AACCW helping black entrepreneurs with a proper start
In August 2024, Bronzeville Collective MKE relocated to 2236 N. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive, just south of The Milwaukee Times office. Bronzeville Collective MKE store hours are 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Tuesday; 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Wednesday.-Saturday; and closed Sunday and Monday.
By Israel Webb and Steve Waring
Tiffany Miller and Lilo Allen were able to take their Bronzeville Collective MKE business plan to the next level with funding, free rent and training from a variety of Milwaukee- based economic development organizations.
Miller and Allen perfected their concept for Bronzeville Collective MKE in 2018 after completing an intensive business development program administered through the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin (AACCW) and then receiving a storefront location rent-free for 60 days through Brew City Match.
“Our RISE MKE program helps ensure that start up businesses don’t start out blindly,” said AACCW Vice President Jona Moore. “We watch entrepreneurs start with an idea at the beginning of the class and by the completion they already have a fully developed business.”
Allen and Miller learned about RISE MKE and the AACCW on Facebook, according to Allen. RISE MKE is a 14-week intensive program administered through AACCW. It is designed to help emerging businesses develop a strategic plan with a focus on marketing, branding, business network development, and other essential resources.
Brew City Match is not currently accepting new applications while the program plans its 2025 offerings. Previous Brew City Match versions sought to revitalize Milwaukee business districts surrounding downtown by providing training and funding opportunities to entrepreneurs committed to operating in those areas, according to information. Miller and Allen fine-tuned their consignment store model for the Bronzeville Collective MKE after obtaining a storefront location rentfree for 60 days. Although the program is currently not accepting applications, the website remains full of valuable links and resources to other organizations which are actively accepting new applications.
Other economic development organizations such as – the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC); the UWM SCE Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and BizStarts provide opportunities for individuals who are interested in starting, strengthening or expanding their business, according to Renee Lindner, currently associate director of the Historic King Drive Business Improvement District (BID) #8 and a former outreach specialist for WWBIC. She said that Brew City Match distributed more than $500,000 to approximately two dozen King Drive-area businesses “which is a once in a lifetime event.”
WWBIC, SBDC, and the Historic King Drive BID #8 were partners with Brew City Match and all continue to offer resources.
“People should keep seeking resources and not be afraid to ask questions from other business owners who are successful; the more info the better,” Lindner said. “One main thing we try to do [at the BID] is to help keep our businesses open and strong.”
