For 12 consecutive years, students in California Lutheran University’s MBA program have provided free consulting to area businesses. The program was the brainchild of the Small Business Administration, put into place to stave off disaster for struggling businesses. It originally launched at CLU in the 1980s, ceasing operation for a period and re-launching in 1995. The practice benefits students and businesses, alike, according to all participants. “The course is considered a capstone course, so what it does is allow them to bring all the classroom activity into a practical application,” said Ronald E. Hagler, director of CLU’s MBA program. “That’s really one of the highest levels of learning,application.” Each year the graduating class of MBA students works with up to 10 companies, Hagler said. The school has the distinction of being the only educational institution in the Valley to offer such consulting to businesses. Only the most advanced MBA students participate in the consulting program. David Burtch, vice president and CFO of Northridge-based telecommunications firm Ameritel, said that his company sought out the CLU’s free consulting services because the company could not afford to turn to professionals. In the end, he said, the students shed light on many ways in which the company could improve. “What they did for us was give us a lot of information that would have been pretty difficult for us to obtain,” he explained. “They spent time with our operating software They did a lot of research, made a lot of recommendations on how we could most effectively use it. It was excellent work, very professional and it was pretty much a bull’s eye on the things we felt we needed more information on.” Rico Yovanovich was one of the students who consulted with Ameritel. “We learned a lot about communication and management,” he recalled. “We were able to talk very intimately and frankly with the CEO and with the CFO as well [and learn] the day-to-day responsibilities and the goals and the strategies of the company to grow and get to the next level. It was really enlightening.” Erik Russell, another student who worked with Ameritel, appreciated being able to put what he learned in the classroom into play in the real world. “For me, personally, it was a great opportunity to apply all the different components and the theories you learn about a business and put them into practice,” he said. While the students found the experience enlightening, Yovanovich also feels that they helped enlighten Ameritel. “We analyzed not only their business plan and their books, but we interviewed several of their key employees , and we came back to them with issues they could change,things like communication, and changing and utilizing their [software] tools better. It opened their eyes to things they were taking for granted. We also analyzed also their marketing plan and their operations in a lot of ways.” Yovanovich estimates that his team provided about $15,000 worth of consulting. The fact that the CLU students offer services for free isn’t the only edge they have over professional consultants, said Yovanovich. He said that the students have no self-interest in their recommendations. “I’ve worked with several consulting firms,” he said. “Consultants have to ‘know it all.’ [As students], we were very willing to ask questions. I’ve worked in companies that hired consultants and they come in with preconceived notions and try to shoehorn the company in a sort of path.” Russell agreed with his classmate’s assessment of professional consultants. He provided feedback on Ameritel’s marketing and inventory process. “Those were the two main areas, and the third area that came out of the project,it really wasn’t discussed but grew out of the project,was interpersonal and communication channels that [suffered from] roadblocks,” he said. “I think the value that’s brought out of it from the client’s end is that there is no preconception. We’re not trying to apply a particular [agenda]. Our model is based on what we think could apply to the business the best.” But, Yavanovich stressed, the CLU team didn’t give Ameritel a lot of answers. Instead, “We led them in the right direction,” he said. “We weren’t wasting a lot of money and doing big grand things that nobody was going to do just to justify the fee.” Ameritel wasn’t the only company to use the free consulting services of CLU students this year. Thousand Oaks-based Universal Electric Vehicle Corp. worked with the school’s MBA students as well. The student team helped the company develop a sponsorship packet designed to raise funds for the all-electric vehicle company’s participation in an alternative fuel competition called the Automotive X Prize. “The packet contained an overview of Universal Electric Vehicles and the benefits to sponsorship. It listed different levels and what the Automotive X Prize is. The second part detailed information regarding competitors, things that we would want to be aware of,” UEV President Diana Lane said. “They did so much research. It was beautiful. It was even more than what we expected,all the research that they did.” Because UEV is a start-up company in the process of securing funding, Lane said that it did not have the financial wherewithal to use professional consultants. But, she added, she was so impressed with the work of the CLU students that she would continue to use them even if they charged for their services. “I think it’s beneficial to get another perspective from someone who has no real interest in the company,” said Lane. “I would definitely work with a group of Professor Hagler’s again.” CLU students Eric Verde and Steve Mason have no doubt companies benefit from their services. Mason estimates that, on average, students in the MBA program have five years of work experience, so it’s not as if the companies are working with novices. “When you look at the people on the team , you’ll find they all have diverse business backgrounds,” he said. Mason himself has been a CPA since 1980. Mason said that he has clients who have paid outside consultants thousands of dollars but, “If they have the right group from Cal Lutheran, they would in fact get a very similar product.” Benefits of Student Consulting at CLU – Many services are provided at no cost. – Research, recommendations and presentations students make are free. – There is no selling companies a particular agenda. – Interviews with employees and company executives are completed to help determine a company’s needs. – Students are willing to ask questions and learn research about the aspects of a company with which they are not familiar. – All work product is graded by CLU professors. – Only the most advanced MBA students participate. For more information on the program, contact Ronald E. Hagler, director of CLU’s MBA Program, at (805) 493-3371 or [email protected]: San Fernando Valley Business Journal Research