All posts by mjames

Business, Final Projects

A Business Outlook on Exercise in Athens

While Athens, Georgia may be known for having more bars per capita than any other city in the country, it also has a wide variety of exercise options for local residents to choose from. Spanning from cardio and strength training to kickboxing, Athens offers college students many choices regarding where to spend their money on local exercise.

All of the businesses are similar in that they are centered around exercise with an incentive to increase revenue, but they each have different aspects that differentiate them from their competition. Many qualities of the gyms affect their ability to be successful, including memberships fees, number of members, amenities offered, location, possible deals offered and so on.

In order to understand what makes certain businesses popular in a college town, I turned to the students and employees of these companies for their opinions on the Athens local exercise options. After conducting 20 interviews with these people, I chose to focus on the five businesses that were mentioned most frequently: Orangetheory Fitness, The Omni Club, Crunch Fitness, BLAST900 and Pure Barre.

I noticed right away that all five of these businesses are local branches of a corporate franchise. I was expecting at least one person to mention local companies such as Fuel Hot Yoga or Fitness @ Five, especially since I am a member of the latter and see students there daily. However, I am a former member of The Omni Club and have been to an Orangetheory Fitness class as well as a Pure Barre class, so I have witnessed the appeal of these businesses firsthand.

I have compiled my work into the following three elements: an interactive map depicting the locations of the five businesses and their rates, an infographic that reflects a compilation of the sentiments expressed in the 20 interviews I conducted and a short video highlighting my interviews with four students and four employees.

Click here to view the interactive map.

Click here to view the infographic.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsyrDQpSDms

Exercises

Chapter 14 Exercise

Media use for 4/13/17:

Instagram- free

Facebook- free

Snapchat- free

Netflix- $8

The Skimm (news email subscription)- free

Spotify (not premium)- free

Netflix was the only media source that I consumed yesterday that cost money, and even though it is $8, that is for the entire month. So really I spent about 1/30 of that in my consumption yesterday, so I would say it was worth it.

Business, MOTS

Athens residents support local businesses despite presence of chains

With a growing number of chain businesses nestled in a town full of local entrepreneurs, Athens residents claim their support for local businesses, according to a poll conducted by JOUR 3190 students in February.

Twelve people were interviewed regarding their opinions on various businesses in the Athens area, and all 12 claimed to make an effort to support the local stores.

When asked to give reasoning behind preferring to shop and eat locally, Landon Lambert, a freshman from Canton, Georgia, said she likes to go to “a restaurant that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.”

Other respondents like Lambert also voiced a preference for local businesses based on atmosphere and unique qualities.

However, just as often, the matter of price was a feature alluded to by respondents in their reasoning behind preferring certain stores over others.

Ashton Pike, senior from Snellville, Georgia, describes her preference for large serving sizes at restaurants.

Ashton Pike, a senior from Snellville, Georgia, mentioned these factors when citing Transmetropolitan as having low prices and large serving sizes. “It’s more bang for your buck,” said Pike, whose opinion matched those of other college students interviewed.

Chain businesses are on the rise in Athens, according to a 2015 article by The Red & Black.

But the growth of commercial retailers downtown may actually increase sales for local businesses such as Dynamite Clothing, a small clothing store with lower prices than its new competitor Urban Outfitters, as stated in the 2015 Red & Black article. John Van Wert, a senior advertising major from Peachtree City, Georgia, referenced Dynamite Clothing when discussing his preference for shopping at local stores and the “niche shops,” over “widely known chains,” like Urban Outfitters.

All 12 interviewees also claimed to understand the difference between a chain and a local business, yet some contradicted themselves when asked to provide examples of local businesses they frequent.

Katie Huff, UGA graduate from Athens, Georgia, shares her thoughts on how the business scene of Athens has changed.

“Urban Outfitters…Five Guys, and definitely Starbucks comes to mind,” replied sophomore Sarina Conway from Madison, Georgia, naming national chains when asked for her thoughts on the epitome of an Athens local business.

While most regarded both Zaxby’s and Cane’s as chains, few knew the history behind Zaxby’s and its ties to Athens. “It was local and then it became a chain,” said Katie Huff, a graduate of UGA who was born and raised in Athens.

Huff shared her perspective on how the town’s business scene has changed over the years. “I would say that the one thing about downtown is that the change is constant,” Huff said, explaining that some of her favorite childhood venues have been replaced.

When it came to older local residents in the area, responses reflected a more negative outlook.

Katie Wilson, an Athens local who was with her husband, said while she does support local businesses, she chooses to “go local somewhere else,” with her family in effort to avoid the crowds of college students downtown.

Bella Montoya, a 35-year Athens resident and previous local business owner, listed various downtown local restaurants and shops she frequents.

However, when Montoya was asked her opinion of Onward Reserve, an Athens-based men’s clothing store, she said: “I’m OK with Onward, even though it’s a chain…but just not Walmart or CVS. That I am not OK with.”

Backgrounder, Business

The Georgia Theatre: A business that rose from the ashes

The Georgia Theatre is a historic landmark and prominent venue in downtown Athens, Georgia, with a business that rose from the ashes to reach success.

The original building was founded in 1889, but has been home to many businesses throughout the years, including the Athens YMCA, a music store, movie house, hotel, and furniture company before finally becoming the Elite Theatre in 1935, later renamed the Georgia Theatre.

On June 19, 2009 a fire devastated the theater. “It’s like having a death in the family,” said Bill Anderson, the man behind the old movie theater’s transformation into one of Georgia’s most popular destinations, in a 2009 interview with the Augusta Chronicle.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, expected costs of rebuilding the historic site were high, causing a controversial decision by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation to accept donations for rehabilitation. It was the first time the organization had assisted a for-profit business.

Trust President Mark McDonald said, “It’s benefiting the Georgia Theatre, the public…and the musical culture of Athens…It was a critical need,” in a 2009 interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

According to the Athens Banner-Herald, $300,000 was raised to assist the venue’s comeback, and the Georgia Theatre Company thanked the Athens community for helping to rebuild the concert hall “as a labor of love.”

The majority of this funding came from a benefit concert hosted by the award winning Zac Brown Band, a product of the Athens music scene, CNN reported. 

“Even though it’s a different place, it’s still the same, it’s still the grand old theater,” theater production manager Ric Wallace told CNN in 2011.

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The restored building opened its doors in 2011 and by 2015, it reached a record level of success, with the ticket company Pollstar rating the theater number 15 in the world, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.

With the rebuilding of the theater came a rejuvenation of the business as a whole, which used this loss as a force for change and growth.

Performances at the venue have become more popular and successful, and the company expanded to include a rooftop restaurant and bar, merchandise, and private events held through renting out the theater space.

Exercises

Trending on Twitter

I am from Highland Park, Texas, which is a suburb inside of Dallas. Sports are very focused on at my high school, so I’m not surprised that most of the tweets I found were regarding sports. The topic that I found most trending was that my high school’s football coach, Randy Allen, has just won NFL High School Coach of the Year, which was announced at the Pro Bowl this past Sunday. He was also Matthew Stafford’s head coach in high school, so there were some tweets about their connection. Another football related topic is that a player from my high school has committed to play football here at UGA next year as a wide receiver, which was tweeted by UGA Football Live. All other posts are mainly regarding real-estate.

Exercises

Inverted Pyramid Apartment Fire Exercise

On Thursday night there was a fire in the Windfair apartment building on the east side of Athens. Nearly half of the units were completely destroyed by the fire, but no one was injured, according to fire department captain Mary Smith.

Smith said firefighters arrived at the complex at 9:05, where “flames were bursting through the roof and residents were gathered on the sidewalk”. The cause of the fire is still being investigated, although no foul play is suspected.

About 25 renters have been displaced and lost almost all of their possessions. One resident, Thomas Jones, who has lived in the Windfair for three years and does not have renter’s insurance, said “ I lost everything. I’m not sure what I will do next.”

In the fire, some of the pets were able to be saved, yet others are still missing. Fortunately, Jones’ two cats, Gingersnap and George, are safe.

 

Exercises

Expertise of Shayla Strange

With over 12 years of experience, Shayla Strange has become an expert on competition cheerleading, about which she emphasizes the importance of “practice and repetition” in achieving success.

While there are many positions on the team, Strange held the position of base, in which she would “lift and catch” her team members, with specific execution depending on the exact position in which “you grab the flyer’s foot”.

In preparation for a competition, a good warm-up is very important, Strange says, as well as “praying and doing other little things to boost the team’s confidence” immediately before performing.

Contributors

Claudia Miller

Claudia Miller is a 19 year-old sophomore who majoring in both Public Relations and French at the University of Georgia. She was born and raised in Atlanta, Ga and has 2 siblings and one dog named Maxie. Claudia is interested in photography and traveling, which is why she decided to study abroad in Paris, France last summer and will do so again in Cannes, France this summer. In her free time Claudia enjoys exercising, listening to music, and watching shows on Netlflix.

She tweets at claudlizmill.