Many Firsts in March 2010

Project Nicaragua’s March 2010 trip was full of firsts. In addition to continuing our usual activities delivering seminars, going on business consulting visits, and checking up on our lending program, we added a few new activities to our week in Nicaragua:

1. We expanded our business seminars to a new location in Nicaragua—the city of Catarina. While one group of students stayed in Managua to teach beginning and advanced seminars, a smaller group of students traveled an hour away to Catarina to deliver our beginner seminar to 20 new participants. The business owners loved the content and made us promise to come back. We see a lot of great, new business relationships coming out of this in the future.

2. Project Nicaragua is expanding its outreach efforts with Nica Hope. During our visits to Nicaragua, we often visit a nonprofit called Nica Hope, which provides education and job training to children who live in the local dump, La Chureca. In the past, we have gone to spend time with the kids, play games, make crafts, etc. Nica Hope suggested a different activity for this visit, which we really enjoyed. The teens who participate in Nica Hope’s jewelry program paired up with each of us to teach us how to make bracelets, necklaces and earrings. We had fun interacting with the kids, and they got to see how talented they are compared to us!

While we were there, we also delivered about 50 pairs of shoes and $100 in cash to buy children’s sized shoes, which were donated by faculty, staff and students at Wake Forest.

A few of us from the first-year MBA class will also work on a pricing and marketing channels project for Nica Hope’s jewelry program during Mini 4, and Project Nicaragua is also considering creating a business seminar for the teens and kids in the future.

3. One of the most exciting new aspects of our March trip was getting a briefing from the U.S. Embassy. One of the lead economists from the embassy visited our group to discuss the elections that took place that week and how the political aspirations of the country’s president may affect Nicaraguan businesses in the future. This helped provide greater context for the type of environment the business owners we work with are operating within.

This was another successful Project Nicaragua trip, and we are looking forward to growing the program and continuing to improve our seminars, deliverables and lending process for future trips.

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.