Two Businesses awarded $50,000 Grand Prize Packages in the Downtown Billings Battle of the Plans competition.

Tiffany Miller-O’Brien, owner of Frae EveryDay Goods, has been named the winner in our 2024 Battle of the Plans’ Expanding Business category. Her winning business plan consists of expanding her existing business Frae EveryDay Goods, located in the Shiloh Commons, into a second downtown Billings location called Frae Collective.

Tiffany Miller O'Brien pitching Frae Collective in front of a live audience at ArtHouse Cinema for the Battle of the Plans Pitch Competition

Frae Collective will provide customers with a variety of sustainable goods and services for daily living, including locally sourced food items, eco-friendly household goods, health and beauty products, artisanal crafts, along with workshops and events that promote sustainability and educate the community on the importance of supporting local businesses. Her plan cited a report by Nielsen, showing that nearly 73% of global consumers are willing to change their consumption habits to reduce their environmental impact. With consumers increasingly prioritizing local products that support their communities and economies, local retail options like Frae aim to provide the Billings consumer with the fresher, higher-quality goods and a connection to local artisans and producers that they are wanting.

Pete Lee pitching Pete's Meats live in front of a crowed at ArtHouse Cinema for the Battle of the Plans Pitch Competition.

Miller O’Brien is one of two Grand Prize winners in 2024 Downtown Billings’ Battle of the Plan business plan competition. Pete Lee, a passionate butcher, won the New Business Category with his business plan for Pete’s Meats. Pete’s Meats is a premium, traditional butcher shop for downtown Billings that will provide high-quality, ethically sourced meats to the community. Both businesses have already started the process of looking for their downtown Billings locations. Both businesses have been awarded a Battle of the Plans Grand Prize package with an estimated value of over $50,000. $40,000 of the grand prize package includes reimbursable funds toward eligible business expenses.

“We know these two businesses will be amazing additions to downtown Billings, but I truly believe that all the businesses that competed in this year’s Battle of the Plans competition would be welcomed and find success downtown.”

– Katy Schreiner, CEO of Downtown Billings

The Battle of the Plans Business Plan Competition was created initially in 2016 as a program to help attract multiple new retail businesses to our Downtown Billings Expanded Tax Increment District (TIFD), to strengthen our already established business base, and fill available retail space with new business base, and fill available retail space with new businesses that complement the existing mix and highlight the potential for businesses to stand out. The 2024 Battle of the Plans program concluded with 12 detailed business plans competing for the Grand Prize packages. There are a few participants from the Battle of the Plans program primed and ready to explore the next step of finding the location for their businesses. We have notably low ground floor vacancies in downtown Billings right now, and the spaces that are available are much larger than the majority of new small business owners are looking for. Mehmet Casey, our Development Director has been focused on connecting and bridging conversations with property owners and business owners to help find solutions to that challenge and match up businesses with locations around our TIFD.

The 12 businesses who competed in the final phase of the 2024 Battle of the Plans included:

EXPANDING BUSINESS CATEGORY:

WINNER: Frae Collective, Tiffany Miller O’Brien
2nd Place: Confetti Heart Studio, Beth Zitur
Sweetwater Cafe, Katie Harrison

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