Meet Shantae Brown
Shantae Brown exemplifies what People FirstUSI had in mind when it formed partnerships with the Norfolk community to help Tidewater Gardens residents survive and thrive.
Shantae Brown is happy to answer to the name ‘Boss Lady.’
Determined to become an entrepreneur so she could be her own boss, Shantae Brown opened a business, Aqua Green Cleaning Company & Lawn Care LLC, which specializes in residential, commercial, and post-construction clean-up, and landscaping. Her goal is to have a long roster of clients in the naval shipyard industry. Her road to success began in 2017, the year she started Aqua Green while juggling a full-time job in the naval shipyard. It was more hobby than business because she never made any money back then.
The pandemic forced the former Tidewater Gardens resident and mother of five to put her company on the back burner. That is, until People FirstUSI told her about the DreamBuilder program at Old Dominion University (ODU). Designed to help women fulfill their dreams of being successful entrepreneurs, the 12-week program offered at ODU’s Women’s Business Center at the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers guidance, business connections, mentors, and childcare assistance free to women enrolled. Childcare assistance was huge for Ms. Brown, saving her $300 every two weeks.
Ms. Brown graduated from DreamBuilder in April 2021. She credits the program with helping her to finally start making money at Aqua Green, which has five employees, and with providing the support she needed to earn several key certificates that will position her company to compete for large projects.
Ms. Brown holds a Virginia Value Veterans (V3) certification that qualifies her to hire veterans or their spouses, and the Small, Women and Minority-owned (SWaM) certification from Virginia’s Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity. Her company is listed in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 3 program that pairs certified contractors with business opportunities. And she is working to be certified as a woman-owned small business by the Small Business Administration.
“I’ve always wanted to be my own boss. Being able to take advantage of that program opened a whole lot of doors,” says Ms. Brown, who works closely with mentors to help her get to the next level. “After being in the class, I was able to build a much stronger foundation than what I had before. With DreamBuilder, the resources and help are beyond unbelievable. Everything is at your fingertips, but you have to want it and work for it.”
Ms. Brown’s mentors have no doubt she will accomplish her goals. She is called the poster child for what ODU envisioned when DreamBuilder was created.
Old Dominion University contributed to this report, including the photo of Ms. Brown.