SFA students create communications guide for small businesses

A guide created by four students in Stephen F. Austin State University's Rusche College of Business has been adopted by the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce as its official resource for helping local small businesses with internal and external communications. Pictured, from left, are Ava Hoffpauir, junior from Beaumont; Gisselle Rivera, junior from Houston; Madeline Rivers, junior from Baytown; and Chloe Adams, senior from Houston. The students received $500 from the Rusche College of Business for their winning entry.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- A guide created by four students in Stephen F. Austin State University's Rusche College of Business has been adopted by the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce as its official resource for helping local small businesses with their communications.

"Both internal and external communications are important for a small business," said Kelly Augustine, president and CEO of the chamber. "Clear messaging in areas such as instruction, education and promotion will set a business on a path to success because effective communication is a big benefit for employees and customers."

To help produce a short guide for small businesses, Augustine turned to students in SFA's "Business Communication Technologies" course taught by Dr. Kristen Waddell, assistant professor in the university's Department of Business Communication and Legal Studies.

Five student groups in the class designed surveys, collected data, and devised communication- and technology-driven strategies based on that data. They then created guides that outlined those strategies in a user-friendly way and presented them to chamber representatives.

The guide was created by Chloe Adams, senior from Houston; Ava Hoffpauir, junior from Beaumont; Gisselle Rivera, junior from Houston; and Madeline Rivers, junior from Baytown. The students received $500 from the Rusche College of Business for their winning entry.

"The students provided a useful resource that our local businesses and organizations will value," Augustine said. "We enjoyed working with the group, and the project submissions were impressive and can be easily implemented in a variety of business operations."

Waddell said the project gave students an opportunity to directly apply the concepts discussed in class to a real-world scenario.

"It highlighted the importance of creating a communication strategy that includes different types of technology as well as the best practices for using that technology," she said. "Most importantly, it connected students to the community, allowing them to learn from and engage with local business professionals."

Rivera said learning about the chamber was a huge benefit of the project.

"I had no idea Nacogdoches was run like an organization," she said. "They have people looking out for its small businesses and continuing its growth. It's interesting to see firsthand how what we learned in class is being used in our own community."

Waddell and the students thanked the chamber representatives for their time and engagement.

"Working on this project with the chamber allowed me to grow my skills in a collaborative and supportive environment," Rivers said.

The chamber will have the guide available in early 2025.

For more information about SFA's Department of Business Communication and Legal Studies, visit sfasu.edu/bcls. For information about the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce, visit nacogdoches.org.