Well, it’s over…but it was a good one! Last night we toasted SmackDab Studios at their Open House on 216 Broughton street with 75 of our closest compadres. And, it rocked (check out the pics) if we do say so ourselves.

There were folks there from every walk of life - politicians to software developers, graphic designers to PR folks all having a grand time chatting it up and making connections…which, of course was the goal.

SmackDab is one of our favorite success stories. A full service web development and graphic design firm, SmackDab has been kickin’ arse and takin’ names ever since they moved from here from Atlanta. In one year, SmackDab has transitioned from a 1 woman shop out of Hannah’s house on Maupaus, to a staff of 8 and half (the boss lady is preggers), a swanky office on Broughton Street the recent acquisition of Color Maria, a successful web dev firm in its own right. Wowsers…not too shabby. So, congrats!

We always love stories of knowledge-based businesses growing like gangbusters. But I’ll be honest, I’ve always wondered about and been interested in the logic behind some businesses really thriving (e.g. going from 1 to 8 employees in about a year), and some that just can’t seem to stay above water. Is it the market they operate in? Is it the general business environment? Blood, sweat and tears aside, what do you think makes a creative or technology-oriented business successful in Savannah…or not? Let’s hear it, gimme your best shot.

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