Pasadena Chamber of Commerce

Once again the Chamber and the City of Pasadena prevailed on students in Tom Olson’s Management Consulting class to examine and propose solutions to concerns in Pasadena. We asked them to look at the retail and office markets in Pasadena and propose some ideas that could help maintain Pasadena’s competitive edge over the next five years.

The results were not what we expected. After an examination of the economy and some sound prognostications about the current recession, they suggested a couple of things that could put Pasadena a the forefront of shoppers and entrepreneurs five years from now.

They proposed Pasadena host an entrepreneur competition in the Rose Bowl for up and coming business people. The two or three-day event would be juried, with competitions in multiple categories and prize money given to the winners to seed their business in Pasadena.  The idea would be to draw entrepreneurs, investors, business people and the public and direct attention to Pasadena as a host for creative thinking in business.

To support out retail environment, the students also suggested Pasadena look at models in places such as London and Hong Kong and consider implementing a payment card that allows users to pay for parking at meters and in garages at a discount. As explained to us, the card works using existing technology and can be expanded for use in retail stores and for other services.

Here’s the USC students’ Powerpoint presentation and a video demonstration of the tap card.

Powerpoint:

pasadena-chamber-of-commerce-final

Smart Card video:

Smart Card video

Many thanks to the student team: Ben, Courtney, Victoria, Michelle, Krikor and Ansel. They put in a lot of hours, did well grounded research and came up with creative suggestions that could benefit Pasadena.

Thanks also to USC Marshall School of Business Dean James Ellis and professor Thomas Olson for their help and support.

It is envigorating to work with students, and they are amazingly helpful.

Paul