The Small Business Institute is accepting applications from clients for consulting during the spring 2013 semester.

Since its inception in 1974, the Small Business Institute (SBI) at the University of St. Thomas has been instrumental in the success and growth of many businesses in the Twin Cities area. SBI leverages UST business faculty and students to provide exceptional business consulting and has helped sharpen and inform more than 2,100 small businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The purpose of the UST Small Business Institute is to contribute to a healthy regional business climate in a way that is mutually beneficial to both business and the St. Thomas community. Specifically, the SBI helps small-business clients improve their performance and profitability via high-quality business consultations with its expert faculty and professional staff. In addition, the UST SBI goal is to create unique and extraordinarily rich learning opportunities for students as they apply their knowledge and skills to real-world business situations.

Benefits offered to the business owner or nonprofit manager through the program:

• Access to a diverse pool of expert faculty (many are experienced consultants in their fields) and highly trained business students capable of conducting cutting-edge consulting projects
• Affordable consulting rates that are prorated based on a business’s annual revenue
• Confidentiality of the client’s business ideas and problems guaranteed by St. Thomas’ code of ethics and signing of a Confidentiality Agreement by the consulting team

The Small Business Institute offers consulting services centered on marketing in the following areas:

• Identification of marketing opportunities and target markets
• Assessment of current marketing activities
• Analysis of sales, buyer behavior and competition
• Market planning and issues of pricing, promotion and distribution
• International markets expansion and export management
• Social media marketing

Upon completion of the project participants receive:

• A comprehensive written report detailing the projects’ objectives, findings and suggested courses of action
• Oral presentations of the project findings to the client’s team (no limit on the number of individuals from the client’s organization attending)
• An electronic copy of the project report

For more information and an application, visit the SBI website or contact Kate Wright, projects coordinator, (651) 962-5097.