[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Focus2006.jpg” caption=”Tim Berezny, Meghan Toll and Richard Borrelli. Photo credit: Julia Thomson”]Burlington is a city on the move. A McMaster campus and a waterfront improvement project are just two examples of the development underway. The City has pledged that all development will happen under a smart growth model. But what exactly is the smartest way to grow?

To answer that question, the Burlington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) turned to Focus Consulting, a business run by MBA students at the DeGroote School of Business.

Now in its second year of operation, Focus offers a wide range of services to small and medium-sized businesses. For organizations looking for market analysis, business plans, feasibility studies or best practice analysis, Focus provides a comprehensive range of options.

For Burlington, team members Tim Berezny, Richard Borrelli and Meghan Toll surveyed land use practices employed by other municipalities and gathered information that the City will use to develop a business plan for their own land use strategy.

“Burlington has pledged to create a vibrant downtown, preserve and protect rural areas, and encourage transit and pedestrian-friendly transportation routes. We want to know how other municipalities are handling their development challenges, and Focus helped us to start gathering that information,” said Don Baxter, executive director of the BEDC.

McMaster's DeGroote School of Business has a reputation of making work experience part of students' education; undergraduate students go on internships and MBA students study in one of Canadas premier co-op programs. However, Focus Consulting takes experiential education farther by giving MBA students the opportunity to run their own company.

Borrelli joined Focus for just that reason – a chance to be his own boss. “This is a great chance to learn and figure out the ins and outs of running your own business. I've always wanted to take a chance at doing something entrepreneurial, and Focus gives me that opportunity. I am applying all of the business concepts that I'm learning in school.”

Backed by a resource team of university professors, community leaders and industry professionals, Focus offers a fresh, passionate and affordable approach for many organizations.

“Our ability to leverage our diverse work experiences with the cutting-edge strategies that were learning at DeGroote allows us to offer a lot to our clients,” says Berezny who has worked at St. Joseph's Healthcare, Simcoe Community Care Access Centre and Research in Motion (RIM) as well as an NGO in the West African country of Togo.

Toll, whose background is in marketing, adds, “Our client base is diverse as well. One of Focus' projects was working with a U.S. franchisee who was looking to expand and needed insight into the Canadian market. In another project that we're working on right now, we're working with a hospital, helping to develop a process to improve tracking and utilization of assets.”

So far, their clients have been pleased with what they've seen from Focus. In fact, the BEDC was so impressed that they made a five year pledge towards a bursary at DeGroote. Beginning this year, the student team leading Focus will receive $5,000 per year in start-up money in recognition of their entrepreneurship.