Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com April 27, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 23 H ow can one drive growth and productivity by working with students? For many businesses, it's traditional internships. For others, the most effective way to utilize students' talents is through short-term projects. What are the things that millennials, specifically college students, do very well? There's a new class graduating soon from college, so here are eight examples of how businesses are reaping the benefits of working with students: 1) Social media marketing With people spending more time online, we know the importance of having a consistent social media presence. But it can be quite time- consuming to create content and distribute it across various platforms. Who better to handle this than a student who has grown up with social media? 2) Blog posts and other content Blogs, email newsletters and other forums are great ways to engage customers and prospects. Similar to social media, creating quality content requires time and effort. Many college students are skilled writers. 3) Promotional videos Promotional videos can be highly effective in spreading your message, and they're quickly growing in popularity. Modern technology has made it much easier to produce quality video, and millennials have grown up with it. 4) Lead generation Have a contact database that needs to be cleaned up? Or need to identify new prospects and gather their contact information? There are students who are adept at tracking down email addresses and sending cold emails. 5) Data entry and analysis Who doesn't have a massive, unorganized spreadsheet that they would love to have cleaned up and reorganized? There are talented students who excel at turning them into efficient, easily searchable databases of important information. 6) Graphic design Well-crafted marketing materials are key to any business, but they can be expensive. Through experience with the Adobe Creative suite and their knowledge of new design apps and technologies, students are skilled at creating professional-quality presentations, trade-show materials and other graphics. 7) Market research With so much on your plate, it's not easy to shift focus and research the latest competitors in your market or new products that could make your business more efficient. Students are already in study/research mode and are a great resource for uncovering and synthesizing this important information. 8) Website development Having grown up on the internet, students have valuable insight into what an engaging site looks like, and have created home pages for businesses and improved websites. Development costs are rising as more firms expand their online operations, making skilled students a more cost-efficient solution.Q Colin LeStrange, a Worcester native, is co-founder of HelpU, based in New York, which links businesses with talented students. Learn more at www.TheHelpU.com. By Diana Bruce Dianne Bruce is executive director of Edward Street Child Services in Worcester. 10 Things I Know About... Working with younger millennials KNOW HOW 10. It drives success in school and life. A high-quality preschool experience can give all children the essential building blocks for lifelong learning. 9. The first few years are important. From birth to the age of 5, the brain develops most rapidly for cognitive and executive function skills. That leads to academic and social success. 8. Teacher-child interactions provide a foundation. Close, positive relationships will assure the establishment of trust. 7. Diverse classrooms help. Young children in diverse settings begin to develop social skills that will serve as the basis of a lifetime of interpersonal relationship abilities. 6. It levels the playing field and closes the achievement gap. High-quality early education allows all children, regardless of socio- economic status or parent education level, to enter school ready to learn and succeed. 5. Don't forget parents. Parents remain their child's first and most important teachers. They reinforce the developing skills learned in school. 4. Play time is learning time. Young children are experiential learners. What may look like play to adults is actually a series of self- designed experiments allowing a child to make sense of his or her world. 3. It pays off. Economists, including Nobel laureate James Heckman, believe there's a 7 to 10 percent annual return through savings in special education, juvenile justice, health and public assistance costs. 2. It allows parents to work. Studies indicate that working parents' productivity is increased when their children are in a safe and caring environment. 1. It helps recruitment. Often, young employees have young children. A high-quality early education and care system is as important as a K-12 school system in attracting talented young families. Early education and care E very little bit helps, and corporate owners and managers should never be so focused on profit that they forget to keep an eye on costs. What's coming in is important, of course, but being laser- focused on what's going out is also a practice to help your firm stay ahead. Here are three ways to keep expenses at bay: Eye your office space. Renting office space is often a top-dollar cost, writes Michael Michalowicz, CEO of Provendus Group, in an article at AmericanExpress.com. Sometimes you have to think creatively to see if you can reduce that overhead. You could ditch the space and have employees work from home. You can also cozy up to renters who are in long-term leases about using their space. "More and more tenants have extra space, and you may be able to pick it up on the cheap," he writes. Another option? Try to renegotiate your existing lease with your landlord. Each year, renegotiate all contracts. Sure, this is a lot of work, admits Steve Odland in an article at Forbes.com. But making it a yearly tradition — like your birthday — can pay off. He suggests never signing a contract to extend more than a year. "American businesses presume that multiple-year contracts will result in lower costs. Maybe sometimes, but not always," he writes. The result of regularly revisiting these contracts will likely result in lower costs. Put all office supplies in a central spot. Encourage workers to put unused office supplies in this area. Unused file folders get found, not ordered. Staplers get stockpiled, not purchased. An article by Monique Dubos, Anna Arkin and Matt Domski at GreenBiz.com says this technique can help savings add up. "Re-use reduces the need for new purchases," they write, and cuts down on waste as well. Q 101: CONTROLLING COSTS >> BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY COLIN LeSTRANGE Special to the Worcester Business Journal Here are 8 ways new and recent college grads can help your business

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