[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/fbcdn1.jpg” caption=”The FBC team includes (from left) Aazam Bhimji, Stefan Pazulla, Jeff Dedrick, John Nashid and Rick Anderson.”]Although the recession has hit many Canadian companies hard, Focus Business Consulting (FBC), a McMaster MBA-student-run company, is up to the task of helping businesses succeed.

With a diverse set of backgrounds amongst the five young directors and access to experienced industry and academic professionals, it has an edge that other consulting firms do not.

“Companies are looking for a fresh perspective and we can help them with that,” states Aazam Bhimji, FBC's director of marketing.

Businesses are increasingly looking for new ways to become more environmentally friendly as more and more consumers favour green initiatives, and FBC has recently found itself working with this new business trend.

“A number of our initial clients wanted help to leverage their expertise in renewable energy sources,” says Rick Anderson, director of business development.

With clients of all sizes from Hamilton to Toronto, the management consulting group works to create workable solutions for all of its clients.

Founded in 2005, FBC has grown each year with the increasing successes of the company. Instead of pursuing a co-op with an external business, a group of senior DeGroote MBA students choose to run the consulting company as entrepreneurs for one year. This choice pays off in more ways than one, as FBC earned nearly $200,000 in 2008.

In addition to Bhimji and Anderson, this year's team includes Jeff Dedrick, director of research and strategy, Stefan Pazulla, director of communications, and John Nashid, director of finance.

“FBC's philosophy is to provide the best consulting solutions for its growing client base,” says Nashid. “We've chosen to be at FBC, and every second we're working is going to be used to its full potential.”

To find out more about Focus Business Consulting, check out their website at www.thinkfbc.com.