Shop Zero
Based in the centre of Nottingham, Shop Zero is a zero-waste store dedicated to sustainability and a circular economy. It offers plastic-free, ethical shopping for dry goods and household items. Customers can bring their own containers for bulk, unpackaged food, purchase lower-impact personal care items, sustainable household goods and eco-friendly gifts.
As a solo entrepreneur, Sarah Maloy, owner and founder of Shop Zero, jumped at the chance to get involved with the support offered by NTU. Shop Zero has engaged with multiple business support initiatives offered by NTU since 2018.
Background
Sarah was initially keen to provide a project brief for Nottingham Business School (NBS) MSc Consultancy Experience Projects and has since gone on to submit six project briefs. These have included marketing, management and finance consultancy. Through this initiative students have provided a review of website content, competitor analysis, recommendations around service diversification and research to inform future business development. Along with benefitting from this support, Sarah is happy to have helped create many opportunities for students to gain business skills.
Shubham Sarraf, a student of MSc Finance and Accounting, said the following of their experience:
“Working on a project with a real-life business as part of my MSc studies was a valuable experience. It provided me with insights into the practical aspects of working in real business environments…Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to work with Shop Zero. It has been an incredibleexperience collaborating with such a dedicated team.”
Approach and Impact
As a direct result of the student consultancy projects Sarah has been involved in, the business has put specialist marketing strategies in place, completed SEO work on its website as well as develop more robust financial planning and monitoring systems.
“I have gained lots of insights about my business” explains Sarah, “such as marketing and financial tips. I've had projects completed that I would find hard to tackle because of time and staff to do so within the business. I have employed one student who started out as a volunteer from NTU.”
In reference to her latest consultancy experience project Sarah told us:
“It exceeded my expectations; the team went above and beyond. Involvement with the student consultancy projects has brought such a variety of new ideas to my business. The NTU staff team are great at helping shape the project briefs to the needs and resource limitations of my business. This means that the recommendations that have come from the projects are practical rather than purely theoretical. Overall, the result is that I have been able to action them. Always great when time and resources are at the premium.”
Postgraduate Consultancy Projects
Postgraduate Consultancy Projects
Postgraduate consultancy projects offer our postgraduate students a valuable opportunity to put theory into practice while working on a real business challenge. Please click on the link below to find out more, alternatively email NBSStudentProjects@ntu.ac.uk to find out about how we can support your business.