Ação Júnior

Undergraduates of Santa Catarina's federal university in Brazil run Ação Júnior, a junior enterprise that works as a management consultancy. It describes its purpose as helping other companies grow by cutting costs and improving results, with solutions designed for small and large businesses alike.

Consulting scopes for growing companies

The work is organised around a set of defined scopes: market research, people management, strategic marketing, commercial structuring, pricing, strategic management, financial structuring, business plans and franchising. Each one is explained on its site in practical terms. Market research, for example, is presented as the way an owner gets detailed information on the sector, the products and services on offer, customers, competitors and suppliers. The business plan is described as a reflection of the market, the product or service and the owner's own goals.

Strategy work is framed as guiding the entrepreneur through the choices ahead, so that problems and opportunities are identified and a course of action reduces risk. The commercial area is described as the part of a company that finds bottlenecks in sales and connects what consumers need with what is offered, steering them through the purchase journey. Financial management is treated as the set of processes and methods that let a company control, analyse and plan its finances, and people management as the administration of a company's human capital using human resources techniques that align staff goals with those of the organisation.

What it says about its track record

The enterprise states that it has worked with more than 450 companies and that the proceeds were reinvested in entrepreneurial education, the point of a junior enterprise being that students learn by running real projects.

Part of the Brazilian junior enterprise movement

Ação Júnior belongs to the Movimento Empresa Júnior, which brings together young people across Brazil with the aim of making the country more entrepreneurial. The movement cites more than 1,300 junior enterprises carrying out projects that affect their local ecosystems, and its stated mission is to form committed entrepreneurs through hands-on business experience. The site also publishes articles for business owners on subjects such as hiring a marketing consultancy, building a brand persona and managing stock.

Ação Júnior is a junior enterprise: a management consultancy run by students of the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in Brazil. It advises small and large businesses on cutting costs and improving results, while giving its members hands-on business experience.

Products and services

• Market research: studies of a sector, its customers, competitors and suppliers.
• Strategic management and business plans: setting direction and spotting risks and opportunities.
• Commercial structuring and marketing: finding bottlenecks in sales and shaping the customer buying journey.
• Financial structuring and pricing: processes to plan, track and control company finances.
• People management: HR methods that align staff goals with company targets.
• Franchising: support for turning a business into a franchise model.

Who it serves

It serves entrepreneurs and companies of different sizes and says it has worked with more than 450 businesses.

Key facts

• Based in: Santa Catarina, Brazil
• Affiliation: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; part of the Movimento Empresa Júnior
• Clients served: more than 450 companies