Models in SRBs
The ukulele and the guitar blend together to create a sound that brightens up the night. Elaine and Ryan tap along to the beat of “I’m Yours” while other students sit around and absorb the music with delight. It’s close to midnight and the stream of music helps lift the moods of the tired students getting their late-night respite espresso drinks.
This is the environment present at The Grind, a student-run coffee shop located at Wells College in New York State. According to Wells’ website, the store was created in 2015 to provide new opportunities for students to gain experiential learning and knowledge in management and business operations. It was integrated into a newly designed student lounge hall inside the college’s separate business school. The school’s business center oversees the internship work-study program.
Kevin Miles, the director of the Sullivan Center for Business and the administrator in charge of running the SRB program, was thrilled about this unique opportunity for students.
“Employers these days are looking for future employees to have as many skills and as much experience as possible,” says Miles. “[The Grind] provides students with opportunities to manifest business skills applicable to potential work environments.”
The goal of the store was to provide a unique employment and leader opportunity to students who were interested in a business experience. Through these management positions, students would be able to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in an ever-growing labor market.
The leadership structure of the company is very similar to the typical management team we see at other SRBs. There is the store president and vice president, human resources manager, finance manager, and operations manager. The management team meets together regularly to collaborate and develop strategic procedures for future advancement of the business. There are an additional 10 to 15 students every semester who also work in the store as either baristas or cashiers.
As Miles says himself, the students are trusted to handle all aspects of the business rather than giving them a limited task list. “As a student-run business, The Grind relies upon the responsibility of the students to create a successful, holistic business plan and foster a prosperous company, leading to the development of a wide-ranging skill set not typical of most college employment opportunities. They have to take full responsibility for the operation of the business. Just like with any business plan, there’s an evolution.”
Not only does the business strive to spur engagement among the employee base, but it is also passionate about increasing interactions with the larger community. The Grind has sought to work with a number of student groups to integrate a diverse product base to accommodate vegan and vegetarian options. The Grind is also partnering with local vendors to sell locally made products, such as the locally sourced coffee it serves. It utilize its space to host different student activities and a number of different students’ artwork throughout the store. Because of this increasing interaction with the university community, The Grind has grown to become a prominent social hub for the campus and is known by many of the students.
“The Grind has grown into a place where students can grab a cup of coffee or a snack at a great price before they get together with their friends to do homework or just hangout,” Student Manager Nate Pieper said in a Wells College Update. “We believe that The Grind has truly become a staple in our Wells community.”
The Grind is just one example of the many different types of models in the SRB realm. When attempting to figure out exactly how to define an SRB, you might wonder what the business part of an SRB entails. What types of businesses do students run in these programs? The short answer: many different types.
SRBs create and sustain businesses based off the needs of their respective communities and student bodies. Based on the unique circumstances of their respective communities, a wide array of businesses develop at different universities. By far, the most common business type across all SRBs are the coffee models. Due to the proximity to the student body, and the integration of coffee and other espresso-related drinks into our culture, coffee bars thrive in college settings and are wildly popular. However, many other incredibly unique businesses can also develop in an SRB setting as well.
