December 30, 2021 – 

Some might call Sierra RyanWallick an overachiever

She’s raised nearly $100,000 over the past 14 years – most of it going to the Forgotten Cats animal rescue service in Greenville – through AutumLeaf Fundraisers, which sells handmade items at community events made by volunteers (200 so far). In 2020, she co-founded a business that focuses on reducing the 10 million tons of fabric thrown away every year in the United States. Meanwhile, she’s also spent the last few years on the University of Delaware’s First Year Experience Common Reader Committee and as a judge for the Diamond Challenge.

In 2016, she received the Jefferson Award for Outstanding National or Global Service by Young Americans. She later received a Diana Award, which recognizes humanitarian work and community action in the spirit of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. More recently, she won both the post-revenue track of the University of Delaware’s 2021 Hen Hatch funding competition and the 2021 Great Dames Remarkable Ideas Pitch Competition.

Now here’s the kicker: Sierra RyanWallick is a 24-year-old undergraduate at UD who took a gap year after high school to battle Lyme disease and related symptoms. So, yes, she started AutumnLeaf at age 10 and launched UP Cycle Design to repurpose used items headed for a landfill as a college sophomore.

UP Cycle took off through UD’s Horn Entrepreneurship Summer Founders program as an enhancement to an idea that RyanWallick had worked on through the Clinton Global Initiative University. She and co-founder Michelle Yatvitskiy, a UD fashion and design student, are creating decorative iron-on patches to cover stains and holes, cloth stickers for laptops and wall art from clothing donations.

They have been sourcing material from New York-based FABSCRAP, which obtains textile waste from factories. RyanWallick handles the operations side – including fabric sourcing and building a strong advisory board – while Yatvitskiy designs and produces the patches. Their mission is to create affordable, upcycled products with a transparent process while supporting community causes. Their goal? To align each design with a social-justice issue and donate a percentage of the proceeds to that charity.

“We see ourselves as a scalable, for-profit business with a social mission,” RyanWallick said said. “We have an incredible [20-person] advisory group, and we’re trying to raise money and awareness from various pitch competitions.”

During the inaugural UD MakerGym and Horn Entrepreneurship Make It Happen Challenge in Spring 2021, for example, UP Cycle won an award package that included a $3,248 grant for supplies and materials.

RyanWallick and Yatvitskiy also have been connecting with local organizations like the Small Business Development Center. Throughout, they’ve asked a lot of questions.

One thing RyanWallick’s learned is that only 30% of the donations to roadside Goodwill collection bins end up being used, which opens a sourcing opportunity with Goodwill given the increase in volume as people have cleaned out their closets during the pandemic. She also was introduced by former New Castle County Economic Development Director Tamarra Morris Foulkes to The Warehouse, a collaborative workspace run by teens for teens and overseen by the REACH Riverside nonprofit in Wilmington. There, she’s run two LevelUP entrepreneurship, sustainability and design program cohorts through which students create patches and prepare them for market.

RyanWallick sees herself as an “activator and a connector.”

“I identify problems and then act to solve them,” she said. “I also have a large network and help introduce people who may need co-founders or help on a specific project. But that’s what I do. What makes my heart sing is being a mentor – being a listening ear and encouraging people, particularly high schoolers. The power of that conversation can drive long-lasting change.”

To that end, a project she completed for a UD course with Spur Impact led to the launch of a pilot mentoring program to pair millennials with members of Generation Z. Its success led RyanWallick to intern with the organization and transform that pilot into Impact Mentoring, which pairs individuals from any generation to function as thought partners for one another rather than serve in traditional mentor-mentee roles.

• What’s the question you wish more people would ask themselves? I think you need to be constantly checking in with yourself and asking where you’re at. You need to be more inward-focused than outward-focused to avoid burnout. If I don’t ask myself those questions on a regular basis, I get out of sync.
• What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received? It actually came from Ryan Holiday’s “The Daily Stoic” podcast. He said there’s a difference between being aware and being anxious. You may be working on things that never come to fruition, but you have to keep reminding yourself not to be anxious about that. I’ve spent a lot of time reminding myself and others about that, and it’s changed my life.
• How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your creativity? I’m immunocompromised, so [self-isolating gave] me the opportunity to work full-time on projects and the space to try new things. I started a YouTube channel in August 2020 – which I’ve wanted to do for six or seven years – and have learned to edit videos. All the extra time [was] like a retreat.
• Is there a particular place in Delaware that fuels your creativity? I do my best thinking walking the trails of White Clay Creek in both Delaware and Pennsylvania. The Newark Reservoir is also a beautiful place.
• You have a lot on your plate. Is it difficult to say “no” to new opportunities? I’ve gotten better at saying “no” this year. I wrote down everything that I was doing and identified the things that made me happy, the ones where I provided value and that I’m good at. I left one job but started a new one.
• What do you do when you’re feeling overwhelmed? I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not a healthy college student. After starting UP Cycle Design, it was challenging to find the right balance between that and my schoolwork. When I feel overwhelmed or burned out, I need to get back into sync. I need to reduce the number of stimuli on my system, so I put away the electronics and let my mind wander. I try to do things like mediation, free thinking or even journaling.

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

November 18, 2021 – 

While many small businesses closed their doors in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Delaware native and 2021 CMA New Artist of the Year Jimmie Allen was opening doors and contributing to the First State’s economy.

During his keynote speech at the 2021 Millennial Summit, Allen explained how he employed more than 50 people by delving into the transportation business.

“I know nothing about dump trucks,” Allen admitted. “But we got six dump trucks and hired people that drive them.”

Allen’s companies Sussex Septic, Role On Transportation, and Del Made gave people jobs when there were few to be found. The multi-platinum performer said these new investments are part of his plan to build an “empire.”

“The empire I’m trying to create isn’t just for me,” Allen said. “It’s to create jobs for family, for friends, and for other people.”

Allen, who grew up in Milton, Del., broke into the country music scene in 2018. That year, his singles “Best Shot” and “Make Me Want To” both hit #1 on the Billboard Country Music Airplay chart and went platinum. Since then, his duet “This Is Us” with Noah Cyrus has gone gold and he’s released “Freedom Was a Highway” with Brad Paisley – the video for which shows Allen wearing Del Made logos.

In 2021, he won New Male Artist of the Year at the American Country Music Awards – the first Black solo performer to win this award. He also created and headlined the Bettie James Fest concert event in Milton, published a children’s book called “My Voice is a Trumpet” and joined Season 30 of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

“For me, it’s about expanding,” Allen said. “The reason why you expand is because, if your foundation is narrow, once you get to a certain height, it tips over.”

He explained that the wider the foundation, the higher up he can go.

“If you expand your foundation, you have no choice but to go up,” he said.

Allen went to Delaware State University and later the University of Delaware to get a “degree in people.”

“I knew I wanted to be an entertainer, so I needed to understand how different types of people move,” he said.

Once he got that “degree,” he told his family he was moving to Nashville.

“They said, ‘When?’ I said, ‘Tomorrow,’” Allen recalled. “So, I packed up my little Chevy Malibu and went to Walmart and bought an air mattress. I had $21 in my bank account.”

That’s when his journey began.

After stopping at random locations along the way where he could use computers to search for living quarters, he found a trailer on 18 acres he could rent, but the electricity wasn’t turned on.

“I had no money to turn it on,” he said. But he quickly realized that he didn’t need electricity because he would only be there to sleep.

After living there for a while, the owner decided to sell the trailer for $300. Unfortunately, Allen couldn’t afford to purchase it, so he moved into his car.

“The car situation really wasn’t that bad,” Allen said. “That’s just ‘right now.’ I never really worried about ‘right now.’ To me it’s all about where you want to go and the sacrifice you gotta make to get there.”

Allen was working at a gym where he could wash his clothes, exercise, and meet people.

“I worked in a snack bar, so I borrowed food to eat,” he laughed. “I started networking. I met Christian artists, country artists, and started spending time talking to them at the gym.”

He began learning the difference between business and networking, talent and drive.

“Talent is 10 percent of what you want to get out of life,” he said. “The other 90 percent is being able to withstand the word ‘no.’”

Through this experience, he developed the philosophy of never staying at a job longer than six months.

“What happens is, if you’re at a job for six months and you’re financially comfortable, and you can take care of yourself and your family, you feel like that’s it, that you’ve made it,” Allen said. “To me, making it is the internal success, and internal success comes from what makes you completely happy. If you’re making $100 a month or $1 million a month, it doesn’t matter, as long as you’re happy.”

He never wanted to settle for being comfortable while chasing his dream. He wanted to reach his goals on his own terms.

“One consistent thing over my journey – and if you talk to anyone who is successful – it’s following your own path,” he said. “Do what makes you happy no matter what the circumstances.”

He focused on his goal and never gave up.

“Life has obstacles all the time,” Allen said. “But it’s not about the obstacles, it’s how you’re going to get through it, around it or over it.”

Allen auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” and appeared briefly on Season 10 of “American Idol,” but didn’t get his big breakthrough on either show. Finally, in 2016 – nearly 10 years after he arrived in Nashville – he was invited to a Writer’s Round. Allen explained there were three songwriters on the stage, and each one performed songs they had written either for themselves or someone else. Participating was an easy decision to make after hearing the perks.

“I found out they were going to pay me $200,” he said, “and I got a free meal.”

When the session concluded, Ash Bowers — co-founder of Wide Open Music — approached Allen.

“He said, ‘Who are you signed to?’” Allen recalled. “I said, ‘Nobody.’”

Bowers explained he was the owner of a small publishing company, but offered to introduce Allen to anyone in town he wanted to meet.

“I said, ‘Tell me more about you,’” Allen said. “What I liked about Ash is, he had a small company, but he believed in me, and that’s the biggest thing.”

After hearing about Ash’s publishing company, Allen signed with Bowers. And the rest is history.

“It took me 10 years to get a record deal, but I compare that to trying to be a doctor or nurse,” he said. “That takes forever, too.”

With all his success, Allen hasn’t forgotten where he came from.

“Delaware made me,” Allen said. “If I hadn’t grown up here how I grew up, I don’t think I’d be where I am.”

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

October 14, 2021 –

Christine Meyer was just 11 when she started working in the family business. Her parents began Battaglia Electric Inc. in their Wilmington, Delaware, home, and Meyer often answered the business phone.

Today, she and her sister, Jennifer Battaglia, have majority ownership of Battaglia Electric. But their baby is New Castle-based Battaglia Associates Inc. (BAI), which their mother started.

Delaware Born & Raised

Meyer and Battaglia have had excellent role models. Their parents — Gene Battaglia, an IBEW 313 electrician, and his wife, Jean — started Battaglia Electric in 1981 to focus on heavy commercial and industrial clients.

Meyer went to St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where she studied business. She and her husband briefly lived in Florida, but she missed Delaware and returned to the family business in 1996. Jennifer Battaglia, who received a degree in education from Neumann University, taught second grade at Our Lady of Fatima School before joining Battaglia Electric in 2004.

In 2007, the women partnered to breathe new life into BAI. Meyer earned her real estate license with an eye on flipping properties. “Then,” she says, “the market flopped.”

It was 2008, the year that the Case-Shiller home price index reported the largest drop in history.

BAI has come a long way since the sisters rekindled the dormant company in 2007. Much of its growth has come in the last few years. For instance, BAI’s revenue soared from $2 million in 2015 to more than $46 million in 2019.

The partners learned to pivot long before the expression became a pandemic buzzword. Initially focused on real estate, the company now is a general contracting firm specializing in heavy commercial and industrial contracting.

Their decision to leverage their background has paid off. BAI ranked fifth on the 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/-Led Companies of 2020 list and appeared again on the 2021 list. The Women Presidents’ Organization compiles the list of women-owned businesses annually in collaboration with American Express.

The rankings are based on a sales growth formula that combines percentage and absolute growth. Businesses must be privately held, woman-owned or women-led and have annual revenues of at least $500,000 as of 2015 and every subsequent year.

Paving the Way to Progress

Small jobs kept the company afloat and given the women’s contacts through Battaglia Electric, it’s not surprising that they involved industrial construction.

“We realized that we had something amazing,” says Meyer, the company’s president. “I didn’t know anything about flipping real estate, but I did know about industrial construction – this was the industry we grew up in.”

In late 2015, BAI had two security projects at substations. By the end of 2016, the company had 10 projects and did $2 million in business.

Today, BAI’s services include security infrastructure design and installation, UL-certified panel prefabrication, substation construction, Betafence installation, security power distribution, project management, maintenance, integrated project delivery and low-voltage/structured cabling/fiber optics. Given the demand for excavation, the company purchased a frequent contractor in 2019 to bring that service in-house.

A Broad Reach

BAI’s clients include PECO, PSE&G, M&T Bank, West Chester University, University of Delaware, Johnson Controls Inc. and Whiting-Turner. BAI is an Exelon “contractor of choice” and has benefited from Exelon’s strong commitment to diversity.

Meyer and Battaglia have smartly pursued certification programs. While waiting for the housing market to rebound, they become certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Not only is the company led by women, but women are among the 40 employees – which is uncommon in its male-dominated industry.

In New Castle, BAI rents space from Battaglia Electric. For now, they are separate entities.

“We still do our own thing, but when we need electrical help, we know where to get it,” says Meyer.

Her husband, Jim, runs Battaglia Electric. Not all BAI’s electrical projects are subcontracted to Battaglia Electric, though, which creates some interesting conversations around the dinner table, Meyer says.

From BAI’s Delaware and Maryland offices, the company can serve clients in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“Delaware is centrally located, with seven major utility companies in the Mid-Atlantic,” Meyer notes. “This puts our company in a great position to service them.”

The sisters are happy to be headquartered in their home state.

“Delaware has a small-town feel, yet several major cities are within reach,” Meyer says. “In a little over two hours, you can see a Broadway show and grab a cheesesteak in Philly on the way home or stop at the Jersey Shore.”

If heading south, you can stop at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor before hitting D.C. But unless she’s traveling for work, you’re not likely to find Meyer heading in either direction.

“Most of the time,” she says, “I prefer to just stay in Delaware and go to a local spot to eat, where I am bound to see a friend or two.”

Stay Up To Date With Delaware