BizBlock, Transforming students into business professionals

BizBlock, transforming students into business professionals

I recently had the pleasure to serve as a judge for the BizBlock program at Northern Arizona University.  This program is an intense nine credit block class consisting of marketing, management and business communications. The students are broken into seven person teams based on personality testing and are instructed to create a business plan from creation to the stage just before funding would be received. This is an intense process and tests the team's ability to manage its time, resources, and the members in that team. They are asked to identify real world product opportunities based on consumer needs for their very first day of class. Teams are required to show creativity in their creation and to do extensive research and planning to determine if the business is viable.

This semesters products included a heated sleeve to prevent your coffee from getting cold; a website that works to build links between non-traditional students, vocational training and employers interesting in hiring for vocational trades; and a group prepared to address the shortage in available cricket flour, a sustainable source of high protein made from crickets and used to add protein to bars and shakes (and yes, there were samples).
The training goes far beyond the normal course schedule for these classes. Every team has contacted real potential customers for the products they are creating to get feedback. They are responsible for finding others in the industry so they have a more thorough knowledge of the industry for their products. They are also trained on professional dressing and grooming, how to conduct professional presentations down to the level of a session on hand gestures and what to do with your hands while presenting. They are videotaped and critiqued and coached. They even attend a business meal to practice what they have learned about the etiquette of eating at a business meeting.


At the end of the program, the teams present their ideas along with complete financials to real life

“investors”, usually alumni, in an attempt to receive mock funds which equate to extra credit for the winning team.  Their final reports summarize their complete work running between 70 and 80 pages with a complete business plan including market analysis, key target markets and SWOT analysis. The presentations take place in a beautiful board room ostentatious enough to prepare them for any future board rooms.  The question and answer session following each presentation is intense. This program is a requirement for all management majors and is generally taken the first semester of their junior year.

As judges we were discussing the merits of having this program occur so early in their education. However, the professors who have been associated with this program for many years explained that while they have not taken many of the business classes for their degree, they approach the rest of their education with a much great context to apply the learning.

I was inspired by the hard work of these students.  The effort, time and deep thought they put into creating a business from initial idea down to very fine details is simply amazing.  The fact that they work with a team they didn't select themselves and bring it all together is a critical skill they need to work well in any business.  The student presentations are extremely professional from their attire and first impression they create the minute they walk in the room, to the delivery of the material and their ability to answer any question that is asked of them on the spot.  Every team demonstrated a true knowledge of their subject matter.

As a business owner I am very drawn to this program because it truly prepares students beyond the classroom theory.  They do more than raise their hand in a classroom – they learn to find the answer, find the experts in the real world to learn about the business they are creating and truly master the knowledge of every aspect of that business.  These students have been taught to truly think in depth about a subject and solve real world problems unlike any other program I have seen.

In addition to the massive amount of work the students do to create a business, I am also incredibly impressed with the additional skills they are taught by this outstanding group of professors.  These students are prepared well beyond the educational theory of the courses bundled in this program.  They learn in depth presentation skills including how to gesture and use your hands during a presentation.  They are also taught proper business etiquette and proper business dress (as shown in these pictures from this year's program).  I do not know of any other university programs that teach these important and differentiating skills.  It makes NAU students standout above the rest.

I truly enjoy working with this brilliant group of professors – Mary Bowers and Chris
Scherpereel along with instructor Elizabeth Hobbs. They bring a great mix of knowledge and business experience and are a fun team to be with.  They work so well together that they could finish each other’s sentences but they are each unique with a different set of strengths to offer the students.

We have already hired Victor Martinez, a member of the winning team from 2013, to work at Stowebridge Promotion Group.  He is far more polished and professional as well as driven to be successful than most of the students I see coming right out of college. This is a program that prepares students to hit the ground running once they leave the educational environment.

Thank you Northern Arizona University WA Franke College of Business for allowing me to spend time working with amazing students and professors.

Kathy Finnerty Thomas is the President of Stowebridge Promotion Group. We help companies be memorable through the use of promotional products, the only advertising customers will thank you for. We work with customers all over the United States as well as Canada, Australia and many other countries. With over 20 years of experience Stowebridge has taken a different route to helping customers with their promotional items.  With our in house graphics department we make the artwork process easy and creative.  In house production of screen printing, embroidery, large format printing, vehicle graphics and wraps, and laser engraving give Stowebridge a huge benefit over our competitors. We work closely with our key suppliers to be the most knowledgeable promotional products partner you will find.