Duke MBA Students Offer Small Business Consulting Services
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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DURHAM, NC -- MBA students at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business want to help small businesses in the Triangle area that need consulting help but cannot afford to pay the typical fees of consulting agencies.
Through the Fuqua Small Business Consulting program, MBA students can take a course for credit to help companies solve their business problems.
Over the past 25 years, Fuqua students have assisted more than 300 local companies through this consulting program. Past activities have included improving accounting systems, financial analysis, diagnosing management problems, inventory control, operations, information technology, improving company web pages, market surveys to develop market strategies, human resources and manufacturing.
Last year, Fuqua teams worked with: BioMedomics, The Chordoma Foundation, Durham Affordable Housing Coalition, Healing With CAARE, Southern Energy Management and Triangle Brewing Company. The consulting work included specific recommendations and a detailed implementation plan.
Each client was pleased with the results, and several of the recommendations have already begun to be implemented, said Fuqua’s executive-in-residence William Sax, who directs the program.
To be considered for the program, businesses must meet the following criteria:
-- Be in business for at least one year;
-- Be within a one-hour drive of Duke;
-- Have revenues exceeding $100,000 for the past business year;
-- Management is willing to provide financial data (one-year minimum) and operational data to the student consultants;
--Management is willing to be available to meet with the student team a minimum of five times during the course of the consulting engagement (October 2008 through April 2009);
-- Management will pay a $200 administrative fee if accepted into the consulting program.
“Students are eager to take their classroom knowledge and apply it to real-world situations,” said Sax, who begins his 22nd year of teaching at Fuqua this fall. “Organizations benefit from the practical advice they receive from the students, who average five years’ business experience between their undergraduate studies and before entering The Duke MBA program.”
Non-profit organizations are welcome in the program. Past participating not-for-profit organizations include the Durham Affordable Housing Coalition, the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, the Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abuse (TROSA), Futures 4 Kids, North Carolina Justice and Community Development Center, Duke School (grade school) and Exploris Museum.
The students select those clients that best match the experience, interests and abilities of the consulting teams. Once selected, business owners meet with the student team to discuss the problems to be addressed.
The students begin the consulting project in October and hold about five or six meetings with the client through April. It is critical that the students have access to the financial data of the company, regardless of the problems to be studied, Sax said: “Without complete financial information, it is like trying to decorate a house in the dark.”
Sax regularly reviews the students’ progress until they successfully complete the project with a formal oral and written presentation for the client. Every student signs a letter of confidentiality before the consulting engagement begins.
Fuqua is now accepting applications for the fall 2008 consulting program. The application deadline is Aug. 31.
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Interested parties can obtain a brochure and application by calling Beverly James at (919) 660-7789 or by via e-mail at texas@duke.edu.
The program application, brochure and overview also are available online at www.fuqua.duke.edu/studentconsulting. Click on Small Businesses on the left side, then on application, brochure and overview on the right.
