Adopt-a-Business Student Intern Application

Please note that the intake portion of the Adopt-a-Business program is closed for the Fall 2023 semester. If you are a student or a business interested in participating, you are still encouraged to register for the 2024 Spring semester starting in February.

The Adopt-a-Business program is designed to provide you with the opportunity to engage with real local business by providing free support in digital marketing and social media. 

You will be assigned to a team of 2 with supervision from a Small Business Development Council Counselor and/or a faculty member of the Geneseo School of Business. You will be working with 2 clients per semester.

Each program is designed to last a school semester. In the fall, you will be asked to take training and prepare for the engagement in September. Your program with the client runs from October-December. In the Spring, you would be asked to take training and prepare in January. Your program with the client runs form February-April. 

The program engagement consists of the following:

  1. Digital marketing audit (your team will assess their businesses across several different marketing channels following our client audit guide)
  2. Digital marketing recommendations (you will provide recommendations based on the audit following our recommendation format)
  3. Digital marketing work (you will select a prioritized list of work with your clients to work on for the duration of the program and perform that work)
  4. Digital marketing review (you will provide a progress report at the end of the term on what you have completed in relationship to the digital marketing audit).

All work must be approved by your clients, the business owners, before they can released to the public.

At the end of the program duration, you may elect to continue in the program for another semester or end the engagement.

To support your clients, you are required to meet weekly for one hour on a day and time that is convenient for both. You are also required to meet once a week for an hour with the Adopt-a-Business program team. The time and date is to be determined.

You are eligible to receive 3 credits after the successful completion of one semester. These credits may be applied to your electives within your major or minor. To complete the internship for 3 credits, you are required to perform 120 hours of service to your clients for the semester. Your training time is included in this 120 hours.

While there are several benefits to traveling on site to see your customers, it is not required every week. You can use virtual meetings as an alternative. We highly recommend visiting your customers once a month. Their locations will be largely within Livingston and surrounding counties.

Qualifications
Here are some of the specific AaB student qualifications:

  • Enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program at SUNY Geneseo, with an interest in communications, business, sociology, economics and social media
  • Interest in community / small business development
  • Excellent working knowledge of how to tailor content and manage audiences across multiple social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Yelp, Trip Advisor and Instagram, Google My Business, etc.)
  • Proven ability to meet deadlines, work under pressure and deliver quality outputs
  • High degree of responsibility, maturity and emotional intelligence
  • Seeking Junior and Senior applicants, but sophomores may apply

Training & Preparation
Students will take part in a consulting, digital marketing and social media for small business training program. The program training will start at the beginning of each semester. You will be required to successfully complete the training program prior to participating with clients.

Responsibilities & Expectations
As part of a successful program and to meet the requirements of the internship, you are expected to do the following:

  • Attend weekly AaB meetings
  • Attend all their client meetings (usually, every other week)
  • Submit client reports to the AaB student coordinator and AaB administrator
  • Do an end-of-semester presentation of their AaB work

To apply, please click the following link, fill out your information, and submit.

Adopt-a-Business Student Application

If you have any issues registering or would simply like more information regarding the program, please email adoptabusiness@geneseo.edu or contact Professor Rider directly at mrider@geneseo.edu.