Perimeter Business
A monthly section focusing on bajlnejj in the Reporter News papers communities
Christopher
North
Emily Myers
ventured into
the jam-making
business in
2008 after
her husband
lost his job in
the finance
industry.
Myers, a
Dunwoody
resident with
two children,
has expanded
her product
line to include
sauces and
relishes. Her
company,
Emily G’s, has
shelf space
in 180 stores
nationwide.
Local entrepreneurs looked in the mirror for new bosses
By Dan Whisenhunt
Dunwoody mom Emily Myers got in a financial
jam back in 2008, so she started selling jams of her
own to get out of it.
Myers is one of the local entrepreneurs who
found happiness as well as hardship running a
small business in a foundering economy. One
Sandy Springs couple, Gail Smith and Randy
Dempsey, turned brewing craft beer into a second
source of income. Jaime Foster, who lives in San
dy Springs, left her job as a medical sales rep and
used her grandfather's almond butter recipe to
launch a new career.
Small business experts say they're seeing more
people tapping their hobbies and passions in
search of profit, but success can be elusive.
Cliff Oxford, a Buckhead resident who founded
the Oxford Center University to educate entrepre
neurs, said the bottom line about building a suc
cessful company usually isn't buying office furni
ture or developing a plan.
"In reality, the first thing you should do is get
a customer," Oxford said. "Will somebody write
you a check for what you're doing? That's what
we teach."
CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
Q&A: Alan Dabbiere -Page 8
Dabbiere, chair
man of AirWatch, a
mobile device man
agement company in
Sandy Springs, hopes
his company grows
to 5,000 employees
in the next five to 10
years.
Profile: Chip Stockton -Page 9
Chip Stockton
went into the suit
selling business with
his father, and now
owns four H. Stock-
ton locations in the
metro Atlanta area,
including one in
Dunwoody.
Openings
-Pages 10-11
Many new busi
nesses, offering ev
erything from wine
to pie to medical ser
vices, are springing
up in the Reporter
Newspapers commu
nities.
