Building your brand can be overwhelming. If you don’t have the budget to invest in professional branding services, follow a few blogs and set up a branding plan to execute daily. Branding experts like Red-Slice and one-off articles from sources like Entrepreneur.com can help you move in the right direction without breaking your bank account.

Editing Skills

Photo editing and retouching are just as necessary in today’s world of photography as lighting and equipment. How will you deliver impeccable retouching to your clients? While you can outsource those services at first, it will be expensive and cut into your bottom line. Be sure to spend some time each day working on your retouching and editing skills.

If you don’t have time to take a formal Photoshop class, don’t stress! There are many online options and tutorials. The most important step in building up your editing skills is consistency: spend time DAILY working in photoshop working on luminosity, using the Spot Healing Brush Tool, opening the same image in two windows to zoom in on the details, and familiarizing yourself with the Color Range command.

Photoshop skills can take years to build, don’t get discouraged if you’re not an expert. If you have a tough project and limited budget, use a photo editor on UpWork while you are building up your skills.

Focus

Skim this article again, and you’ll notice a broader theme: Consistency and Focus. Great photographers weren’t born in a day; they have years of consistent, focused growth behind them. If you work from home, as most freelance photographers do, set up a space to call your own where you can work without interruption and concentrate. If you don’t have a place at home, a co-working space can provide the environment to help you succeed at an affordable rate.

The post A Day in the Life of a Freelance Photographer first appeared on Collision Cowork.

Coworking buyer beware: Not all cybersecurity is the same, and not all of it is designed to protect you, the user.

How can you protect a computer or device from malicious network activity while using Wi-Fi?

It’s a question that many wi-fi users are asking. The first step is to understand the wi-fi threats and how they can impact YOUR business and device if the network is not secured properly.  Here are the most common wi-fi threats and scenarios to be aware of and understand before signing up to join a coworking space or logging onto a public wi-fi at a coffee shop.

1. Rogue Access Point. A Rogue Access Point is a wireless access point that is connected to the secure wired network with the potential to allow access to your network and your resources. The good news: It’s detectable. As long as your wi-fi provider has a rogue access point detection system in place to identify rogue access points and send an alert to the IT team.
2. Lack of a Next Generation Firewall. Next-generation firewalls incorporate multiple aspects of security, instead of just the basic, traditional firewall protection. They go beyond blocking unauthorized end users and enable network admins to designate safe user groups and usernames. They can also offer intrusion protection and detection, URL web filtering, and SSL traffic decryption/inspection. Next-generation firewalls are critical to limiting user access to a network and setting up guest networks to keep rogue users away. 
3. DDoS Attacks. These network attacks are so common that the FBI has assembled an active task force and started seizing domains last year (TechCrunch). A DDoS attack “is a simple but effective cyber attack in which millions of machines are told to constantly bombard a specific server with traffic”(Mashable). One of the most devastating qualities of a DDoS attack involves ransomware and websites that are held hostage until payment is received. If your company is exposed to a DDoS Attack similar to what MeetUp.com experienced, will your company survive? 
4. Hotspot Honeypot. Hotspot Honeypot is a strategy that gives attackers the ability to attract users to their own network, rather than the intended wi-fi network at the local coffee shop, mall, or airport. According to the InfoSec Institute, “Once this has been accomplished, the potential to commit various cybercrimes is quite high, such as hacking into bank accounts, launching ransomware attacks, the theft of personal and confidential data, and business email attacks.”

Setting Up Your Defenses: Know The Wi-Fi Environment

Now that you’re familiar with the threats that can come together to hurt your device or your business, you’re probably wondering how to verify the security protocols of the wi-fi networks you’ve been using. The first step is to call and talk to someone in the IT department. Any business or coworking space should have the ability to explain how their secure wi-fi solutions can protect you, the user. If no one calls you back or the IT contact can’t name a system used for protection, it’s time to move on or look into a personal solution.

Personal solutions range from user-friendly security protection to mobile web applications that allow you to quickly and easily set up wireless networks from any smartphone or tablet no matter where you’re working.

Multi-factor authentication systems can keep your data safe. Entrust Dataguard offers an adaptive, real-time authentication solution.

To learn more about secure wi-fi, visit Watchguard and download their resources: Watchguard Secure Wi-Fi.

Are you an educator or student? Eduroam offers a roaming service, allowing users to use wi-fi instantly and securely.

Asking about the wi-fi is the first step toward protecting your information, your device, and your company. If a coworking space or cafe is dedicated to protecting users on their network, they’ll be eager to share the name of the platform or company that protects their environment.

The post Coworking Spaces and Cybersecurity first appeared on Collision Cowork.

Unfortunately, many jobs created by residential growth don’t fall into the mid to advanced career level that most people are after. If you’re already a Rock Hill resident and growing weary from the long commute to Uptown or South Charlotte, have you considered trying to find a job in Rock Hill that pays a similar or higher salary? Take advantage of the growth of our County and our town and start your job search today.

First, follow websites and news sources that are interested in promoting York County employment opportunities and supporting Rock Hill businesses. While everyone else is using sites like Indeed and Monster, give these Rock Hill job sites a try:

Search for Rock Hill jobs on these websites:

JobsRockHill.com

SCWorks.org

City of Rock Hill

SciWay.net

Jobs.HeraldOnline.com

Looking for a job in healthcare? Piedmont Jobs

Looking for a job in education? Rock Hill Schools

Looking for a job in law enforcement? Rock Hill PD Recruit

While you’re searching for the right job, don’t be afraid to give the Entrepreneurship or freelance/consulting route some consideration. Rock Hill and York County offer a variety of business start-up tools and services to help you explore the options.

At Collision Cowork on Main Street, we have a community of Entrepreneurs who are in a variety of startup phases and established business owners who use our coworking space as their official office. In addition to flex space and private offices, we offer event hosting, conference rooms, and plenty of parking. At the end of your day, you can head over to Amelie’s French Bakery for a treat, take a yoga class at Synergy Yoga, or stroll down to Fountain Park for an event or some relaxation near the fountain.

The Technology Incubator assists startup and early-stage firms through a combination of hands-on consulting support, resource identification and referral, plus educational & technical assistance.

Check out other entrepreneurs at York County’s 1 Million Cups. If you already have a business, but it’s less than five years old, apply to present at the next 1 Million Cups.

Winthrop University partners with the South Carolina Small Business Development Center to provide free business plans, free consultations to help businesses grow, and a variety of workshops and conferences.

The Rock Hill Job Center offers business services and can help you recruit workers and provide training reimbursement for qualified candidates.

Don’t forget about networking for Rock Hill Jobs; online and offline.

The digital age has certainly changed the job market and the process of applying for jobs, but networking is still king when it comes to the old saying, “It’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know.” Connecting with people in-person will take you a lot farther than sitting behind a computer all day.

If you don’t live in the Rock Hill area right now, you can still connect with locals on City-Data.com. The forum is filled with posts from people who currently live in Rock Hill, those who are hoping to move here, and others who live in surrounding towns.

For in-person networking, Rock Hill gives you plenty of options:

CRG in Rock Hill meets every Thursday morning and guests are always welcome.

MeetUp.com has a few listings; while some of them are in Charlotte you’ll still find people from Rock Hill in attendance.

Piedmont Business Associates is currently seeking new members to expand their group.

Finally, the York County Chamber of Commerce offers monthly Newcomers meetings and more on their calendar page: York County Chamber Events.

If you’re striking out in the Rock Hill job search and don’t feel a calling to Entrepreneurship, there’s still an opportunity to boost your job skills and find employment. York County Tech offers Tech Boot Camps and approximately 80 Continuing Ed and Bridge programs for today’s working adult. If you have experience but need a management course or an official certificate, York County Tech can help.

Still overwhelmed? Stop by the SC Works Rock Hill Center and ask for some help. While they’re traditionally a blue collar job referral partner, they also offer job seeker services such as career assessment, assistance with resumes, and more.

Finally, don’t forget to treat your job search or business building research like a job itself. If you struggle to carve out time to dedicate to the task, feel free to check out our FlexSpace at Collision. We offer monthly and daily rates, a modern, inviting workspace with a stocked coffee bar, high-speed secure internet service, conference rooms for meetings, and a friendly environment on Main Street, Rock Hill. You don’t need an appointment to check us out; stop in during normal business hours and see it for yourself.

The post Rock Hill Jobs and Entrepreneurship first appeared on Collision Cowork.

Of course, this isn’t to say that I don’t want to feel connected to my work — it’s actually the contrary. One of the most important considerations when it comes to picking my first venture into a professional life is to find work that I can be proud of. Work that I will be happy to wake up and do (most of the time), but that doesn’t mean that I want my work to be my entire life either. This seemingly impossible task of finding this balance has been created by a long standing misconception that if you aren’t busy then you aren’t going to be successful. After taking a look at some of the most successful people in the world it’s apparent that this notion is not true and that everyone needs to take some time to disconnect.

EY

EY CEO Mark Weinberger’s Family Focused Approach

The CEO of one of the “big four” decides what is important in his life and gives that time — and it’s not always his work. In 2014 he told Time that he was missing the World Economic Forum in order to move his daughter into the college dorm. “At any point you’re going to feel guilty about what you’re not doing” he told the publication. His family-focused approach to  work-life balance emphasizes that you’re always going to be missing something but you have to take time to focus on your life that isn’t your work.

In another instance, after a meeting in China, Weinberger missed out on spending time with his employees at the Great Wall of China in order to get back to Washington DC to take his daughter to her driving test. He noted that “not a single person remembered the terrific speech I gave, but everybody remembered I went home for my daughter.”

“It brought home to me how powerful leading by example is. You can have all the initiatives you want saying you can have flexibility, but until some of the real leaders make the choice to choose family, I don’t think people feel like they have real permission to do it,” he adds.

Forbes

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Takes Six Weeks Vacation a Year

And he hopes his employees do the same. Hastings told CNBC  “I take a lot of vacation and I’m hoping that certainly sets an example. It is helpful. You often do your best thinking when you’re off hiking in some mountain or something. You get a different perspective on things.” He was responding to a question regarding why he extended unlimited parental leave to his employees as well as unlimited vacation time. Hastings believes its important for workers to be flexible and to focus on work-life balance to lead a healthy life. He takes as much time off as he does to set the example that it is okay to take time off and disconnect from work.

Realizing that some of the most successful figures in the world of business are able to strike a work-life balance, then so should you and I. So, what’s one of the best ways to making that initial stride toward achieving work-life balance?

Picking a Work Environment

Find a company that creates a work place that emphasizes the value of work-life balance. More and more companies are trying to find ways to make the work place more enjoyable and to reinforce a culture where it’s okay for you to not always be focused on work. This ability to mentally check out while you are at work serves as a way to foster creativity and prevent burnout. Not only that, but a strong work environment combats loneliness and enhances communication. These are all factors that can lower stress that might stem from the work place.

If you’re a freelancer or remote employee that works from home, find a coworking space that will allow you to work outside of your home so that you can compartmentalize home and work. This way you’re not sleeping the same place that you’re working and you are going to be in a community driven environment that will keep you excited to come into your new workplace that has the benefits of both the home and an office.

The post The Importance of Work-Life Balance and Work Environment first appeared on Collision Cowork.

Jarrus is a York County native. He went to school at Norfolk State University where he began studying architecture. After leaving school he moved to Brooklyn, New York where he found a job in construction. Soon into the job he got into drafting construction documents and concluded that he was in the wrong place. Doing the same thing repeatedly, day in and day out, took away from the meaning of his work – everything felt “cookie cutter”.

After this realization, he took some time to do field assessments some engineers which allowed him to learn about quality control in the construction industry. This led him to starting his business in 2011 in New York City where his first job would be inspecting Freedom Towers, also known as the One World Trade Center. On this particular job, Jarrus ran ultrasonic testing on the blast plates under the building which are in place to ensure that anything that happens underground doesn’t damage the building. Eventually he left New York after deciding it wasn’t the place for him and returned south to the Carolinas where he landed a job working on on non-destructive testing for buildings. He took these same principles and applied them to a manufacturing environment and then opened the NDE Institute to certify and train others on Catalyst in Charlotte which are luxury high-rise apartments in uptown. He was responsible for testing every facet of the building that required construction materials inspection. Jobs like this are what Integrity Special Inspections tackle every day, which led Jarrus to his next business venture – the NDE Institute.

When he was in New York, Jarrus noticed there were incredible opportunities to train people how to complete these inspections. What’s more is that there are no other programs that exist like the one offered from the NDE Institute. Many of the trainings people receive for non-destructive inspections are done in-house by companies making the knowledge and processes all proprietary and exclusive to that company. It also means that if the company doesn’t need a certain type of inspection, then they won’t teach it. Jarrus’ course gives a wider range of knowledge arming his students with the ability to do multiple types of inspections. The course is 33 weeks – a quarter of the duration it takes to receive an associate’s degree in other similar programs.

“When people complete our program, they can step onto a job and say, ‘I am qualified to do this inspection and I can do that inspection’ making the transition to employment seamless” says Robyn Fryer, the senior administrator for Integrity Special Inspections and the NDE Institute. Even better than that, the program costs less than a traditional college degree and is completed in a fraction of the time.

Now, the NDE Institute is looking to expand into technical colleges like York Tech to make the certification more accessible and puts it within the realm of continued education programs. This also brings non-destructive testing certification out of the private-sector increasing its accessibility to everyone. Jarrus wants to bring non-destructive testing to the mainstream and bring it to the realm of STEM careers making it one of the few vocational STEM avenues. What’s better is that the market for these kind of jobs is everywhere – everywhere there is construction.

The NDE Institute also works with the Austin Wilkes Society, a government organization that aimsto rehabilitate criminal offenders, at-risk youth, veterans, the homeless, and families in crises to get them back on track to a more balanced life. The people who receive the certifications through NDE Institute have the credibility of their certification, the Austin Wilkes Society, and their probation officers to soften the intimidation of their criminal record in hopes to get them a job in the field and a chance to turn a new leaf.

“People do things for different reasons and when they get caught up in negativity it could be that they were trying to do something positive and didn’t receive the proper feedback which caused the negative outcome. We try to give the positive feedback and turn around that outcome here” says Jarrus. One his success stories is of a man with a criminal record who had been working at BiLo for 15 years and never seen more than maybe $10.00/hour. After working with Jarrus and the NDE Institute, he was able to complete his certification and take his first job making nearly double what he was making at BiLo at $18.00/hour with a firm in Lancaster, SC. A number this man never thought he would see in his life. This man is now the head inspector for this firm and has been there for three years. The NDE Institute changed his life forever.

The post Meet Jarrus Mitchell: Bringing a New Path to the STEM Field first appeared on Collision Cowork.

Brian is the owner of Media Zeus, a digital marketing company based in Rock Hill that specializes in videography, but also does social media management, SEO, and web design. Even though he’s found himself in the world of marketing now, Brian originally started in the television industry. After graduating from Ohio University with a degree in film and video, Brian got a job at a local television news station where he shot and edited videos, and helped with breaking stories.

This career path eventually led him down to Charlotte with a different news channel where he worked there for five years. He quickly noticed the vast expansion Charlotte was experiencing and jumped into the world of freelance videography. This freelance side job would soon prove to be a big success for Brian as he garnered enough clients to leave his full-time job at the news station and make his freelance side-gig his new career.

What started as just another way for him to support his family has become Brian’s primary focus. His passion has always been content creation and videography, but his initial career ventures at the newsstations didn’t allow him the appropriate outlet for his creativity. His move into the world of video marketing allowed him to express his creativity through content creation while also making a suitable living for himself and his family. He has taken on a wide variety of projects spanning from software promotion all the way to law enforcement recruitment. Whether it is designing a commercial for a local real estate firms or a documentary about K9 units, Brian and his team ensure that the story they get to tell with their content creation enhances their client’s brand and image.

Eventually “the passion starts to snowball into the business. I’ve always been a videographer first and a businessman second, but as the business grows I’m finding this is shifting”. Brian has been the CEO and Director of New Media for Media Zeus since 2009. After eight years of operation, Media Zeus’ services have grown and evolved. While the primary focus is to put out remarkable video content for their clients they also provide services like search engine optimization (SEO), web design, and social media management. These digital marketing tools ensure that each of their customers can get the most possible from each video Media Zeus creates. They want to ensure the content they create is an effective tool for as long as possible. As Brian puts it, “How can we multiply the legs of the video so that it’s still an effective tool next year?”

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