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UW students get real to help businessesMaggie Peterman
The free program, created by the UW Small Business Development Center, has furnished more than 750 companies with 900 projects since its inception 18 years ago, said Neil Lerner, director of the Development Center. "Some companies have asked for more than one project," he said. This semester, 41 companies -- from a self-employed entrepreneur to firms with up to 50 employees -- applied for the opportunity, said Lerner, 51, who initially screens the applicants. Professors matched the complexity of the requests with the ability of the students enrolled in business courses, Lerner said. Company owners must submit financial statements, provide a brief history and the reasons they are asking for assistance. Students sign a confidentiality agreement, Lerner said. "Some people just want some market help, some want advertising help or help with looking at financials rather than a (written) broad plan," he said. Participating businesses receive a report that focuses on a target audience, competition, pricing and operations, Lerner said. "Students look at the management and employees to see if they are the right people," he said. A variety of companies in insurance, real estate, construction, health care, manufacturing as well as veterinary clinics, day spas, massage therapy and independent retailers have participated through the years, Lerner said. An analysis of a company's current financial picture, opportunities to grow the business and an estimate of costs for the predicted returns is also provided, Lerner said. "The typical plan looks ahead at least three years," he said. "Some people want to retrench and reorganize because something they thought would work, didn't." Others need to manage rapid growth, Lerner said. "It takes extra money to hire extra people," he said. "If it's a company that is product-oriented, they may need extra inventory." The projects offer students tangible insight into business rather than just textbook lessons. Students discover firsthand that many ideas do become successful businesses, but victory is very dependent on the people that own the companies, their skills, passion, drive and experience, Lerner said. Excellent financial management is the major key to prosperity, Lerner added. "There are best practices, but there's no one way to run a successful business," he said. Madison Environmental Group Madison Environmental Group, an environmental consulting company, has enlisted student help in at least four projects and hired student interns, said Sonya Newenhouse, 40, president of the company, which generates revenues just under $1 million. "In business, you need to continually evolve and stay ahead," she said. "They (the students) give us a fresh outlook on our firm," she said. "They are interdisciplinary people with different backgrounds." Newenhouse uses the projects to educate the business students on innovative recycling methods. "We pride ourselves in being on the cutting edge in research of the latest technology in transportation and recycling," she said. "Those outside, unabashed suggestions from students affirm our own ideas and give us further motivation to follow through." Michael's Frozen Custard Before opening his first Michael's Frozen Custard shop in 1986, Michael Dix worked as a forklift driver for Quad Graphics, a large Milwaukee-area printing company. "I didn't have a college education," said Dix, founder and chief executive officer. "I started with absolutely nothing and built up to a great, great business." Dix, 46, and his partner, Perry J. McCourtney, 43, a vice president, predict gross sales this year at $2.4 million for four restaurants. Through the years, they have participated in numerous Development Center projects, with some even initiated by the students. "We are willing to share sensitive information," Dix said. "People in the business world usually are very guarded about their numbers. "UW has been very supportive of small businesses like us to help us develop goals and objectives we might not have the education or knowledge to do." Graduate student Jane Bills, 32, joined three other business students during the fall 2005 semester to study entrepreneurial management, using Michael's as the model. "Michael's is community-oriented," said Bills, who will graduate from UW in 2007 with a master's degree in business administration. "They want to give back to the community. They realize it helps to get their name out." The four students met with the owners once a month and kept in touch by phone. In a 35-page report, the students examined competition, operations, sales, employee retention, customers and marketing opportunities for the businessmen. "They were too busy with the day-to-day operations," Bills said. "They needed to step back and look at the big picture." Hiring an operations manager topped the students' list of suggestions. Dix and McCourtney preempted the recommendations. "Halfway through the semester, they hired a vice president of operations," Bills said. "It was very interesting to have a financial cost-analysis person come in and for us to see how Michael's changed in that short time period." Customer service is a key ingredient to Michael's success, Bills said. "They really listen to their customers," she said. "Even when it seemed crazy, they came up with K9 Custard for dogs." It's a hot item, the owners agreed. "It gives people an excuse to buy custard for themselves," Dix said. "It keeps us funky and different from the 'big boxes' moving into town." Although the students recommended that Michael's open additional restaurants or partner with a coffeehouse, Dix and McCourtney are cautious about expansion. Franchising calls for duplication. Each restaurant would have to become an exact replica, they said. "We would have to be too cookie cutter," Dix said. "We love the four stores. It's not all about having the most, but being the best. We can make decisions on a dime. We can get very creative inventing new flavors. We introduced 13 new sundaes during the summer." Cascade Asset Management Neil Peters-Michaud, 35, has called on UW student research to study strategic positioning and planning for Cascade Asset Management, a Madison company specializing in recycling, refurbishing and reselling office electronics. With 75 employees in Madison and five in the company's new Indianapolis facility, Peters-Michaud and his wife, company President Jessica Peters Michaud, banked on knowledge they gathered from the Fundamentals of Small Business eight-week course before they opened their doors. Although Neil Peters-Michaud said the company experienced 3,000 percent growth from 1999 to 2003, he declined to discuss exact revenue. "We are in the five- to 10-million-dollar range for the year," he said. A student intern working for "a very reasonable" stipend researched expansion opportunities for the company in eight cities across the country, Peters-Michaud said. The resulting 82-page report also identified regulatory requirements and competitors. "That was a lot of great information," Peters-Michaud said. "We both learned about business in eight different communities. We got a lot for our money." Other free student projects have evaluated market opportunities, customer potential and how to grow revenues, Peters-Michaud said. "They had free reign to come up with ideas," he said. A list of recommendations included establishing credibility through educating customers on environmental issues for computer disposal and identity theft, Peters-Michaud said. "We always approach in-class projects not expecting any benefit," he said. "At the same time, we are very pleasantly surprised at the quality of work. More often than not, it's very, very good." Midwest Home Care The UW Small Business Development Center became the hub for answers to Robert Weink's questions when he founded Midwest Home Care 10 years ago. "It was like a mini university within a university," he said. "If they couldn't answer a question, they would point me in the right direction so I could find a link to the answer." The company has 25 caregivers who provide a variety of services, including cooking, lawn mowing, cleaning, bill paying, walking dogs, personal hygiene and even reciting poetry for 25 clients, some who need 24-hour attention. "We provide companionship to older adults that are living in their own homes," said Weink, who predicts revenues in 2006 to top $700,000. "We coordinate home and property care like snow removal. A big part of who we are and what we do is provide a link between family members." A student-developed 35-page strategic plan is just one of the products Weink, 41, has on file for future development in case he decides to build or buy an assisted living facility. He also called on help for business planning, marketing, strategizing and advertising. "We all did a tremendous amount of work in a short period of time," he said. "Students felt the work wasn't just academic but real life." Weink met with students once a week for nearly three hours. "We each had a project we had to work on before we met again," he said. "That way we had new information when we got together. There's a great advantage with having someone from the outside look at the inside. Sometimes what you need is a fresh look." Maggie Peterman is a Madison freelance writer. mjpeterman@sbcglobal.net madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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