Business Homepage

What is Business Team About?
The primary role of the Business Team is support. Find funds, promote the team, do outreach, handle recruitment and ensure Husky Robotics can reach URC and CIRC.

Timeline
Business Team Timeline

How to Arrange Events At UW
UW Events

(playbook underneath, may warrant own page)

Introduction
To keep track of all our various responsibilities and lessons learned, Business has condensed everything into a playbook, which we are transcribing to the wiki as a resource for future leadership.

Terms and Acronyms

 * SAR: Systems Acceptance Review. The combination report and video showing readiness for URC
 * URC: University Rover Challenge, Primarily referring to the early June Event in Hanksville, Utah.
 * CIRC: Canadian International Rover Challenge, the August competition in Drumheller, Canada
 * CoC: Code of Conduct. The ME department will likely request a signed CoC from each member of the team travelling to a competition using the Enterprise rental contract.

Social Media
One of the most effective means of communication is through social media. It is important to maintain a regular schedule for posts. Before anything is posted, it should be reviewed by the other members of leadership.

Instagram
The primary method of distributing high-quality images. The content posted should be of a high standard. Captions for each upload should be limited as Instagram is a photo-based platform. If longer descriptions are required, provide a link to either Facebook, LinkedIn, or the HRT website.

YouTube
The main platform for uploading videos of relevance to Husky Robotics. These videos should be shot and edited to look semi-professional.

Facebook
A secondary method where YouTube videos and Instagram photos are to be posted. Longer articles of writing could be posted here. It is less professional in nature and therefore more open to a wider range of posts.

LinkedIn
Make posts that are more professional in nature than those on Facebook. This is a place to maintain alumni contacts, and Possible employers will use LinkedIn to check current and past members, therefore nothing should be too casual. Before anything is published, make sure to have other leadership members review it. Preferably only the highest quality content from the other platforms should be posted here.

As of Jan 1, 2022, Linkedin is one of our least-updated platforms, but one that really needs to be better integrated into our long-term retention, communication, and donor/sponsor finding efforts.

Campus Outreach	And Recruitment
It is necessary to maintain campus activity to maintain awareness for recruiting, and to boost our profile with the departments and UW Media

Recruitment (STEAM)
Help coordinate showcases at RSO fairs. Efforts should be made to showcase as much technology as possible in order to make a good impression. Things to try
 * Start recruitment efforts in Spring quarter, to try getting people over summer quarter and to pick up people with skillsets
 * Talk to other RSOs Get list from emails, slack as sub-page
 * Talk to departments to send things out over department mailing lists
 * Talk with the Dawg Daze folks to get our information session officially scheduled and listed, as they'll also cover the room rental fee.

Recruitment (Business)
Expand the size of the business team by recruiting both internally and externally. Efforts should be made to recruit for cold-calling such that the task can be directed away from subsystem leads. Try the same things as above, only with the schools of Business and Communication.

UW Media
One of our best outlets for wide distribution, we should keep in touch with the UW's media/PR/News department. We have a standing interest from UW photographer Dennis Wise (dwise@uw.edu) in going with us to URC or CIRC to take professional photos of us for the UW use and, with permission/credit given to Mr. Wise, to Husky Robotics. ADD MORE UW MEDIA INFORMATION HERE, NEWSPAPERS AND UW VIDEO

K-12 Outreach
We should attempt to increase the number of members on our own team going to outreach events. It may also benefit us and our relationships to other RSOs to invite and join other organizations at outreach events. We should research and develop ways to better engage the youth using all the cool things our team creates beyond just our drive train. We could potentially bring more robots to outreach events and come up with outreach-specific activities and creations. We went to a lot of events this year, and we should keep up the good work, building up reputation.

FIRST
We should extend opportunities for FTC and FLL event volunteering to our members. These events usually have less volunteers, allowing our members to take on more influential roles. Continuing our plan, we should continue pursuing university support for FIRST and FIRST students. This includes looking into hosting District Championships at Alaska Airlines Arena in the future. We should try and increase volunteer turnout internally, as many of our members are FIRST alum. We should reach out to our own team more and work with other RSOs and departments to send as many volunteers as possible.

Other Organizations
Contact other engineering groups, especially more general groups who are branches of a national group (i.e., Women in Science and Engineering) to see if there are collaborations possible, or other groups we can bring to our FIRST efforts.

Donor Relations
Reach out to potential sponsors, maintain relationships with previous and current sponsors, regain old sponsors, complete grant proposals, and manage crowdfunding campaign

Donor Retention
Renew sponsorships and maintain relationships with current donors throughout the year. Make sure to highlight the impact and results of the sponsor's previous donation, and clearly indicate what their further money/resources would be going toward. Big sponsorships to renew for next year are the ME department, Blue Origin, ElectroImpact, Seattle City Light, the Foster School, and the CSE department. All details of sponsorship renewal should be available on ClickUp.

Finding New Donors and Sponsors
Priority 1: Should still be to gain new sponsorships internally from the University of Washington. Departments within the college of engineering tend to be the most willing to donate; however, we should also branch out to other relevant departments. Some potential sponsors that we have never received donations from include the Info School, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, and Earth & Space Sciences.

Priority 2: Should be monetary donations from companies. Larger companies that are based in the PNW like Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft, and Tableau are a good start. We had success with Seattle City Light, and similar publicly-ran organizations could be a good place to look for potential sponsorships. Companies that sponsor other UW teams like SARP, ARUW, and Formula Motorsports are a good option as well considering that we are similar in nature and also at the UW.

Priority 3: non-monetary donations from companies and organizations. This includes reaching out to mechanical companies for parts that subsystems really need, or companies similar to ClickUp and Slack that can give us administrative tools. Hatchbox and other

Alumni: make contact with previous alumni. If graduating members complete the exit survey then there will be documentation that provides us with their contact information.

Regain Previous Sponsors
We should attempt to regain any previous sponsors that we have lost within the last couple of years. Some big sponsors we have lost and should look to renew are Maxon Motors, Holaday Parks, Everett Steel, Pacific Metal, and Tap Plastics.

Crowdfunding
We should aim to reinitiate the crowdfunding campaign with UW philanthropy around late November or early December. Also, we should keep our crowdfunding open longer than last year, and aim for a campaign length of around three months as this allows for an extended donation opportunity.

Grants
NASA space grant: Primarily useful for URC/CIRC travel expenses. Requires a lot of documentation, but is well-funded and little-used.

College of Engineering Grant: Used for smaller team purchases, primarily like to hear that it will be used for tools and training material.

HUB Grant: A first-come, first-serve grant for travel expenses, currently restricted due to COVID. When COVID restrictions lift, the HUB grant has historically gotten used up in autumn and winter by other RSOs who have more set schedules. However, for outreach events, it may be useful

STF grants: Underused source of funding for tools and infrastructure; requires Faculty approval and coordinated support from HRT members to help get items.

Treasury
Track, manage, and maintain HRT’s funds and finances.

Budgeting
Keep a budget, broken down by subsystem, for how much each subsystem plans to spend over the school year. If we have inadequate funding, warn the team early so we can raise more money. If we have a lot more than expected funds, also let us know so we can possibly save money for next year or possibly spend on non rover items. Keep in mind the rovers budget (including base station) must be under $18,000 per the URC rules. Make sure to watch this number closely.

Budget Tracking
Present quarterly budget updates to leadership and business going in depth into how much money we have, where it came from, where we’re expecting to get money from. Give a per subsystem breakdown of where money is being spent and how much you are budgeting to each subsystem. Bug subsystem leads to give you accurate values of how much their subsystem will cost.

Purchase Tracking
Make one centralized document tracking purchases separated by subsystems. List a small description of the item, how much it cost the vendor, and a link. Make sure to include sponsorship items here as well. Track to see whether the item has been ordered and whether it has been received. This will make your life much easier down the line.

Branding
Husky Robotics can be thought of as a company; there are “employees,” an end product, and “investors” that financially support its operations. Therefore, establishing and maintaining a brand for the club is an essential aspect for improving its financial stability, influence, and public interest. The main categories for branding are: relevancy, uniqueness, and memorability.

Style Guide
We have developed a style guide for our icons and preferred fonts. Give link to style guide here

Merchandising
With our new space, it may be possible to store small amounts of team branded merchandise for sale/sponsorship awards. Alumni want to be told about opportunities to buy items, and will pay for them. Always try to sell for a profit after shipping, as we don't have space for bulk orders and can't get large price breaks.


 * Shirts and Apparel
 * Stickers (vinyl)
 * Mugs
 * Pins
 * Other things

Local
For outreach events and local transport, the team can use the UW UCAR fleet, which can be checked out by any student who meets requirements, as long as there is a budget number to charge. UW Facilities UCar Rental Arranging drivers is key to success, and drivers need to have passed the UW training (see link) UCars charge by days and miles travelled, but fuel is free. Be sure to refuel if below a half-tank before returning. It’s only polite.

URC, CIRC
The big ones. Week-long Roadtrips.

Lodging Reservations
While there are hotels/motels around Torrey (Utah) and Drumheller(Canada), these tend to be pricey and force the team to rely more heavily on dining out, raising individual expenses. Airbnbs allow for more space, equal or lower-rental costs, and adequate cooking facilities. However, these need to be reserved in advance, prior to SAR submission. As the trips take 12-15 hours of driving, safety dictates that we break this into two days with an overnight hotel each way. Previously for URC, we have stopped at an Inn America just outside Boise, but COVID may require different lodgings or an entirely different route around Idaho.

Business Team Representative
While on the ground in Utah/Canada, there should be at least one member of the business team registered with the ME department as a valid user of the department-issued credit card. Additional Business team members may be selected, but usually they will need to have driving, photography or cooking skills if they aren’t also part of another subsystem.

CIRC Specific Note: Passports
All team members intending to go to CIRC need to have a current passport (and possibly COVID passport, and current accepted test). This can take time to process, so any members interested in going to CIRC should plan ahead by several months.

Vehicle Rentals
HRT can go through the ME department to use the Washington state contract with Enterprise rentals. This requires contacting Jen Snider Get her email here and probably the Department Chair, who may require all participants to sign on to a specific code of conduct.

Working with the state contract reduces fees for Enterprise rental considerably, lowers the driving age to 18 (but ME Department may request 21), no additional costs for extra drivers and provides basically break-even costs with the UW fleet vehicles. Fuel is not included, and will need to be paid for by team members for later reimbursement. Keep all receipts.

Ben note: While we have used pickups for transporting the rover, it might be nice to see if we can get a box-panel truck for rover, gear, and luggage transport. Being able to end an 8-hour day of driving by just locking the truck and not necessarily unloading everything would be quite nice. Not to mention the tarp being optional.

Code of Conduct
The team leadership decides who is able to go on trips; however, if we want to use the Enterprise contract, the department will request a code of conduct intended to ensure that students represent the UW and ME department with professionalism and honor. This will be required for every participating member to sign, and will likely require additional driving experience and commitments to sobriety and safety.

Ben Note: While we do our best to meet every requirement on the ME CoC, the WA contract allows 18 year olds to drive the rental vehicles. Enterprise records the primary and secondary drivers, but does not know about the HRT/ME department CoC. More experience is better and safer, but the lack of a driver meeting the Enterprise requirements can severely limit the team’s options. Use discretion and judgement, and keep in mind that the team can bring in ‘contractors’ on a temporary basis under the team constitution.

Ben Note: Alcohol is not a good idea, but should someone overindulge, their teammates need to look after them and keep them hydrated with water. Public drunkenness is a violation of the CoC.

Information Collection and Security
Each person going on the trip needs to submit information in case things go wrong, including personal phone number, emergency contacts, prescription medication, medical conditions, and food allergies/dietary restrictions (e.g., Kosher/Halal, vegetarian, Vegan, food sensitivities) '''This information is to be kept as confidential as possible and destroyed at the end of the trip. The business team is in charge of this information, and should distribute the individual forms to the driver of the vehicle they are travelling in. ''' These forms must be destroyed at the end of the trip.

Food Planning
As part of information collection, food allergies and dietary restrictions should be kept in mind while planning meals. Easily scalable food (e.g., Pasta, salads, pancakes) can be made quickly, but there should always be something available for every member of the team.

'''Do a Costco run to secure team snacks BEFORE the trip, as we have previously run into an issue where the day we travelled, Costco was closed for a federal holiday. It was not great.''' Also, Costco cards are a good idea. Having one for the team might be a decent investment.

Utah In Utah, there is a Costco in Salt Lake City for bulk food purchases (Pasta, specifically) but there’s still several hours of driving before Torrey. [Ben note: I suggest purchasing several large pizzas at the salt lake city Costco, and some bell peppers, onions, parmesan etc. to jazz them up for the first night dinner in Torrey. There is a pizza place there, but you need to order in advance of going into a cellular deadzone and paying quite a lot for merely okay pizza.]

There is a supermarket in Loa (Royal’s food town) that sells rotisserie chicken, meat, bread, sandwich fixings, veggies and fruit at very reasonable prices. This will allow for a lot of savings on food compared to the tourist-level prices of the area.

[Ben Note: Utah is a very mormon state. Alcohol, especially beer, is not worth your time.]

Canada There’s a Costco right after the WA/Canada border in Abbotsford. A good place to stretch legs and get lunch, plenty of parking. Drumheller is a relative metropolis, there are multiple restaurants and groceries available. [Ben Note: Canada has a drinking age of 18-19, and liquor stores are easy to find. However, the code of conduct from the ME department should be observed, and designated drivers for both vehicles and rovers are mandatory.]

Safety
Aside from the environmental and hydration concerns, there are other dangers to consider.

General:
 * Stay aware of speed limits. Many small towns suddenly drop the speed limit to get funds through tickets. Further, state traffic rules may be very different. Signal for at least five seconds before changing lanes (especially in Idaho).
 * Remember that dusty roads + rain can make for slippery driving conditions.
 * On the other side of the Cascades and before getting into Salt Lake, there can be extensive flat terrain with no windbreaks. Be aware of sudden side breezes when driving large vehicles, or driving next to large vehicles.

Utah: Previously, a lone white male member of HRT was taking a walk at night to look at the stars, and the town’s sheriff pulled up to start a little interrogation, wherein they expressed … distaste for Seattle and ‘liberals’. “Black Lives Matter” would likely be taken poorly.
 * The area of Utah where URC occurs is quite distant from major medical facilities.
 * Snakes will only strike if startled with nowhere to run. Stomp around, especially near water sources.
 * HYDRATE.
 * While the people in Southeast Utah are generally quite nice and helpful, do not attract the attention of the police. Yes, there is racism and political opinions about coastal states.

Canada:
 * Keep right EXCEPT TO PASS. (Don’t be ‘that driver’).
 * Beware local fauna. A moose, caribou, or bear can mess you up. (Primarily applies to stopping by any of the amazing parks along the way)