A group of students worked with a small animal care business as part of their Entrepreneurial Capital and Resources class for their BA Business Enterprise programme, which resulted in the business taking on some of their recommendations.A group of students worked with a small animal care business as part of their Entrepreneurial Capital and Resources class for their BA Business Enterprise programme, which resulted in the business taking on some of their recommendations.
Lecturer Dr Jillian Gordon provided them with contact to Mike Molyneux's business, Furry Friends Hotel, at the beginning of the class and they then met fortnightly with Mike to gain an insight into how his business worked, as well as gaining a full understanding of his business model, cash flow, and marketing strategy amongst other things.
Furry Friends Hotel, which provides boarding accommodation and care for small animals such as guinea pigs and rabbits when owners are away, worked with the students from Strathclyde Business School over a period of more than three months.
The students – Craig Vernall, Christie Riggs, Natalie Sutherland, Hannah Jordan and Callan Barr - together immersed themselves in the business and got together after meetings to discuss 'strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats' relating to Furry Friends Hotel.
Using electronic databases more, and advertising in specific places were ideas suggested and taken on board by Mike, a co-founder of the business.
Spokesperson for the students, Natalie Sutherland, said, "We got on great as a team and really enjoyed the experience of working with Mike. He said we have helped him to develop a more robust financial model, enhanced efficiencies, improved internal business processes and given Furry Friends Hotel a great range of outcomes for the next five years."