UNM Anderson Schools of Management students have provided Albuquerque area businesses with free consulting for 23 years and will continue their work this semester, a spokesperson said.
Hopkins-Loy, coordinator of the UNM Small Business Institute at Anderson Schools of Management, said she wants community members to be aware of the service.
“Students at UNM, in any of the different programs, need to know that this resource is here for them if they are seriously thinking about starting a business or are already involved in a business,” Hopkins-Loy said. “One of the most important aspects is that we help write business plans, because everyone needs a business plan.”
Hopkins-Loy, who has been involved with the program for more than a year, said it is unique and beneficial to students and faculty.
“Not every school offers these types of classes in which professors get to teach very innovative curriculum and, at the same time, students receive experiential learning,” she said.
Dr. John E. Young, director of the institute since 1987, teaches three of the business management courses involved with the program. He said it plays a large role in economic development.
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“UNM Small Business Institute has been able to turn struggling businesses around by creating jobs and retaining already existing employees,” Young said. “The students enable the companies to engage in both effective and efficient growth which encourages businesses to come back to us.”
Albuquerque Country Day School received aid from the UNM Small Business Institute during the spring semester. Kiki Pavlantos, the school’s assistant administrator, said University students involved in the program helped the school’s educators to gain a business point of view.
“The students we worked with enabled us to have a specific direction and structure to follow,” Pavlantos said. “The direct dialogue between the educators and the students was probably the most helpful aspect of the program.”
Since 1987, the UNM Small Business Institute has served 543 clients and 1645 students who participated in the program. At the beginning of each semester about 25 clients are carefully selected by Hopkins-Loy and Young through interviews and evaluations.
Lois Hamamoto, owner of Bright Future Futons, is a prospective client of the UNM Small Business Institute. Students have the opportunity to select their projects from a list of businesses, and Hamamoto said he hopes they will choose him.
“I am looking forward to the actual dialogue involved so I can have people to bounce my ideas off of,” Hamamoto said. “I think the students have the tools and techniques of certain aspects of business management that can add to the success of my store.”
People interested in UNM Small Business Institute services can apply for the program at the beginning of each semester by calling 277-8869 to have an application mailed to them.
