Hands-On Program Offers Business Solutions Business Fellows – an opportunity for students to work with professionals to solve problems. As Ball State's promotion indicates, "we are turning academic knowledge into business solutions through an innovative program that puts Ball State faculty and student expertise into action to benefit Indiana organizations and communities."

The Business Fellows program is part of Ball State's emphasis on Building Better Communities. Funded by a Lilly Endowment, the program consists of teams of faculty mentors and students from various disciplines working directly with Indiana businesses. The goal is to assist in improving services, increasing business, developing new job opportunities, improving quality, or improving competitiveness.

Ultimately, a goal of the program is to increase the number of Ball State graduates who are employed in Indiana. "Fashion Retail Growth in Indiana" is such a project, developed by Valerie Birk and Amy Leahy, FCS faculty members. The initiative involves working with two small independent retailers in Indiana: Julie Rohn, owner of Jules Boutique in Goshen and Amber Davis, '01 MA04, owner of Broad Ripple's Fashionista.

Jules' Boutique is a retail store that has been in business two years and has a small staff in just one location. Rohn hopes to expand in the next five years to some major cities, including Indianapolis. The boutique offers high fashion and interior-oriented products. It caters to a geographic location that boasts of a large number of millionaires per capita.

Broad Ripple Fashionista is a new retail store that has been in business less than a year. The boutique is similar to Jules Boutique in that it offers high fashion products. However, home décor products are not sold and its target market is the Indianapolis/Broad Ripple area.

Nine students from apparel design, fashion merchandising, finance, marketing and graphic arts participate in the project. Last fall they completed a grand opening, assisted with a secret Santa promotion, and investigated advertising and promotional schemes for Broad Ripple Fashionista. During spring semester, students will refocus to define the target markets, analyze functional inventory systems, assist with the development of e-commerce sites, buying plans, and promotional programs that feature fashion shows and media communication for increased visibility for both stores. Results of the project will be presented at a Business Fellows Showcase on April 17 from 4-6 pm in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.

Article written by Dr. Amy J. Leahy Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Ball State University