Collaboration with University of Richmond's Lakeside Consulting Group
Collaboration with the University of Richmond's Lakeside Consulting Group
This past semester the UR consulting group created a market consultation for Pixan and wrote a community organizing curriculum for Indigenous youth.
The first project was a full consultation of Pixan, one of our sister organizations based out of Guatemala. Pixan is an ethical social business model that creates an outlet for Indigenous women to sell their traditional backstrap weavings. Pixan sells a variety of custom products, fabrics, wholesale items, and finished products to boutiques and individuals around the world. Lakeside Consulting stepped in at the perfect moment, as Pixan is adapting to market changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic and decreased tourism in Guatemala.
Lakeside Consulting provided thoughtful and creative solutions to break into new markets, tap into existing resources in Richmond, VA, and better analyze our pricing models. Their fresh perspective and positive outlook left us feeling confident and excited to implement new strategies to make the most of the "pandemic market" in 2021.
This project was a learning experience for both groups, as evidenced by these reflections:
Through this project, I was able to learn how to engage in an industry that was completely different from my experience (healthcare). Yet, still use my business, nonprofit, and consulting backgrounds to apply and think critically about the problem and work with the team to create a strategy and recommendations. I also received experience in having effective client interviews and creating specified questions that help answer our questions in a timely manner. -Eva
This project required me to conduct industry research and become extremely knowledgeable with an area I had little to no familiarity with, which is often required in the consulting field. It also helped me expand my networking skills after reaching out and connecting with many local businesses. Overall this project gave me a great experience that I really enjoyed working on!” -GraceWorking on a project with Pixan and Highland Support Project taught me the complexity behind international markets and supply chain management. Furthermore, on a personal level, it encouraged me to consider the impact behind my everyday consumption. While I enjoyed seeking new strategies to increase profits for Pixan, the true inspiration came from understanding Pixan's mission. As a team, our passion stemmed from putting the people behind the products before the profit. While it is important to find a balance between purpose and profit, the work Pixan does to connect indigenous women to globalized markets is both empowering and important. We are extremely grateful for the opportunity. -James
The second project focused on creating virtual training materials for community organizing. The team created multiple curriculums focused on strategic planning, the RACI matrix, project planning, and SWOT analysis. The presentations were created to target Indigenous youth populations and will continue to be reused by our organization in future training.
I greatly enjoyed working with the Highland Support Project. This project gave me the opportunity to hone my own consulting and business knowledge and provide useful resources to individuals who could benefit from it most. It was extremely rewarding to present my workshop to HSP and to hear the empowering stories from a few of the participants. I am so glad that our presentations will be able to benefit the Highland Support Project for years to come. A special thank you to Erika and Ben for their continued support and unwavering guidance throughout this project. -Emily
This was my first project as an engagement manager and I could not have asked for a better group to work with than the Highland Support Project. I was able to learn so much as an engagement manager from how to lead a consulting team to client interactions. It was a double plus for my first project to be something I could easily stand behind and advocate. I loved learning about everything HSP does for our community and our global network and am forever grateful to have been even a small part of it. -Erika
We love any chance to collaborate with student organizations! Reach out to us if your group is interested in taking on a project!