Very small companies are different from other companies. Individual characteristics of owner/managers and employees play a far greater role than in larger companies. The owner/manager is the brand and the company's reputation and future is largely connected to him/her. Chance and flexibility plays a crucial role in the eventual success of the firm and strategic decisionmaking is most of all an impediment to development.

Few, if any, textbooks describe this difference and practically no business schools or universities teach it. Yet, micro businesses make up a large proportion of all companies and thus of the potential for growth and development in the business community. The clash between the reality of micro businesses and the expectations of potential employees, investors and advisors, often makes it difficult or uninteresting for micro entrepreneurs to develop and grow.

The IDONEUS MBT PROGRAM aims at bridging the knowledge gap between students at Jönköping University (HJ) and very small companies. Through exchange of knowledge, ideas and labour, we want to achieve development in many senses for both parties.

All HJ students who have an interest in learning more about micro companies can attend. The program is open to both swedish and international students. Owner/managers of companies in Jönköping community with no more than five employees and with an interest in expanding their companies are welcome in the project. Ideally, there should be at least three students for every company at the start of the program.

The program consists of two distinct phases:

• The get-to-know-each-other-phase. Students and business leaders meet at 3-4 largely informal seminars. Business leaders speak about their companies and their way of doing business and will have plenty of time to discuss informally with the students. At the end of this phase, we expect a large number of students, and perhaps some companies, will have left the program, because they have realized they prefer to seek employment (employees) elsewhere.
• The learning-by-doing-phase. The remaining students are assigned one or more companies to work for part-time. Ideally, the student-company-match have been done informally by the participants themselves.

Each phase is expected to last for one semester and the optimal start of the project will thus be early fall.

More information to students

More information to business leaders/owners