The Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project: Supporting Detroit Entrepreneurs with U-M Expertise

Operating within Business+Impact at Michigan Ross, the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project connects Detroit small business owners with U-M students and faculty to solve real-world business challenges. DNEP offers free help with accounting, marketing, law, and technology so local businesses can grow. Students also get real-world experience by working with Detroit business owners.

“Our mission is to build stronger Detroit businesses by allowing students to flex the skills they are learning in the classroom,” said Christie Baer, co-founder and managing director of DNEP.

Collaborating at Ross and beyond to grow Detroit businesses

Baer and Siobhan Barrett, the program and business development manager, make up the DNEP staff. Together, they run three main programs: Accounting Consulting, Community Tech Consulting, and Motor City Multipliers. These programs give U-M students experience tackling real problems with Detroit business owners — everything from improving business models and accounting help to legal advice, website management, and social media.

DNEP was founded in 2016 at the Law School, but from the start, the program has been a collaborative effort involving Michigan Ross and other schools and colleges at U-M. As DNEP grew, it made sense for the program to move to Ross to more closely align with the entrepreneurship expertise of Ross faculty and students. DNEP officially became part of Ross in 2024.

“Being housed at Michigan Ross has been terrific for DNEP,” said Baer. “We have joined a community of faculty and staff who are invested in helping us succeed. From the Office of Marketing and Communications to Ross IT, the professional staff have been phenomenal. They have helped us refine our systems to be more effective and donate time to various projects. It has also been great to work under the leadership of Dean Matusik, who truly understands the transformative power of entrepreneurship.”

According to Baer, most of DNEP’s formal collaborations with Ross units have been through Motor City Multipliers, its course-matching program. Through this program, DNEP has placed 175+ small businesses with Professor Amy Angell’s marketing and advertising courses. DNEP also collaborates with Ross’ Office of Action-Based Learning to incorporate Detroit businesses into capstone MAP projects. In addition, they help recruit businesses to participate in programming put on by Business+Tech. Collectively, DNEP helps about 250 businesses each year.

Outside of Ross, DNEP partners with schools and colleges across U-M, including the Law School, School of Information, Stamps School of Art and Design, College of Engineering, Marsal Family School of Education, School of Social Work, and U-M Dearborn College of Business. This enables DNEP to match Detroit entrepreneurs with student consulting teams with expertise in other academic disciplines, such as law and engineering.

Adapting to change and helping entrepreneurs thrive

According to Baer, Detroit’s business world is always changing, so DNEP continuously updates its programs to meet business owners’ needs. Over the last three years, this has included a more targeted focus on building business owners’ financial understanding and technology skills. 

“When the economy constricts, business owners have to make hard choices,” said Baer. “If you want to survive, you must be able to interpret your financial statements to see what the data says, and you must be able to use technology.”

Since moving to Ross, DNEP has grown its Accounting Consulting program by starting CFO Boot Camp, a workshop series offered every semester. The program has also been able to offer three times more free accounting appointments in Detroit neighborhoods, run by Ross students.

Since joining Ross, DNEP has expanded its Community Tech Consulting program to include students. This fall, 10 U-M students will join DNEP as community tech consultants, teaching business owners to improve their websites, use social media strategically, and incorporate artificial intelligence tools into their daily operations. This includes a new workshop, AI Show & Tell, which was offered four times this month. These sessions gave business owners a chance to try out AI tools that can help them save time and stay organized. 

Baer hopes to offer even more workshops like these in the future, ensuring financial and technology training is accessible for every Detroit business owner DNEP serves.