Rev-Up MKE finalists Rashida Craig (from left), Carmelia Harris, Brad Anthony Bernard, Mercedez Butts and Sabrina Van Landingham Ford gather after the competition finished on Sept. 10 at The Rave/Eagles Club. (Photo by Kelly Michael Anderson)
Joyce’s House Education Center owner Mercedez Butts plans to bring more educational resources to Milwaukee’s Near West Side as the winner of the Rev-UP MKE small business competition.
Five finalists took to the stage at The Rave/Eagles Club, 2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., on Sept. 10 to pitch their business ideas for the Near West Side before a panel of judges and a live audience.
Near West Side Partners hosts the annual event with the help of sponsoring businesses.
Butts won $10,000 for first place in the live-pitching event as well as a $1,000 cash prize as the Town Bank Audience Choice winner.
“It’s still surreal to me, I think,” Butts said. “I was just coming in tonight, coming in here expecting to share my family’s truth and what I do.”
Joyce’s House Education Center, 5601 W. North Ave., is named after Butts’ late grandmother. It offers a variety of educational testing, including GED programs, real estate training and nursing courses.
With the prize money and additional $25,000 of in-kind services, Butts will look for a location on the Near West Side to start hosting GED bootcamps.
Mercedez Butts presents her pitch for Joyce’s House Education Center at the Rev-Up MKE
small business competition on Sept. 10 at The Rave/Eagles Club. (Photo by Meredith Melland)
She hopes to improve Milwaukee’s literacy rates and offer educational opportunities for residents.
“I can’t wait to start serving the people on the Near West Side even more, because most of our applicants come from this area,” Butts said.
Resale clothing shop, bakery awarded funds
Sabrina Van Landingham Ford and her resale clothing business, Hope 4 Faith Resale Boutique, scored the runner-up prize of $4,000 in start-up funds.
TrueMan McGee (left) escorts Sabrina Van Landingham Ford on stage after her resale clothing business, Hope 4 Faith Resale Boutique, won the second place award at Rev-Up MKE on Sept. 10
at The Rave/Eagles Club. (Photo by Meredith Melland)
“There’s a really nice variety of businesses that kind of represent everything from food service to retail to health and wellness, and I think that just demonstrates that people see the Near West Side as a place to grow,” said Lindsey St. Arnold Bell, executive director of Near West Side Partners.
Sodexo, a global food and facilities management company, awarded $1,000 to Rashida Craig of Rashida’s Creations LLC, a wholesale and retail bakery.
“We’re going to work on marketing to get more customers on the website,” Craig said.
Brad Anthony Bernard pitched Bernard Art Studio and Westside Arts Collective, a retail, programming and work space for artists; and Carmelia Harris pitched Hustle to Overcome Athletics LLC, a fitness company with different types of training and group exercises.
A celebration of Near West Side businesses
The event kicked off with the Taste of the Near West Side, featuring free food and beverages from local businesses and past Rev-Up winners like Pete’s Pops and Lisa Kaye Catering.
TrueMan McGee, founder and owner of Funky Fresh Spring Rolls, hosted the event.
This year marks the seventh year of Rev-Up MKE and the 10th anniversary of Near West Side Partners. Over 60 businesses have opened in the area since 2014, according to St. Arnold Bell.
“We’re really proud of that work, and we know that there is still more to do to ensure that not only are businesses opening, but those that are here are thriving and have the resources we need to be successful,” he said.
Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
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