University of Glasgow Small Business Consultancy

University of Glasgow, Department of Management. High quality consultancy projects carried out free of charge As an entrepreneur you are likely to have a variety of ideas on how to grow your business but you may lack the time or resources to research these further. We can help you. We work with companies from established businesses to start ups and social enterprises in a wide range of sectors. We can offer substantial pieces of research based consultancy carried out by teams of students from Honours level courses supervised by an academic. Each project is unique and will be designed to meet your organisation’s individual needs. We can work closely with you to develop a project that will help you address current issues. Projects include: • Export market research • Evaluating methods of entering new markets • Marketing plans • Development of business plans for funding • Analysis of new product development • Investigation of supply chain processes • Evaluation of HR processes and procedures An academic will work with you to develop the project, liaise with your organisation and supervise the students. At the end of the project you will receive a confidential written report and presentation. What we offer you • A team of committed students - these projects account for a significant percentage of their final grades and offer students the opportunity to succeed in a hands on project that will be of interest to future employers • Access to best practice from a specialist management unit at a top 30 university • A project tailored to your specific requirements • Support at minimal price – you cover only out of pocket expenses • Useful research and clear recommendations that can enable your organisation to progress. What we need from you The project only works if you, as well as the students, are committed. So, we need: • Commissioned work that you really need • Commitment to meet the team (and their supervisor) when they need it – particularly at the start. • Commitment to provide access to relevant information. • Feedback to the supervisor during and after the project. Programme Detail This course provides teams of two or three senior undergraduate students who are keen to create opportunities or seek solutions to problems for small businesses and social enterprises. The students will be in third of fourth year and have studied a variety of courses covering strategy; marketing; human resource management and finance, operations and logistics. Projects take place from October – April and you will receive around 150 - 200 hours of support from students. Timeline 30 September Deadline for project agreement and specification w/c 11 / 18 October Project Briefings / Initial meetings with client 25 October – 25 March Work on projects 15 April Deadline for submission of report w/c 18 April Project presentations Previous Project Examples • Market research for building management company to identify potential investment opportunities in the North West of England • Market intelligence and data collection for innovative small company involved in the fish farming industry • Options analysis for the development and production of an own label product • Development of marketing strategy for small social enterprise to develop commercial funding strategies • Review of current inhouse HR material and development of model training needs analysis • Development of online and promotional marketing campaign for ethical branded products If you would like to benefit from this programme contact Course Co-ordinator Greig Sinclair e: g.sinclair@lbss.gla.ac.uk t: 0141 330 3127