City of Milwaukee Business Capacity Building Program
The City of Milwaukee’s Business Capacity Building Program (BCBP) is a comprehensive custom-tailored technical assistance program that focuses on increasing the expansion of Small Business Enterprise
(SBE) firms; guiding them through a premier experience aimed at strengthening business acumen and professional development. By leveraging large scale development projects subsidized with Tax Incremental Financing (TIF), the City of Milwaukee is able to offer high-level technical and financial support to some of the city’s most talented and emerging small businesses.
The BCBP provides an opportunity for individuals to strategically and collectively solve business challenges and identify opportunities for growth through a shared experience. The program is offered at no cost and participants are expected to be fully committed to the curriculum which includes an in-depth business assessment to determine key areas of focus; monthly sessions developed in alignment with the areas of focus identified in the business assessment; one-on-one business coaching and master certified executive coaching to further support the key areas of focus; business solidification assistance to strengthen systems and best practices; and networking events to increase visibility and create new connections.
Businesses who successfully complete the BCBP curriculum are infused with a $25,000 grant to further support and implement goals set throughout the course of the program. Success is measured by increased business revenue, new contracting opportunities, job creation and new relationships.
Cohort 3 Participants
Pictured from left to right: Carrie Bristoll-Groll, Billy Spencer, Keana Spencer, Patrick Conley, Melissa Tashjian
All Season Lawncare & Landscaping | Patrick Conley, COO All Season Lawncare & Landscaping is a landscaping company that offers both commercial and residential products and services, including landscape maintenance, landscape design, and snow removal. Founded in 2000 by Patrick Conley and Gregory Conley, our mission is “A quality professional service goes beyond our client expectations.” Our vision for the future of the company is to open 3 new locations in Wisconsin and become one of the premier top landscape companies in our state.
Compost Crusader, LLC | Melissa Tashjian, President Compost Crusader, LLC creates a culture around organics diversion that empowers individuals and organizations to divert food scraps from the landfill in an economical and environmentally conscious way. We look to divert 50-75% from the landfill waste stream by creating a separate organics recycling channel that goes to certified compost sites. Our customers are schools, restaurants, grocers, municipalities, and anyone else that realizes the positive impact they can make in their community and environment by composting their waste.
Spencer Renovation & Construction, LLC | Billy and Keana Spencer, Co-owners Spencer Renovation & Construction, LLC is a multipurpose business providing professional remodeling and deconstruction services to the satisfaction of our clients. Discerning clients choose us for our expertise, specialties, and current knowledge of cutting-edge practices in the remodeling industry. We’re 8A, SBE, MBE and DBE Certified. The services we provide are demolition, deconstruction, renovations to residential and commercial parcels and hauling aggregate materials with our dump trucks.
Our future is guided by the exponential returns to our community. Since we pride ourselves on transforming our client’s vision, I formulated an outstanding team that shares my passion and commitment to our clients. The commitment extends beyond just delivering optimal performance; we are also committed to completing the project on time and within budget. Our early success was built on our proactive communication, providing the highest value of service and trusted relationships. I am proud of our reputation and look forward to serving you and your community.
Stormwater Solutions Engineering, LLC (SSE) | Carrie Bristoll-Groll, PE, CEO Stormwater Solutions Engineering, LLC (SSE) is a civil engineering design firm founded in 2002 to specialize in stormwater management, green infrastructure and flood management. Our clients range from WisDOT (including I-94 near Foxconn), MMSD, municipalities and private development. We “design for when it rains” with traditional and green infrastructure, improving water quality and providing protection against flood potential. In 2017, we introduced our new patent-pending product StormGUARDen(TM), which led to winning an Innovation Quotient (IQ) award from BizTimes in 2017. StormGUARDen is an innovative garden planter system for filtering water from your roof while holding the capacity of 6.5 rain barrels. We are a certified woman-owned small business with a staff of 8, located in the Global Water Center in Milwaukee.