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Flyer Enterprises gives UD students opportunity to see what it's like to run a $1 million business
Thursday, November 23, 2006
DAYTON — Adam Buckman is running a $1.3 million business selling ice cream, coffee and other goodies to University of Dayton students.
Buckman is also a UD student. As chief executive officer of the student-run Flyer Enterprises and one of its 170 employees, he is rounding out his preparation for entry into real-world business by learning to listen to his customers.
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When students who patronize the Chill, a snack bar operated by Flyer Enterprises, said they wanted to see fruit smoothie drinks offered and weren't interested in low-fat yogurt, the student managers listened. Low-fat yogurt is now on the way out at the Chill, Buckman said.
"It's a phenomenal experience, a phenomenal education," said Buckman, a senior from Louisville, Ky., who started two years ago with Flyer Enterprises making lattes and espressos for customers at one of its two gourmet coffee shops. Flyer's board elected him CEO for this year.
Harvard and Georgetown offer similar business programs. Students at some schools, including Miami University and Kent State University, manage campus credit unions.
University of Dayton officials said they purposely give their students broad latitude to run the university-assisted Flyer Enterprises, preferring to let them learn as they go. Student managers oversee pricing, determine the products offered, negotiate with vendors to buy products at the lowest possible prices, and direct recruiting and training of new employees.
The students established ArtStreet Cafe, one of Flyer Enterprises' operations, using $290,000 the university provided to the students, Buckman and university officials said. UD gets a share of Flyer Enterprises' profits.
The decision-making experience makes the student managers attractive to prospective employers, said Dick Flaute, a retired business executive who is UD's executive-in-residence and advises the students.
"I haven't seen a CEO I wouldn't hire on the spot," Flaute said.
Buckman, 22, who is to graduate in May 2007, said Fifth Third Bank has already offered him a job. Adam Weber, a former Flyer Enterprises CEO, is now with Procter & Gamble Co. as an assistant brand manager.
Flyer Enterprises complements the entrepreneurship program offered by UD's School of Business Administration, but its executives need not be business majors. Buckman is majoring in operations management. One of his predecessors was a political science major.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Flyer Enterprises
Founded: 2001
Annual revenues: $1.3 million
Annual profit: $40,000 last year.
Governance: 15-member board of administrators, faculty, alumni and students.
Operations on UD campus: Two convenience stores, two snack bars, cafe and two gourmet coffee shops.
