Hilton Head Business

Our federal government’s response to the financial crisis that began in 2008 was to declare, “This will never happen again.”  The Democrat-controlled Congress went about the adoption of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and President Barack Obama signed it into law on July 21, 2010. The Dodd-Frank Act, as it is commonly known, made changes to the entire American financial regulatory environment that affected every financial regulatory agency and every part of the nation’s financial services industry. 

Cheryl Klippel is not afraid to fail, a fact the local entrepreneur says is the reason she has such a solid record of success.

“So many famous people make reference to jumping off a cliff. In life you can jump off and take that leap of faith that your parachute will eventually open, or you can back off and never take that risk. I’m not afraid to take that risk; I’m not afraid to fail,” says Klippel, who owns three island retail stores and one bustling café. “You’ll scrape across the rocks, but if you don’t take that jump, you’ll never soar.”

Many savvy investors have waved goodbye to 2015 and are ready to dive into 2016 with new resolutions and strategies. Some of us, on the other hand, are looking hopefully at the new year while still morosely looking back at 2015’s unfinished investment business. Don’t despair. Often, the hardest part of moving ahead or starting fresh is sorting through the overload of information and multiple possibilities, and identifying the most relevant tasks and goals. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your money in 2016.

In the January 2015 issue, I took it upon myself to make “Elihu’s 10 Predictions for 2015.” Just to be fair, I want to review those predictions and see how I did. As I’m often reminded, economics has been called “the dismal science” and economists are rarely held accountable. Not so with Elihu, so here we go:

BECOME YOUR OWN BOSS

Have you ever dreamed of being an entrepreneur … of having your own successful business? Controlling your own destiny? Being beholden to no one other than yourself in your work?

Many of us have had this dream. 

Lots of have stepped forth to achieve it and found bitter disappointment for one reason or another.  There are many others, however, who have in fact experienced the satisfying fulfillment of creating a new enterprise, seeing it blossom and experiencing the financial and personal rewards that follow.

SunGate Medical Group has acquired Aqua Medical Spa in Port Royal, adding to their practices across the Lowcountry. Aqua Medical Spa is Beaufort’s first all-inclusive medical spa and salon, which provides convenient and luxurious accommodations while enhancing their clients’ natural beauty.

RUDOLPH TAKES A DAY OFF AS SANTA SOARS ONTO HILTON HEAD VIA CHOPPER.

Kids scanning the skies around Hilton Head Island for the approach of Santa Claus got to see something a little different this year.

Rather than approaching by sleigh, dragged along by his nine trusty reindeer and propelled by Christmas spirit, Santa opted for a slightly more modern mode of transportation. Namely, a helicopter.

HILTON HEAD, BLUFFTON HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GOOD PLACES TO DO BUSINESS 

EDITOR’S NOTE: As part of Monthly’s yearlong 30th anniversary celebration, we are highlighting 30 years of different industries in each issue. This month, we feature the retail experts that helped shape Hilton Head Island, Bluffton and the surrounding Lowcountry.

If the surging population growth on Hilton Head Island and Bluffton over the decades has cast an economic shadow, then the retail industry has been the shade-loving flower that bloomed alongside it. Of course, the construction and tourism industries have been robust for the most part, too, but residents need to shop, tourists need to shop, and retail stores need to employ staff to provide the goods, services and customer-friendly smiles.

An article in the business section of The New York Times on Oct. 24 caught my attention recently. It was written by Neil Irwin and titled “A Guiding Principle That May Lead the Fed Astray.” It brought me back to Economics 101,” as taught by my professor Charlie Hyde, as inspired by famed economist Paul Samuelson. In those days, economic principles were carved in stone and we knew we could depend on the laws of supply and demand and diminishing returns. The Times article discussed how the Federal Reserve — more precisely, its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) — relies on the “Phillips Curve” to provide a warning signal when unemployment falls to a level that will cause unwanted levels of inflation. The Fed has a dual mandate: to provide for full employment, generally considered to be a 4.9 percent unemployment rate, and to control inflation. The Fed targets a 2 percent “core” inflation rate as a desired indicator of healthy economic stimulus.