Alumni Invited to Reconnect; Project Nicaragua Expands to Catarina

Alumni Invited to Reconnect with Project Nicaragua
As Project Nicaragua grows, we would love to incorporate the new skills and experiences of our dedicated alumni into our work. We are establishing a database of alumni who we can reach out to for assistance with some of our consulting cases, strategic planning, and development.  We are also looking to bring in guest speakers to discuss international business development, doing business in different cultures, how to be an effective consultant, and more. If you want to stay involved, please fill out this short survey to provide us with your information and areas of interest and expertise.  Be sure to pass it on to family, friends, and co-workers who might also be interested!

Project Nicaragua Expands to Catarina
In March 2010, Project Nicaragua will expand its seminars and consulting work to a second location in Catarina, Nicaragua. After three years working with local entrepreneurs in Managua, the club will begin serving 15-20 new business owners in Catarina. Some of the entrepreneurs are sure to be nursery owners because Catarina offers the perfect soil and climate for gardening. A tourist destination, Catarina is known for its lookout point, Mirador Catarina, which provides panoramic views of Apoyo Lagoon, Mombacho Volcano, Lake Nicaragua, and Granada. (See photo.) Students visited Mirador Catarina during the January trip and saw its many gift shops, street vendors and nurseries firsthand.

Student Leaders Selected for 2010-2011
Six first-year MBA students were recently chosen to lead Project Nicaragua. Curt Webber is the club leader. Chris Des Barres, Jeff Hughes, Kathleen Ketchum, and Brian Price are serving as pod leaders.  Sandie Taylor is chair of Communications and Nica Hope. While the second-year students will run the club until March, the new first-year leaders will take over the club on the March trip and carry it on towards next year. We’re really impressed with this new group of leaders and know that they will do an extraordinary job! 

New Seminars Added for Advanced and Beginner Series
After hours of hard work and dedication from each of the four pods, both the advanced seminar and beginner seminar were revised and re-vamped prior to our January 2010 trip. Based on the feedback provided by past seminar participants, a few new topics were added, including a new favorite entitled “Motivating and Retaining Employees.” The beginner seminar is tailored to only those participants that are brand new to the Wake Forest seminars. This year, we had the opportunity to meet and work with 16 new and diverse business owners!  The advanced seminar is designed for our veteran participants and dives deeper into topics, such as “Market Research” and “Budgeting.”

Every one of the 18 students that came on the trip had an opportunity to team-teach, and they each brought a new and fresh perspective to the topics, including “Break-Even Analysis”, “Introduction to Operations,” and “The Four Keys to Marketing.” The effort from the students definitely paid off, and the seminar portion of the January trip went off without a hitch!

James Preston Russell Memorial Fund to to Make Donation and Personal Visit to El Herrero
Last August, one of our most active charter members of Project Nicaragua, James Preston Russell, passed away in his sleep.  He had a rare heart defect that was never detected. His parents and his sister knew of James' passion for Project Nicaragua and his deep interest in the success of a vocational school, El Herrero, which was a key part of the school's first trip to Nicaragua. James was passionate about the mission of the school: to train young men to forge beautiful, artistic pieces out of metal that could be sold to help them make a decent living. Mike Diebert, the founder of the school, inspired James with his work. In memory of James, many students, faculty and friends of James' family have donated more than $5,000 to the James Preston Russell Memorial Fund. Jackye Russell, James' mother, will travel with students going on the March trip, so she can present this gift to El Herrero. She will join the students as they visit some of the entrepreneurs participating in the seminars, tracing James' steps through those places that inspired him so deeply.   

Project Nicaragua Inspires University-wide Initiatives

Project Nicaragua’s success has gained the attention of many at Wake Forest University. The university has established a steering committee, consisting of senior administrators and faculty, to develop a strategic plan for creating interdisciplinary activities in Nicaragua that enhance the university's research, teaching, and service mission. These activities should also reflect the university's motto of Pro Humanitate. Project Nicaragua, led by the Schools of Business, fits well with the motto and has been core to generating the university's interest in Nicaragua. 

The challenges confronting Nicaragua are not only business problems, but also legal obstacles, health and nutrition concerns, and a lack of general education. “By working together, we can bring holistic solutions to the people of Nicaragua and accomplish what our true goal is: poverty alleviation,” says Project Nicaragua Faculty Advisor and Finance Professor Ajay Patel.

The other activities the university is considering in Nicaragua will take various approaches to improving the lives of Nicaraguans. To date, several departments have begun faculty research and offered courses and service learning projects in Nicaragua.

Courses have included:

• The Writer and Society in Central America

• Enterprise Leadership in a Developing Country

• Interdisciplinary Environmental Sciences

• Global Nutrition

• Communicating for Health Behavior Change

While in Nicaragua, Wake Forest students and faculty have volunteered with NGOs and nonprofits, including Amigos for Christ, AMOS Health and Hope, and Nica Hope. This March, faculty and students from the Law, Divinity, and Medical schools will explore a potential collaboration to provide education, training, and hands-on care through AMOS Health and Hope.

Business Profile: Yasmin Gonzalez

Logo (left) designed by Vince Mac, MBA '10

Business name: Pochi
Type of business: Filtered water (bagged, bottled, 5 gal), flavored water, Cola products (not on the market yet)
Years in business: 20
Number of employees: 8 full-time         
Production per month: 900,000 bags

How and why did the business get started:  Pochi water is named after Yasmin’s daughter, Xochi.  Yasmin started the business with her own funds and Pochi has been steadily growing for the last 20 years. Her husband and daughter help with the business, too. 

Recent successes or changes: Pochi has installed solar panels in the bagged water area. We joked last trip about “raising the roof.” She has successfully done so, and this allows natural light into the production area, saves her money on electricity. The panels also help boil all the water and clean the 5 gallon bottles.

Current challenges: The government has taken all sugary drinks out of the schools, so Pochi is thinking about producing her bagged juices with all natural products. She knows that the 5 gallon business is just as profitable (if not more) than the bagged water. She currently has one contract, but would like to obtain more.

Description of most recent Wake Forest Consulting Project: We presented Yasmin with a new Pochi logo, and she loved it. She wants us to play around with altering the logo to reflect branded house or house of brands. She is still flip-flopping on this situation. We also gave her a large list of slogans and phrases for her water, juice, and cola. Her favorite was Pure Perfection for the filtered water.  She is trying to become more sophisticated, simple, and clean-lined, but still fun.

Notable Quote: Not word for word because we didn’t write it down, but paraphrased:  “I know I can be a stubborn woman, and when I first started coming to seminars I thought that I was right about everything. I had a hard time accepting new ways of thinking. Now, I realize that you must be open to other people’s thinking and suggestions. They still might not always be right, but listening and thinking can help your business really grow.”

-Written by Tori Peterson, MBA '10

Student Profile: Neeta Kirpalani

Program and year: MBA '10
Hometown: Asheville, NC
Number of visits to Nicaragua: 1

Which seminars did you teach? Advanced Operations

Favorite Project Nicaragua memory:                                                                             

Given that this was my first time to Managua, I really enjoyed interacting with my fellow classmates and seeing all our hard work finally brought to fruition. My favorite moment was visiting Catarina in an effort to better understand the demographics of this community, the types of businesses that are present in this area, and also determining whether an expansion of our services into this area aligns with the short and long-term strategic goals of Project Nicaragua.

What was your greatest learning moment on this trip?

I believe that teaching a seminar for the first time was a very eye-opening experience for me.  Needless to say, it is much easier said than done. Through this experience, I have a new appreciation for the teaching profession and how difficult it can be at first to overcome barriers such as language discrepancies or challenges in comprehension.  Because what is learned is only as good as the material that is being taught, I learned how important it is to ensure that deliverables are well-written and translated; culturally sensitive; and accurate.

What surprised you the most about Nicaragua and your experience visiting the country?

I was pleasantly surprised about how receptive the Nicaraguans were – not only in learning the information that was conveyed during the seminars, but also in learning about us as individuals. Their attitudes are warm and open, and I think that that plays a large role in the success of this initiative.

How has Project Nicaragua affected your business school experience?

Having worked in the non-profit sector for five years before beginning business school, I initially believed that the two could not go hand-in-hand, but my experiences in working with Project Nicaragua have disproven that credo.  I am proud to be involved with an initiative that challenges students in thinking “outside of the box,” that is committed to application of what is learned in the classroom, and ultimately, and that provides a mutual benefit, both for us as students and for the community members whom we directly work with.

Business Profile: Oscar Flores

 Business name: Calzado Flores
Type of business: Shoe maker
Years in business: 14 years
Number of employees: 14 employees for making shoes, 4 salesmen
Production per month: Produces 2,000 pairs of shoes per month

How and why did the business get started: Oscar’s dad had a shoe business. Since he was about 10 years old, Oscar worked in his Dad’s shop and was taught to work and manage the shop.

Recent successes or changes: He seems to be doing very well. He currently has 4 salesmen that sell in various locations, including Managua, Tipi Tapa, Costa Rica. Sales have been very good this year despite the economy. He has changed the way he does credit sales, a suggestion which he got from the previous Wake consulting session. Currently he sells 60% of shoes by cash and 40% by credit. He now will only extend a new line of credit to repeat customers if the previous credit has been cleared. This means he is collecting all of the money from credit sales, where previously he hadn’t been. He has around 25 distributors, and he has worked with many of them for more than 10 years. He has a new supplier that he buys raw materials from in Guatemala, so he bought a lot on credit for a much lower rate.

Current challenges: He is looking to expand fairly quickly into new markets and is considering creating a line of men’s shoes. The main challenge that we worked with him on over the consulting session was the idea of purchasing a truck. Currently, he travels daily to Managua and sells 100 pairs of shoes. It is C$ 93.5 round trip to make this journey, including bus fare both ways, as well as cabs to the market and back.His wife also travels to Tipi Tapa daily, a cost of C$ 40 Cordoba round trip. With a truck, he thinks he could sell 200 more shoes total per day. If he bought a truck, he and his wife could make trips to Tipi Tapa and Managua together, and they could also travel to new markets along the way where the bus doesn’t stop. The truck would cost $4,000.

Description of most recent Wake Forest Consulting Project:

• During our consulting visit with Oscar, we focused on the truck idea to figure out if this is a good opportunity for him.

• We first talked to him about finding other venders or friends to pay them to take him to market, but he didn’t feel comfortable with that idea.

• He could begin to bring a lunch into town with him which would allow for a 50-60 Cordoba savings because he must purchase lunch currently.

• We also talked to him about the prospect of picking friends up from the bus stop and having them pay him bus fair to travel to markets with him, and he said that was a great idea.

• We introduced a break-even analysis to show him the amount of shoes he must produce to cover the costs of buying the truck.

Other Anecdotes From the Business Owner: He said he really enjoys our visits to his business and would like us to continue coming. He also thinks our advice has improved since we have been able to see his business.

-Written by Sarah Wiley, MA '10 

Student Profile: Jeff Hughes

Jeff Hughes (second to right) with Sarah Wiley and Business Owner Oscar Flores

Program and year:  MBA '11
Hometown:  Columbus, GA
Number of visits to Nicaragua:  This was my first visit.

Which seminars did you teach? 

Break-Even Analysis, and Motivating and Retaining Employees

Favorite Project Nicaragua memory: 

Visiting the market where Oscar Flores sells his shoes and seeing how commerce worked firsthand for the people who live in Managua.

What was your greatest learning moment on this trip? 
Hearing the seminar participants discuss the cultural differences between the United States and Nicaragua as I led the case discussion we prepared about employee motivation techniques.

What surprised you the most about Nicaragua and your experience visiting the country? 

The ingenuity among the entrepreneurs we met was amazing, their resourcefulness and desire to improve the lives of their families and community was inspiring.

How has Project Nicaragua affected your business school experience?

My trip to Nicaragua has reaffirmed I made the right decision in coming back to business school.  It has been a wonderful experience using the things I have learned in school to help others.

Student Profile: Ashley Bangan

Ashley Bangan (far left) with first class of MA and MSA students to go to Nicaragua.

Program and year: MA '10
Hometown: Williamsburg, VA
Number of visits to Nicaragua: 1

Which seminars did you teach?

Record Keeping

Favorite Project Nicaragua memory:

Individual consulting with Javier was incredibly valuable. He seemed really moved that we were down there to give him whatever advice we could, and I was blown away by his perseverance with his production despite a stint of bad luck.  Although I hadn’t worked on any of his deliverables prior to the trip, I found his story touching, and I enjoyed the challenge of thinking about possible solutions in a different setting that would be practical for Javier’s nature of business.

What was your greatest learning moment on this trip?

My greatest learning moment occurred while driving around to the different businesses. It was a huge reality check to note how different the business climate operates and how not only are these small businesses competing with large corporate giants, but also a corrupt government.
While speaking with Caleb, I got a sense for his integrity since he and his mother were unwilling to compromise their values in order to increase their profits. Additionally, the willingness of the participants at the center to learn was very touching. Their drive and determination in such a difficult economy was inspiring.

What surprised you the most about Nicaragua and your experience visiting the country?

I was surprised by the success of a lot of the owners. I tended to underestimate their expertise and their level of sophistication but these owners are incredibly successful. I would hope that they use each other as resources in the BPN community because even with such varying types of businesses, they still face many of the same challenges.

How has Project Nicaragua affected your business school experience?

Project Nicaragua has given me the true perspective that I have lacked at business school. We often discuss the giants in the corporate world, but it is important to remember that globally, there are hundreds of thousands of small businesses and individuals who are making a living in much harsher conditions. As an MA in Management candidate, I do not have a lot of experience but I have gained a global perspective now that I may have never had without this opportunity. This experience was absolutely incredible and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from my peers, and also business owners who have achieved so much from few resources.

Business Profile: Jose Gutierrez

Business name: Crearte
Type of business: Woodworking
Years in business: 11
Number of employees: 5
Production per month: About 500-600 products per month

How and why did the business get started: Jose learned the craft from his father at the age of 11, and set up a family business. His wife markets the products and sells in Honduras, and his son, Jonathan, works with his father when he is on break from school.  Jose and his wife handle the business with their own funds.   He uses different types of wood that he gets from other parts of Nicaragua.

Recent successes or changes:  During this past year, sales were up versus previous years.  December was an especially good month. They produced more, and were able to sell more. Jose went to Miami in November for a craft fair. He sells both regular pieces and custom made pieces, but he does not make any additional profit from the custom pieces. About 50 percent of his pieces come from custom orders.

Current challenges: He is having problems with employee attendance and punctuality. Recently, Jose had to terminate all of his workers and hire new ones.  Some of the new employees have worked with Jose before. He pays them a percentage of each piece they produce, depending on the type of piece.  Jose has to train all of the workers. They know basics, but he has to teach them better techniques. 

Description of most recent Wake Forest Consulting Project:  Jose would like help addressing the problems he has had with his employees, starting with designing a contract. He wants to emphasize workplace safety and for employees to understand their responsibilities as well as the benefits that come for both parties.  Jose would also like the students to create an excel spreadsheet he can use to track payments to employees. Jose also is interested in buying an air compressor that is larger than the one he currently owns.  It costs around $1,000 and would enable him to go from utilizing 100lbs of air to 1,000lbs with the new compressor. The new compressor makes the process faster and gives the wood better quality on the finishing.  The new compressor would also save money in the long run because it saves energy.

-Written by Tramell Zackary, MA '10, and Kathleen Ketchum, MBA '11 

Student Profile: Nick Coppola

Nick pictured volunteerig with children from La Chureca in March 2009

Program and year: MBA '10
Hometown: Wayne, NJ
Number of visits to Nicaragua: 3

Which seminars did you teach? Financial Budgeting and Record Keeping

Favorite Project Nicaragua memory: 

Helping Caleb Mendoza understand his cost structure.  During our consulting session, we worked through an Excel spreadsheet that we created to identify fixed and variable costs, contribution and break-even.  Caleb was extremely excited to be given new tools to help his business succeed.  Our group worked together to create a consulting deliverable that made a significant impact on Caleb and his mother’s business.  

What was your greatest learning moment on this trip?

The greatest lesson I have learned on my trips to Nicaragua is the importance of flexibility.  This past trip, we created a new answer key for the record keeping seminar on the fly.  Later the next day, the seminar was successfully completed in both the beginner and advanced sections.    

What surprised you the most about Nicaragua and your experience visiting the country?

The Nicaraguan business owners are extremely sharp.  They have practical business skills developed through many years of experience.  In the Organizational Behavior seminar, the business owners spent time teaching us!  Our job is to simply provide further technical skills and offer new perspectives for them to consider as they run their businesses. 

How has Project Nicaragua affected your business school experience?

Project Nicaragua has profoundly impacted me.  Never having traveled to Latin America, I was confronted with poverty and called to help.  I believe that many of us will continue to provide assistance through donations of time or money throughout the rest of our lives. 

Student Profile: Kathleen Ketchum

Program and year: MBA '11
Hometown: New York, NY
Number of visits to Nicaragua: 1

Which seminars did you teach?

Marketing Research; Motivating and Retaining Employees

Favorite Project Nicaragua memory:

Consulting with our business owner’s 15 year old son who came to the seminars.  I was amazed at how bright this kid was and so impressed by the responsibilities he was taking on at his family’s business while also still being in school.

What was your greatest learning moment on this trip?

While teaching the Motivating and Retaining Employees seminar we learned that due to cultural differences some of the things we were teaching the business owner’s didn’t agree with and didn’t feel would work for them in Nicaragua’s culture.  It was challenging to find common ground, but we ended up having a really great discussion about the differences and similarities in doing business in Nicaragua and the U.S.

What surprised you the most about Nicaragua and your experience visiting the country?

 It was really interesting talking with some of the business owners to see how similar things are between Nicaragua and the U.S.  For example, during our Motivating and Retaining Employees seminar we were talking about small businesses in both countries, many of the attendees were surprised that small businesses have a large presence in the U.S. -- they had assumed it was just large corporations.

How has Project Nicaragua affected your business school experience? 

It’s given me a great opportunity to get involved in something outside the classroom and share some of the concepts I’m learning with others.

Business Profile: Javier Lopez

Business name: Dulceria JenniferType of business: Churritos and candy
Number of employees: 8
Production per month: 200 lbs/day churros; 25 lbs/day candy

Recent successes or changes: As of December 23, 2009, he signed a contract with La Union and Pali to increase his distribution to them for both candy and churros. He is in negotiations with La Colonia to sell there with fewer restrictions. He continues to sell at informal markets, but is trying to increase the formal markets from 30% to 80% this year. He is undergoing litigation against his brother-in-law over a machine that will improve his costs of production and output.

Current challenges: The litigation regarding the machine will help him increase churro production from 200 lbs/day to 1000 lbs/day is underway. This machine is incredibly specialized and will decrease his cost of production from C$9.50 to C$3.50 per candy.  He already has paid a $2,500 USD down payment for the machine, but it was recently sold to a family member for $15,000 USD. He is confident that he will win with his evidence, but the process could take up to a year. Additionally, he is in the process of moving locations. He currently lives where he works and will move within 2-3 months, so that his business place is dedicated to production only. He hopes to be back at a regular manufacturing schedule by March. He is also working on increasing candy production. All of his flavors have been approved by the sanitation standards.

Recommendations from the most recent Wake Forest Consulting Project:

• Produce more candy and track sales; after 6 months, if you are selling out, then increase production of candy in the formal markets.

• Conduct market research to find popular flavors to reduce the cost of different candies.

• Keep the same branding/labels for churros and candy to create brand awareness. Ensure that they are sold near each other in the different outlets.

• Continue to increase presence in supermarkets and become less dependent on the success of churros since there is a larger profit made from candy (without the machine).

-Written by Ashley Bangan, MA '10

Student Profile: Curt Webber

Curt Webber (right) with Jeff Hughes
Program and year: MBA '11
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
Number of visits to Nicaragua: 1

Which seminars did you teach?  Operations

What surprised you the most about Nicaragua and your experience visiting the country?

I was mostly surprised by the resourcefulness of the business owners and the people in general.  Watching the business owners do everything that they knew how to and to strive to learn how to be able to improve their businesses and their own livelihood was not as much surprising as it was inspirational. 

While we were there to teach business seminars and help to uplift business owners, I feel that it was us, the MBA students, that perhaps learned the most from those that we taught.  If we, as students at a prestigious university, were to use our resources to the capacity that the Nicaraguan small business owner does on a daily basis the extent of our accomplishments would be virtually endless.

How has Project Nicaragua affected your business school experience?

Project Nicaragua was the first reason I even thought of coming to Wake Forest.  I have always had an interest in business development in Latin America and was seeking a b-school experience that would incorporate a relevant learning experience.

The best part of Project Nicaragua was getting to know my fellow students outside of the classroom and seeing how all of us that come from different backgrounds with varying concentrations were able to collaborate in a real world context. The friendships that were formed on the trip, both among the students and between the students and business owners, will no doubt be long lasting.

Student Profile: Christian Harry

Christian Harry (pictured on the right) with translator, Josh

Program and year: MA '10
Hometown: Pearisburg, Va
Number of visits to Nicaragua: 1
Which seminars did you teach?

Financial Budgeting; Motivatingand Retaining Employees; and Networking

Favorite Project Nicaragua memory:

Being able to teach the seminars, and seeing how eager everyone was to learn the material.  I love the energy and enthusiasm that people brought to the sessions.  Also, Caleb (one of the business owners) gave me some great advice on when to meet someone, when to get married, and when to have kids!

What was your greatest learning moment on this trip?

Visiting the actual work places during our business visits.  It was really interesting to learn how these business owners constructed their processes and to see how they developed their product after studying their business. 

What surprised you the most about Nicaragua and your experience visiting the country?

I was surprised at how the business constructs, frameworks, and subjects that we are studying here at Wake are translated into other cultures and countries.  It was really interesting to see how what we are learning actually affects existing businesses – even those in other countries. 

How has Project Nicaragua affected your business school experience?

Project Nicaragua has truly been a life-changing experience and has greatly enriched my business educational experience.  I am really glad I was able to participate in such a unique opportunity and an awesome project helping others.  It has also given me a better perspective of how business is crucial to keeping a company alive and its importance in different industries.  I really enjoyed my Nica experience and am grateful for the opportunity!