ECU Students Win Top Prizes at National Small Business Conference

For the sixth year, student teams from the College of Business at  East Carolina University took home top prizes at the National Small  Business Institute® (SBI) Conference, Feb. 17-19 in Bonita Springs, Fla.

One student team, which worked with the proposed East Carolina  Integrative Clinic, won first place in the undergraduate business plan division. As part of its project, the team consulted with officials from  the Brody School of Medicine to explore the feasibility of an  integrative health clinic and then developed a corresponding business  plan.  Another student team earned second place in the undergraduate  comprehensive division for its consulting work with Fabricate Too, a  Greenville-based women’s clothing boutique located in Arlington Village.

The College of Business has enjoyed a long tradition of winning top  honors in the SBI’s Project of the Year Competition. Since 2005, ECU has  earned eight finishes in the top three, including four first place  winners.

ECU students participate in the competition each year through Michael  Harris’ small business management class, which is linked at a national  level with the SBI.  Harris, who has taught the course for 10 years and  directs ECU’s SBI program, teams his senior-level undergraduate students  with regional companies in need of assistance as part of a course  project. Firms benefit from free business consulting, and students apply  lessons they’ve learned in subjects ranging from marketing to  accounting.  In the end, the student teams deliver a comprehensive  consulting document to their respective clients, along with an oral  presentation.

In addition to the student awards, Bill McDowell of the Department of  Management won best paper award for his work titled “Performance of  Historically Underrepresented Firms in the Public-Private Sector.”  Harris served as national SBI conference chair for 2011, and officials  also announced that Harris, McDowell and Shanan Gibson will assume  editorship of the Small Business Institute® Journal, an official journal  of the SBI, beginning May 2011.

ECU’s SBI program has assisted more than 500 clients since its  inception in 1976. At the national level, the SBI serves as the premier  organization dedicated to field-based student consulting and outreach to  small businesses. For more information about the SBI, please contact  Harris at (252) 737-1057 or harrismi@ecu.edu.