38th NABA Eastern Region Student Conference Prepares Students for Corporate World

October 22, 2013

Six members of the UConn chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) attended the organization’s 38th Eastern Region Student Conference (ERSC) on October 10-13, 2013. The conference featured two and one-half days of workshops, seminars and interview sessions designed to better prepare minority students for careers in accounting and financial management disciplines. Continue Reading

From Food Delivery to Junk Removal: An Entrepreneur’s Journey to Success

Josh Cohen ’05 came to the School of Business to study real estate, but through his on- and off-campus activities, discovered an entrepreneurial drive that led him in another direction.

As a delivery guy at Wings Over Storrs, Cohen learned quickly that the faster he was able to deliver wings—and communicate accurate delivery times to customers—the better tips he would receive. This knowledge stayed with him as he seized every business opportunity that came his way as a student, remembering timeliness and communication as key guidelines for providing excellent customer service.

Partnering with his roommate, his first entrepreneurial venture was to develop themed t-shirts for UConn’s annual Spring Weekend, which they then sold to students and around town. Cohen also served on the UConn Co-op Board of Directors.

“I had a great experience at UConn,” says Cohen. “I made great friends and picked up quite a few entrepreneurial skills.”

Those skills have served him well; the ability to identify and capture opportunity has taken Cohen on a path he had never imagined.

Junkluggers: The Idea

During a semester abroad in Wollongong, Australia, a new friend mentioned to Cohen that he had made $100 hauling away a neighbor’s refrigerator. Cohen immediately saw an opportunity waiting to be seized back at home. Though he already had a real estate internship lined up upon his return to the States, Cohen used his spare time to make some extra cash by removing unwanted items from people’s homes. Advertising his removal services by handing out flyers, Cohen started receiving phone calls and service requests.

Upon graduation, he moved on to a corporate career in commercial real estate sales and development, but chose to continue the removal service on the side. Over time, Cohen came to realize that there was a bigger demand than he was able to service in the “junk-lugging” business. Taking a leap of faith (and a significant cut in pay), he left the real estate industry to pursue his entrepreneurial passion and grow his own business: Junkluggers.

Starting in a small location in Fairfield, Connecticut, Cohen quickly started to hire friends to help with the manual labor needed to run the business, and the company began to expand.

“The foundational knowledge I received from the UConn School of Business really helped,” says Cohen. “I knew that differentiation would be important, and that we would have to clearly communicate our key selling points to customers.”

So what is unique about Junkluggers? It’s green, eco-friendly focus.

“We don’t just take items to dumps,” says Cohen. “We donate whatever we can, recycle, and then trash what is left. For donated items, we mail customers the receipts so they can use them for their tax returns,” he adds.

From his work experience in real estate and even at Wings Over Storrs, Cohen knows that communication and timeliness are of the essence in any customer-facing business.

“I [also] knew from my IT classes how helpful technology can be for communication and for managing a business. Using that knowledge, we built our proprietary software to help us communicate and identify where to allocate resources,” says Cohen.

Junkluggers Today

Today, Cohen has grown his one-man side job into a full-fledged business, with approximately 65 employees servicing three company-owned locations and five franchises. One of the franchise owners is his brother, Zach Cohen ’09. An accounting major, Zach worked on Junkluggers’ bookkeeping while he was a student at the School of Business. Now he’s also honing his entrepreneurial skills as a business owner.

Junkluggers has grown to service the New York tri-state area, from south of Hartford, Connecticut to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company expects sales for this year to reach three million dollars, and doesn’t plan to stop there. Junkluggers has big plans for expansion, aiming to add ten more franchises between Boston and Virginia in 2014.

2nd Annual Connecticut Risk Management Conference: Aligning Risk Management with Strategy

October 17, 2013

The second annual Connecticut Risk Management Conference will be hosted by the UConn School of Business at the Stamford Marriott in Stamford, Connecticut on November 14, 2013. This year’s conference, Aligning Risk Management with Strategy, has been designed to bring together professionals engaged in risk management, senior management, and regulators, as well as faculty members and students in UConn’s MS in Financial Risk Management (MSFRM)* program. Continue Reading

Professional Business Fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi Welcomes First Faculty/Staff Member

October 11, 2013

The Psi Rho Chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi recently welcomed Kelly Kennedy, program manager at the UConn School of Business Career Center, into the fraternity as its first faculty/staff member. Alpha Kappa Psi was founded in 1904 at New York University on the principles of promoting institutions of business education, developing future leaders and fostering appreciation for higher ideals in business. Kennedy’s invitation to the Psi Rho Chapter at UConn was the result of her continued mentorship and resourcefulness to the group, and her dedication and support to School of Business students. Over 35 students gathered to welcome Kennedy into this unique, prestigious association of students, professors, graduates and professionals with a common interest in business.

Ambassador Paul W. Speltz ’69 ’72 MBA Engages Students During Visit to His Alma Mater

October 10, 2013

Ambassador Paul W. Speltz ’69 ’72 MBA, chairman and CEO of Global Strategic Associates, LLC, visited with UConn Business Connections Learning Community (BCLC) and Delta Sigma Pi (DSP) students on Tuesday, October 1 to discuss the importance of leveraging international experience in their undergraduate studies.

Speltz founded the Theta Iota Chapter of Delta Sigma Pi, a coed professional fraternity organized to foster the study of business in universities, at UConn in 1970.

Speltz, former U.S. Executive Director and Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, also made a formal address during his time on campus. His talk, “The Status of U.S. – China Geopolitical and Financial Relations: Global Impacts and Greater Asia Ramifications,” served as the basis for an engaged and lively discussion about U.S. – China relations at an event sponsored by the Office of Global Affairs, the Department of Political Science, and the Asian American Studies Institute.

Ambassador Speltz has served on the Board of Advisors for the UConn School of Business since 1998 and also serves as a member of the Dean’s Leadership Cabinet. He is a member of the Board of Directors of The Pacific Pension Institute (PPI) and concurrently also serves on their Membership Committee. Speltz is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Asia Foundation, The Asia Society, The Bretton Woods Committee, and the National Committee on United States – China Relations.

Pictured: Speltz with Delta Sigma Pi brothers and sisters.

EBV Program Welcomes Veterans for 2013 Bootcamp

October 7, 2013

Kicking off the annual week-long Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), the UConn School of Business welcomed this year’s incoming class of veterans at a dinner reception on Friday evening, October 4.

Following a welcome from Michael Zacchea ’12 MBA, EBV program manager, keynote speaker Dawn Halfaker inspired the crowd by sharing her story. A decorated war hero and entrepreneur, Halfaker is a former Military Police Officer in the United States Army who commanded a military police platoon in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was subsequently wounded during a combat patrol near Baghdad in 2004, earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for her service. Halfaker is now president and chief executive officer of Halfaker & Associates, LLC, an award winning professional services and technology solutions firm founded in 2006, and employs more than 100 people including a workforce of almost 50 veterans.

Entertainment for the evening was provided by UConn a-cappella group, Conn-Men.

About the EBV

In 2010, UConn’s School of Business was honored to become one of eight members of the EBV Consortium of business schools and universities. The EBV program offers cutting edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from their service to our country.

The School of Business is proud to participate in this very special program that helps give back to individuals who have sacrificed for our country. EBV demonstrates the power of entrepreneurship in our communities by fostering an essential route for job creation and economic vitality.

To date, the UConn EBV has helped 42 veterans open 45 businesses, and to place another eight veterans in full-time jobs.

Pictured: Dawn Halfaker, Michael Zacchea, Justin Nash ’14 MBA, a 2012 EBV graduate and founder of Veteran Construction Services, and School of Business Dean John A. Elliott. (Photo courtesy of Lynn Luczkowski, L2 Communications)