Expand Your Work Potential and Get A Professional Advantage with Dr. Julia Ivy’s BE-EDGE Consult-A-Thon

BOSTON, Massachusetts – Following the success of the BE-EDGE “Making Your Case” Consult-a-thon in 2021, Dr. Julia Ivy returned last June 3-5 and June 17-19 to help aspiring professionals get a competitive edge in the workplace with the 2022 BE-EDGE “Impact” Consult-A-Thon. The two-weekend event was designed to make students take on a series of different tasks, including collecting market data and formulating a case brief that students can add to their work portfolio.

Students were faced with real-life challenges that small businesses are encountering and were tasked to provide solutions via extensive research methods and data gathering procedures. The students were assigned to different industries, each presenting a unique set of hurdles and barriers to overcome. One particular group that took on the challenge was the D’Amore-McKim School of Business.

“As avid users of the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority), my team and I were inspired by this opportunity to explore aspects of social responsibility and give solutions that would engage the entire Boston community.” says Abhinaya Muthukrishnan, one of the students who were assigned to work with Eric Burkman, the Director of Transit Priority to solve the company’s problem of keeping bus lanes clear from civilian drivers and parked vehicles. “The BE-EDGE Consult-A-Thon helped me gain confidence in my skill sets as a Business Analytics student. A special mention to my case coach Prof. Julia Ivy who supported me throughout the course and helped me identify and define my core competencies.” She added.

Another industry that required solving is the beverage company, Drink Simple. Unlike MBTA, the problem with Drink Simple is the lack of necessary information and common misconception between maple syrup and maple water. This issue called for the students to work on the strategic marketing aspect of their skill set with Kate Weiler and implement an effective social media and marketing campaign to improve the sales and presence of Drink Simple’s maple water.

“​​I feel deeply connected to this challenge because my goal is to work with startups or small businesses to maximize their potential through providing marketing solutions.” shared Jiabao Li when asked regarding her sentiments about being assigned as a consultant for Drink Simple. “This project reinforced my passion (for) consulting in small businesses and new ventures. It served as a stepping stone for my personal and professional interests, and I am excited to keep learning from others and be a lifelong learner myself.”

The students were also able to dabble and test their consulting repertoire on the fashion industry with Fashion Revolution USA. As per Niland Mortimer, their non-profit organization is built around acquiring funds through fundraisers, and the brand is finding it difficult to reach out and attract its target doners, specifically Millennials and Generation Z. This sparked a challenge of developing a new fundraising strategy to continue producing their advocated sustainable fashion designs.

“I chose to work on this challenge since I had no prior business background in nonprofits, and my strong interest in sustainability also aligned with Fashion Revolution USA’s mission.” says Evelina Wongosari, who embraced the role of taking on the challenge head-on presented by Fashion Revolution USA.

The whole experience paved the way for these students to showcase their skill-set and apply real-life strategic thinking in order to properly execute tactics to mutually help these businesses and themselves discover new things and break through the glass ceilings of their respective industries.

Due to the success of the recently held BE-EDGE “Impact” Consult-A-Thon and the achievements made by the participants, Dr. Julia Ivy and BE-EDGE are coming back for another Consult-A-Thon this coming Fall or Winter of 2022.