Towne Lake Business Association

Member Spotlight

Peachtree Planning Corporation

From the

Towne Lake Business Association

We hope that everybody had a wonderful and safe holiday season. Especially during the holiday season, many of us have become conditioned to going to malls and shopping centers outside of Cherokee. In doing so, we are unknowingly supporting big box retailers from out of state that don't contribute to the tax base of our county, nor do they support your children's sport teams and schools.

To break you out of this conditioned routine, you can start the new year by supporting local businesses in the Towne Lake area. You'll be amazed at what you can find right here in our own backyard without battling traffic, at probably the same or lower prices, and you'll be supporting the local economy. This, in turn, will benefit our schools, children, and other businesses and will help keep our community prosperous. As the TLBA slogan goes, "Keep Towne Lake Dollars in Towne Lake."

Switching gears a bit, let's take a look at the turnover of businesses and the duplication of like-kind businesses in the Towne Lake area . Business failures can occur for a variety of reasons, most typically under-capitalization or overstatement of markets potential. You can probably recall some of the businesses that are no longer around - perhaps it was a restaurant such as Spokes or Blackberries, a wallpaper shop, or a frame shop. They all closed for a different reason, but in the end, each one of them just didn't get enough support from the local community to meet their operating costs. Why is it that our independently-owned restaurants (not the national chains) don't have waiting lines like the ones in Buckhead, Town Center or Roswell?

It's not difficult to see why duplication of like-kind businesses occurs in our community when you consider that most retail center owners live outside of our community. Typically, they are investors looking to make a targeted rate of return on their investments. Quite often, they may simply secure the most convenient tenants for their spaces without regard to long-term implications. Consequently you end up with - you guessed it - dry cleaners, nail salons, pizza parlors, Chinese and Mexican restaurants, and mail/pack centers to name a few.

Dont' forget to join us for our next Lunch 'N' Workshop - Individual Financial Planning - on Tuesday, January 15 at 12:30 p.m. at Featherstone's at Towne Hills. Please call (770) 517-8210, ext. 550 to reserve your space today.

As always, we thank you for supporting our local businesses, and thus, our Towne Lake area community. The TLBA wishes everyone a happy and prosperous new year!

 Wayne Kosbe, President

NOTE: The Member Spotlight highlights one TLBA member each month with information showcasing their business. Visit us at www.tlba.org.

Vickie and Don Holyfield of Peachtree Planning Corporation.

Peachtree Planning Corporation is a comprehensive financial advisory firm now in its fifteenth year of operation in the Southeast. The firm's Towne Lake office opened in March 2001 to provide local residents excellence in service and innovative financial strategies to reach their financial objectives in the creation and conservation of wealth. The Senior Partner, Don Holyfield, accomplishes this by assisting clients in making informed financial decisions which reflect their value system, love of family and commitment to their community.

Successful planning is a complete, coordinated and dynamic process that maximizes protection benefits while creating and preserving wealth. Shaping the plan requires an understanding of how its component parts interrelate and an ability to take an aerial perspective known as "macroeconomics." For example, a well-constructed financial plan recognizes that dividend and capital gain income affects taxes, taxes affect cash flow and cash flow affects dollars available for additional financial products and/or protection benefits.

The professional base of Peachtree Planning Corporation is composed of nearly 75 licensed financial representatives consisting of tax attorneys, JDs, MBAs, CPAs, CLUs, ChFCs, CFPs and other industry designations. Each is skilled in working with individuals or businesses from the fundamentals of budgeting, savings or life insurance through the development of the most sophisticated forms of financial and estate planning.

Don is joined in the Towne Lake office by Joe Mueller and Vickie Holyfield, the Vice President of Membership for the Towne Lake Business Association. You may contact Don or the Peachtree Planning Office at Towne Lake at (770) 516-2818 or their website, www.peachtreeplanning.com.