UMass Amherst

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Student Business Catering Menus

CSB update, November 10, 2006

The five food service-based student businesses have each put together a catering menu to offer to the campus community. If you or your group are holding an event anywhere on campus, check out the Stu-Biz Catering Menus. You'll be glad you did!

Student-run businesses in need of acknowledgement

Daily Collegian Opinion, March 9, 2005

The University ofMassachusetts is holding the first annual "Student Business Appreciation Week," this week, designed and to honor those student-run business on campus that work so hard to serve UMass students. These businesses are what give the University of Massachusetts its character and charm. They add a hint of professionalism while still understanding and appealing to the student body, their primary target.

Without knowing it, students on campus have come to rely heavily on many of the student-run businesses. Just having the comfort of know a student can always get that last-minute impulse cup of coffee in the morning is a very good feeling. The eight student-run businesses on campus deserve campus-wide recognition for all the hard work they put in and this week is perfect to do just that.

All students can relate to holding a job while attending classes. However, the students who work and manage these businesses on campus seem to be undertaking a lot more than the average UMass student. Those students occupy the title of co-manager. For all intensive purposes, they are responsible for running everything, from ordering to staffing to organizing. With help from managerial consultants from the Isenberg School of Management, these students are gaining great experience and knowledge of the business world.

Perhaps the greatest thing these students will be walking away from their tenure at their respective businesses with is the knowledge of how to turn a profit. And what's even more impressive is that none of these students are business majors and are, therefore, trying to balance the stress of the corporate world with the everyday stresses of being a full-time college student.

This week is a great opportunity for all of UMass to take the time to properly acknowledge the hard work and long hours these students put in to making our day-to-day routine manageable. Student-run businesses, because they have the word "student" attached to the management's name, can often be thought of as less reputable. After all, they are just college students. But, the initiative that it takes to own and operate a business without help from the University is something that speaks volumes to all future employers for these students.

Also, the fact that these student-run businesses operate within the same vicinity of each other speaks very highly of the competitive nature that they have to endure. As any business owner knows, competition is a major factor and maintaining a successful corporation in the midst of all of it is vital.

For these student-run businesses, that they are able to still profit and stay afloat is remarkable. Because of the college campus environment, they need each other to survive, and working with your competitors is a better skill to have than working against them. This week, we should all take the time to acknowledge the hard work and dedication that these students put in to adding that little hint of comfort to our lives.

Student-Run Businesses Get Recognized

Matthew Belliveau,Collegian Correspondant, March 8, 2005

Most college students have enough trouble properly balancing their social life with their schoolwork. So it's hard for many to believe that there are college students that actually run their own businesses. But, with the help of the Center for Student Businesses, over 140 UMass students having been making believers out of those doubters for over 30 years.

All eight of the UMass student-run businesses assembled inside the Student Union Ballroom yesterday, kicking off the first annual "Student Business Appreciation Week."

Established in 1975, the CSB has provided services and support to student-run businesses while insuring their stability and long-term survival.

The CSB is set in place in order to help students develop the skills needed in order to be successful in running a business. Through their work in the cooperatives, students are given a hands-on approach to learning and understanding the skills needed in order for their business to survive.

Of the eight student-run businesses at UMass, five are located within the Student Union building; People's Market, Tickets Unlimited, Campus Design & Copy, Bike Co-op and Earthfoods. The other three, Sylvan Snack Bar, Greeno Sub Shop and Sweets & More, are located in the residential areas around campus. Collectively, the businesses generate over $750,000 in revenues and employ over 140 students under the guidance of the CSB staff.

All of these businesses are run in the cooperative management style. This means that each employee of the business is given the title of "co-manager," allowing the student to have a real influence on the decisions made in their business. The number of co-managers employed in a certain business ranges anywhere from five to thirty students.

Oddly enough, none of the 140 students that work in these businesses are business majors. But they are not left without help, each of the eight businesses are assigned business majors to consult them in the inner-workings of the company. Nine consultants from the UMass School of Management are spread out between the 8 businesses. While the consultants do not have the final say in how the businesses run, they can advise the co-managers and help push them towards making a profit.

When Ronak Dave,, consultant for Greeno Sub Shop, was first introduced to Greeno, they were losing nearly $4000 a month. "I looked at their numbers and I noticed that we were purchasing our products at the wrong price, certain companies had jacked up their prices and we never adjusted to it. We were also selling our product at such a low price that it was nearly impossible for us to make any profit," said Dave. " So during our meetings with the co-managers, I would sit down and show them the numbers and advise them to change their purchasing and pricing. This way we, as consultants, can work with the people that have a direct access to changing the way the business is run."

In order to share the workload and the responsibilities that come with running a business, the students are split up into a long list of committees. These committees deal with a wide array of issues including advertising, bulk ordering, customer service, employee diversity and more.

The common perception would be that eight businesses running in such a small area would create an enormous level of competition. But according to Rosemary Schmidt, director of the CSB, the tight quarters only bring the students closer to each other.

" The People's Market sells certain items like coffee and bagels, while Earthfoods in solidarity with People's Market, sells soups and salads, or basically anything that People's Market doesn't sell. This way they're not in competition with each other, they're actually supporting each other and working together," said Schmidt. "Learning to work with the businesses around you is nearly as important as learning how to run a business itself. By working together, the students get a lot more done than they would by just trying to make their business the best."

Alvin Gonzalez, co-manager of Campus Design & Copy, also thinks its essential for each of the eight businesses to work as one.

" We all try to keep in touch with the businesses in and outside of the Student Union, like Sylvan Snack Bar. Normally it would be difficult for me to keep in touch with a business that's all the way out in Sylvan. But because of our bond with them, I'm able to work alongside them," said Gonzalez. "Because Sylvan, like everyone of all of the other student-run businesses, needs fliers in order to advertise, they come to us. And because we also need to advertise, Sylvan lets us put up fliers in their area. We feed and live of each others success."

Although all of these students gain a enormous amount of satisfaction from working in these businesses, do have feel their share of stress in balancing school and work.

" I think all of us understand that we are students first, but there are times when it's difficult to balance: like finals," said Gonzalez. "All of these jobs are very time consuming. We have to design and produce our own advertising, work the cashiers and in some cases prepare and sell the food."

According to Jen Turner, the CSB's program coordinator, the biggest accomplishments of the student-run businesses is the transformations of students that wouldn't even consider becoming involved in a business, into employees that truly love their businesses.

" I've learned so much from working in our business," said Brad Giguere, co-manager at Sylvan Snack Bar. "This was something I'd never thought I'd do. And it's turned into something that I really enjoy being involved in. I don't know what I'd be doing without it."