UW consulting program featured in Northwest Asian Weekly
Statistics show that one in every four small businesses fails after the first year; one in every three businesses fails after second year; and one in every two businesses fails after the third year.
To avoid being a statistic, many minority businesses have signed up with the University of Washington’s Foster Business School’s student consulting program, called Management 449.
Three to five students work together on a business’ problem and come up with deliverable solutions. The students are not alone by themselves. Organized by UW Consulting & Business Development Center (CBDC), this program was founded in 1995. It has coordinated the class with a business school instructor, so students can learn both the theories and acquire real-life practical experience by consulting with these businesses. The Rotary Club of Seattle and former business school alumni voluntarily serve as mentors and advisers to these students on their consulting project. For self-disclosure purposes, I am one of the students’ mentors. I have seen how students rolled up their sleeves to give a facelift to a Rainier Valley restaurant by painting the walls, developing marketing strategies, and redesigning its menu and seating arrangement to make its space more functional.
Students can select the diverse businesses to consult, including restaurants, grocery stores, yoga studios, acupuncturists, construction companies, real estate agencies, trade associations, galleries, private schools, bakeries, media, services, nonprofit organizations, and food industries. The students visit the business just like regular consultants, observe, and ask questions. The students spend several hours researching and studying other successful businesses’ models to apply their knowledge to their own clients.
In reality, the business is tapping into many brains of experienced professionals.
Student Emily Fullmer said, “My student consulting experience with Marination was one of the most valuable experiences I have had within the UW Foster School. It provided me with the opportunity to establish relationships with mentors and advisers from the business community. Their input and guidance added incredible value to our final project, as well as helped to cultivate our understanding of real world business problems.”