To build a community of women-owned businesses, those businesses need to be able to find each other.
So, the owner of Bay View Printing Company — Ashley Town — partnered with Stephanie Melnick of She Stands Tall to help tackle the problem.
Bay View Printing aims to use its work to give back to and uplift the community. She Stands Tall aims to create spaces for women and small business owners to learn from and support each other.
Together, they created a frame-worthy map of women-owned businesses in Milwaukee and the surrounding area. "Women want to support each other," explained Melnick. "Knowing where to find each other is the first step of that."
Meet some of the business owners
One of the businesses featured on the map is Hyde Park MKE, owned by Sydney Sanger.
She took over ownership from her grandfather, a German immigrant, in 2014. The business has been in the family since 1960.
Another business featured on the map is 414loral, owned by Mikel McGee.
McGee started designing floral arrangements at her kitchen table. Now she operates a storefront in the Harambee neighborhood. "I never thought that I would own a flower shop," she admitted but also said Milwaukee has been an incredibly supportive environment to launch a small business. "I'm blown away every day by the community support and just the genuine interest in what we're doing here it means so much."
Keystone Click is another woman-owned business that offers digital marketing services.
CEO Lori Highby is the founder and CEO. She's celebrating 15 years in business and credits her growth to the city's community of female entrepreneurs who motivate, encourage, and inspire. "It's nice to have someone to go to and say — here's my challenge today, I don't know how to solve it, let's get together and talk through it."
We also spoke with Kira Wendel. Kira has owned Swoon, a gift shop near 55th and Vliet, for 7 1/2 years. She credits fellow woman business owner Steph Davies for giving her a push to start Swoon.
This Kira’s second shop, and she has persevered through dealing with chronic illnesses. She is now healthy and thriving!
The makers of this map say — it's just the start. Come this fall you can expect an expansion that will function as a directory. "We have plans for a new one that will be bigger and better and multiple counties," said Ashley Town. "And beyond just brick and mortar!" added Stephanie Melnick. Click here for a link to download the free map.
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