Business Innovation Hub helps businesses and students during pandemic
A group of students from the Ted Rogers School of Management is rallying behind small and medium-sized businesses struggling to adjust to COVID-19 restrictions, offering their energy and innovation to help the companies succeed in the face of those challenges.
The pandemic has caused many small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) to lose both customers and revenue, and many are struggling to stay afloat. Recognizing that these companies have to pivot and move their products and services online, but may lack the resources to do so, the Ryerson Entrepreneur Institute (REI) launched the Ryerson Business Innovation Hub (BIH) to help them.
The REI leverages the Ted Rogers School and its Entrepreneurship program to spread a culture of entrepreneurship and empower those in need. It is a global leader in sustainable co-curricular student engagement and experiential learning in entrepreneurship, and supports students as they engage in transformative co-curricular projects.
The idea for the BIH came about because the pandemic created an environment of uncertainty, not only for businesses, but for students too, who were significantly impacted, says Jesper Choi, Consultant at the BIH. “Plans of valuable internships and placements were abandoned as companies closed their doors. Many co-op students were left without support and a source of income.”
That is when Ted Rogers School Dean Daphne Taras, and Dr. Steve Gedeon and Dr. Ann Dulhanty from the REI stepped in. “With their vision to help the Ted Rogers School community as well as businesses in need aligned, they created a unique opportunity for six diverse Ted Rogers Co-op students to take action and make a positive impact by helping struggling businesses. This led to the creation of the Ryerson Business Innovation Hub,” explains Choi.
The BIH supports businesses by implementing creative business solutions that will help them on their road to recovery. These risk-free solutions include: creating social media content, designing websites, building an e-Commerce store, video production and editing, finding new sources of revenue, implementing an efficient curb-side pick-up process and helping to apply for government grants. The BIH implements these solutions free of charge, and if clients like their services, they ask for a charitable donation to Ryerson University.
The BIH is made up of co-op students in different programs (Business Technology Management, Marketing, Finance and Global Management Studies) and is supported by faculty advisors Dr. Gedeon (Chair, REI and Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship), Dr. Dulhanty (Assistant Professor, Entrepreneurship), Richard Beutler (Retail Co-op & Internship Advisor) and Frank Miller (Director, Executive & Corporate Education), who have experience in consulting, technology commercialization and working with startups.
Officially launched on June 9, 2020, BIH’s business model differs from other consulting groups. “We offer our numerous services free of charge initially because we are aware that the SMB community was most significantly impacted by the pandemic as they lack the resources to adapt to uncertainty,” says Choi. “However, if the client wants us to continue working with them and is satisfied with our work, we ask for a charitable donation to Ryerson to make this initiative sustainable.”
Choi says that the BIH is currently working with clients in diverse industries and is always seeking new opportunities to help any business that is struggling. “We aim to help SMBs recover from the pandemic and make a positive impact on the community by using our unique skill set to create innovative solutions,” he explains. “We also want to ensure the longevity of the BIH to assist in the post-pandemic transition in a dynamic business environment.”
For more information on the BIH, please visit their website ryersonbih.com or email them at ryersonbih@torontomu.ca.