Students Assisting Business | Milgard School of Business

Serving the South Sound

SAB was formed to help area businesses overcome COVID-19 challenges. The program employs Milgard School of Business students part-time to assist with special projects at no cost to the company. These projects range from marketing analyses, to customer outreach, to detailed plans on whether a business should be maintained, to social media, and even to loan program data collection and review.

The University of Washington Tacoma MSB Students Assisting Business program is a truly innovative solution. New business models have been tested and launched with the power of new affordable media channels. Participating owners appreciate the clarity a fresh perspective can bring. SAB is here for the long-term helping to keep our community strong, Covid and beyond.

LEARN HOW YOUR BUSINESS CAN BENEFIT

Opportunities for small businesses of the South Sound

Restart
Recover
Re-energize

Professor Evy Shankus leads the best and brightest of the Milgard School of Business students in the program. These students will provide free assistance to help companies solve their business problems, such as:

Understanding consumer patterns and trends
E-Commerce and social media
Business plan writing
How to enhance your digital marketing and increase sales
How to save costs and make your operations more efficient
Human resource management issues
Funding and finance challenges

Supporting industries within:

Accounting
Analytics
Finance
Management
Marketing

STUDENTS ASSISTING BUSINESS PARTICIPANTS

Professor Shankus - a custom solution is essential to our success

Evy offers experience as a staffing manager in the private sector, as an internship coordinator for the Milgard School of Business, and many years as a teaching professor in the field of Human Resources management at the University of Washington, Tacoma. Evy understands that businesses need students who are the right person for the job and will identify students whose interests, skills, education and values match those of the partner organization.

As a small business owner herself, Evy understands that entrepreneurs need self-starters and creative thinkers that deliver solutions and will work with businesses to identify opportunities that will benefit both the student learner and the business owners.

Professor Evy Shankus: ezent@uw.edu

Learn more about the Students Assisting Business experience in this UWT Ledger article.

Milgard School of Business - Evy Shankus — **Professor Evelyn Shankus**
**ezent@uw.edu**

Rainier Flight - Discovering new markets through new media

Expanding in the South Sound. Gordon Alvord, Rainier Flight Services, explains how Milgard students helped decide the future of the company.

I see great value in a partnership such as [Students Assisting Business]. There are special projects where we need expertise but do not warrant an employee year-round.

Alvord added that he was looking forward to exploring opportunities with the Milgard School of Business and the SAB program. He emphasized the importance of the real-world experience that Rainier Flight Services and other companies offer to students.

Business Financial Services and Milgard School of Business

Helping get business back on its feet. Theresa Smith, VP and Resource Development Officer of Evergreen Business Capital in Washington state, described how the institution worked with the Milgard School of Business, U of Washington Tacoma, on CARES Act applications for nearby small cities.

Smith stated: "The students were great. They helped us advance our work in processing loans for small businesses, and helped the community at the same time."

Milgard School of Business students worked with Evergreen Business Capital to qualify applicants for funds. The results of the students’ work may have saved people from losing their businesses.

Student Touts Students Assisting Business internship

Applying classroom strategies to real business. Senior Marketing major Ranie Betzina relates how she applied what she learned in class to challenges of business during COVID-19 restrictions.

Business owners had an end goal in mind. In class, the objectives would be handed to me. Here, I had to come up with an objective to help the businesses.

Betzina greatly enjoyed and benefitted from her experience with Students Assisting Business and TheyNeedXYZ. When asked if she would advise other students to participate in an SAB job, she enthusiastically pronounced “Absolutely! 100%.”

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