Cheyenne Brandt – HM Brandt LLC

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It was an offer she couldn’t refuse.

Cheyenne Brandt started her career working in geographic information systems after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but the job was unfulfilling.

Then her brother Austin came to her and asked her to join the family business, HM Brandt.

It wasn’t a hard decision. In 2020, Brandt became a partner of the company, which provides demolition, disposal and snow services.

“I have learned so much and continue to learn new things daily,” Brandt said. “Like I remember from my early days, it is often a challenge, as no two projects are exactly alike, but at the end of the day you can see your efforts going into making tangible progress toward goals and that feels really good.”

Since joining the family business, Brandy has taken it to a new level and launched a sister company called Creative Disposal, which handles dumpsters, trucking, transports and recycling operations.

“With being a smaller company she is a jack-of-all-trades and tackles any hurdle with ease within the construction industries,” said Amyjo Paddock, construction project coordinator with HM Brandt. “Cheyenne is an incredible problem solver. Her ability to stay calm and find out all the facts to resolve issues (is impressive).”

As a young person breaking into the industry, Brandt said there are some intergenerational challenges that come with the work.

“For one, there are a lot of older people who have been in construction their whole careers and communication styles and technology can be a barrier which I run into at times,” she said. “Also, being the only woman, or one of a handful, among a group of 20 or 30 men showing up to a job walk can be intimidating.

“Sometimes you aren’t taken seriously which can be frustrating when you are putting in the work.”