-
Overview: Free Accounting (formerly known as Free Accounting Fridays) is a way for Detroit business owners to get free 1-1 assistance on accounting and finance problems. Sign up for Free Accounting is hosted at umaccountinghelp.com.
Services: The following are examples services you can receive through Free Accounting:
- Using QuickBooks and other accounting software
- Creating and explaining common financial statements
- Comparing different growth opportunities and strategies
- Forecasting payback periods for loans
- Analyzing cost structure for products
- Reviewing financial data for accuracy
Cost: Free
Time commitment: 1-hour. You can schedule as many appointments as you need.
Eligibility: All types of businesses are eligible for free accounting assistance: startups, microenterprises, and small businesses.
Do I need to sign up, fill out an application, or write a proposal?
Sign up. To meet with a U-M accounting student, just schedule a 1-hour appointment here. You can meet with Free Accounting students as many times as you need, until your books are in order!Deadline: No deadline, just sign up!
Questions?
If you have any questions, email [email protected].Overview: Businesses can write a proposal for assistance in the following business areas: strategy, marketing, human resources, finance, or operations. The program is called Capstone: Multidisciplinary Action Projects, or “CMAP.”
Services: A CMAP team will work from January to April on your most pressing business question(s). To see examples of previous projects, visit https://michiganross.umich.edu/programs/map/projects.
Cost: Free
Time commitment: As a CMAP “sponsor,” you are required to maintain regular communication with the CMAP team. The length of the project is dependent on the scope of work and on how long the legal work takes to complete. You can remain a CEC client until your legal work is finished.
Eligibility: You must be a Detroit-based small business, entrepreneur, or start-up. The CMAP program delivers the most value when you have pressing issues with no simple solution. The best projects have some of the following attributes:
- Have no existing or obvious solution.
- Have strong support from senior management.
- Require a multidisciplinary approach.
- Can be successfully completed in the time allowed.
- Demand a set of actionable recommendations.
- Are structured so most of the work can be completed remotely.
Do I need to sign up, fill out an application, or write a proposal?
Proposal. To write a proposal, find the proposal form here. For more information about the program see https://michiganross.umich.edu/programs/map/information-for-sponsors/capstone.Deadline: Applications are due by October 23, 2021. Applications will open on September 1, 2021. Projects will run from January to April.
Questions?
Contact the Office of Action-Based Learning at [email protected].Overview: Businesses can apply to work with an interdisciplinary team to evaluate and improve their business model.
Services: The student team will develop, validate, document, and pitch a business model that addresses an important urban community need. A business model is distinct from a business plan, in that the business model captures the “design” of the business, whereas the business plan is a more detailed document that describes how the business will be executed. You and your team will describe the initial steps toward implementing your business model, but you will not be asked to create a business plan.
Cost: Free
Time commitment: As an Urban Entrepreneurship client (“Urban Entrepreneur Partner”) you are required to maintain regular communication with student teams throughout the semester (4 months).
Eligibility: You must be a Detroit-based small business, entrepreneur, or start-up trying to make improvements in urban quality-of-life through the creation of innovative for-profit businesses.
Do I need to sign up, fill out an application, or write a proposal?
Application. To apply, contact David Tarver at [email protected].Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Projects start in September and January each year.
Questions?
Contact David Tarver at [email protected].
-
Overview: Businesses can apply to work with a team of Art & Design students in the Winter/Spring semester.
Services: The Art & Design team can work on design projects in the following areas:
- Logo design
- Visual identity design
- Branding colors
- Exterior design
Cost: Free
Time commitment:
As an Art & Design client, you are required to maintain regular communication with the Art & Design team throughout the duration of the project.Eligibility:
You must be a Detroit-based small business, entrepreneur, or start-up.Do I need to sign up, fill out an application, or write a proposal?
Application. To apply, contact Aaron Jackson at [email protected] to express your interest.Deadline:
Express interest by September 1. Projects start in January each year.Questions?
Contact Aaron Jackson at [email protected].Overview: Business can work with the Community Enterprise Clinic for long-term legal assistance. If you have a short legal question, or are looking for legal information, you can sign up for a 15-min appointment to meet with the Entrepreneurship Clinic.
Legal Assistance - Long-term Engagement
Overview: Detroit small business owners, entrepreneurs, and start-ups can receive legal assistance through U-M Community Enterprise Clinic (CEC).
Services: The CEC team will solve your most pressing legal needs. In the past, businesses have worked with the CEC team in the following legal areas:
- Contract negotiations
- Lease agreement review
- Drafting of ownership agreements
- Trademarking of names and logos
Cost: Free
Time commitment: As a CEC client, you are required to maintain regular communication with the CEC team. The length of the project is dependent on the scope of work and on how long the legal work takes to complete. You can remain a CEC client until your legal work is finished.
Eligibility: You must be a Detroit-based small business, entrepreneur, or start-up.
Do I need to sign up, fill out an application, or write a proposal?
Application. To apply, fill out the application here. Short-listed businesses will be invited to interview with U-M faculty and students to assess their needs and ultimately determine a scope work.Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. Typically, new clients begin in September each year.
Questions?
Contact Kelly Pfeifer at [email protected].Legal Questions
Overview: If you are a small business owner or entrepreneur, you can email Barb Vibbert at the Entrepreneurship Clinic at [email protected] to schedule a 15-minute appointment and get legal information. Note that the Entrepreneurship Clinic can only provide general legal information and not specific legal advice.
Services: The Entrepreneurship Clinic can help answer business questions like the following:
- What are the practical differences between LLCs and corporations?
- What is involved in the entity formation process?
- What makes a brand “trademarkable?”
- What are some of the common legal issues in founder relationships?
- What should I be considering when deciding between hiring an employee or independent contractor?
Cost: Free
Time commitment: 15 minutes
Eligibility: Any Detroit-based small business owner or entrepreneur.
Do I need to sign up, fill out an application, or write a proposal?
Sign up. To sign-up for a 15-minute appointment, email Barb Vibbert at the Entrepreneurship Clinic at [email protected].Deadline: No deadline. You can sign-up for appointment times year round.
Questions?
Contact Barb Vibbert at [email protected]There are two ways for businesses to receive marketing assistance through U-M: Marketing and Advertising.
Marketing
Overview: A business can work with a team of marketing students over 3-4 months to do research into its customers and create marketing recommendations for the business.
Services: A student team will conduct market research for your business, helping to answer questions like:
- What is the perception of my brand?
- Who is my target customer?
- How are my customers experiencing my business?
- Where are my opportunities to grow?
At the end of the project, businesses will receive a set of marketing recommendations.
Cost: Free
Time commitment: The student team will work with you for approximately 4 months. During these four months, you are expected to communicate regularly - i.e. once or twice a week - with your student team.
Eligibility:
Marketing is looking for businesses with a history of selling a project or service. This opportunity is good for businesses with an established customer base because the team will want to interview current and previous clients.Do I need to sign up, fill out an application, or write a proposal?
Application. To express your interest in working with Marketing, connect Aaron Jackson at [email protected]Deadline:
For fall semester projects - work done from September to December - express interest by August 1. For winter-semester projects - work done from January to April - express interest by January 1.Questions?
Contact Aaron Jackson at [email protected].Advertising
Overview: A business can work with a team of advertising students over 3-4 months to do design an advertising campaign.
Services: Student teams will work over the semester to pitch advertising strategies for your business.
Cost: Free
Time commitment: The student team will work with you for approximately 4 months. You are expected to community regularly with students involved with the project.
Eligibility: Any Detroit based business that would like to launch an advertising campaign.
Do I need to sign up, fill out an application, or write a proposal?
Application. To express your interest in working with Advertising, connect Aaron Jackson at [email protected].Deadline:
These projects start in January every year. Express interest by December 1.Questions?
Contact Aaron Jackson at [email protected].
-
Overview: Businesses can apply to work with a team from the Business School on your startup’s people dynamics.
Services: The team will identify current and potential future challenges your team faces in terms of people dynamics (hiring/firing, culture, decision-making procedures, meeting effectiveness, vision-setting, etc). The team will then coach you through turning these challenges into opportunities to accelerate the success of your company.
Cost: Free
Time commitment:
You must be available to meet with the team 2-3 times over the course of the semester (4 months).Eligibility:
You must be a Detroit-based small business, entrepreneur, or start-up.Do I need to sign up, fill out an application, or write a proposal?
Application. To apply, email Professor Lindred Greer at [email protected] with a note explaining why you think your start-up would be perfect for this opportunity and what your start-up does.Deadline:
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Projects typically start in September each year.Questions?
Contact Professor Lindred Greer at [email protected].Overview: Business owners can receive help on their website through the User Experience Lab or “UX Lab.” The UX Lab is led by U-M School of Information graduate students and provides user experience and web consulting services to Detroit businesses. You can sign-up for an appointment after filling out a short form here.
Services:
- Reviewing and user testing a website or web-based application
- Testing websites for their usability
- Consulting on customer discovery
- Evaluating the user experience of products or services
- Advising on customer-facing designs
Cost: Free
Time commitment: 30 minutes
Eligibility:
Any Detroit-based business with a website or web-based application.Do I need to sign up, fill out an application, or write a proposal?
Sign up. In order to schedule a UX Lab consulting session, just fill out the short form and schedule an appointment here.Deadline:
No deadline, just sign-up!Questions?
Contact the UX Lab team at [email protected].