Student to Business Initiative

Each semester the UMD Center for Economic Development partners with faculty members within the Labovitz School of Business and Economics on the Student to Business Initiative (SBI). This initiative couples student teams with businesses to work on a marketing plan, business plan, Website plan or accounting issues.

The student teams define the scope of work with the business owner and the Labovitz School of Business and Economics faculty member and at the end of the semester present their work to the business at the UMD CED offices. Students invest 250-600 hours during the semester on each business project. Access to financial and marketing information is required. The goal of this program is to enhance the relationship between small businesses in our community by developing experiential learning experiences that fit the community needs.

Businesses are assessed a $200 fee to participate in the program. This fee is used to defer the cost of the final presentation materials presented to the business.

This program operates in a semester based format.

• Spring 2008 (January -- May) - Business to Businesses focus
• Fall 2008 (September -- December) - Business to Consumers focus

The deadline to submit a Client Questionnaire to be considered for this program:

• Spring Semester: November 30
• Fall Semester: July 31

If you are interested in participating in this program please fill out the online Student to Business Initiative - Client Questionnaire or contact us for more information.