Howdy, my name is Angela Rocha! I am a senior Management Information Systems major here at Mays Business School. This past Spring break I had the privilege of participating in the Global Business Brigades micro-consulting trip to Panama. As a last semester student, I knew I couldn?t pass up this opportunity when it presented itself last year. Looking back, embarking on this journey was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am eternally grateful to the GBB staff, my team members (Odalys and Francis), our officers, our coordinator, and my client (Jose Angel Guzman) for making this trip one to remember.?
Our thirteen person unit, split into separate groups to address the accounting, marketing and financial needs of 4 diverse business clients. I had the opportunity to work with Jose Angel Guzman, a farmer from the rural Panamanian region of El Escobal, Penonom?. His primary business was citrus production, while his secondary business entailed root harvesting. Alongside my amazing team members (Francis and Odalys) and our accompanying team (Stephania, Devany, Sloan, and Jaylen), we connected with Mr. Guzman as he shared personal anecdotes while discussing his business needs. The hospitality he showed us and wisdom he imparted are things I will never forget.?
As our trip came to a close, we presented a three part marketing, accounting and financial solution to Mr. Guzman. In regard to marketing, we created a memorable business name and logo with formatted business cards. To address his bookkeeping needs, we, with the help of our external team, created a manual accounting system for him to keep track of revenues, expenses, inventory, salaries paid, and more. Finally, we created a graphic for Mr. Guzman to monitor year over year growth based on unit sales which would enable him to reach his long-term financial goals.?
In summary, this trip is a treasured experience of mine. At the end of our final presentations, Mr. Guzman, and our other clients, shared how grateful they were for our input, but I truly think we were the lucky ones to have met them. Thanks GBB and thank you Panama!?
