Bubbers, Providing a Respectable Living Wage
Seattle Ascend Alum grows with community in mind
by Martha Flores Perez
What happens when local businesses are resourced by the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business? The answer is that the whole community wins. An example is Bubbers, which engages in a horizontal business market approach. It is a general contractor specializing in construction cleaning, janitorial maintenance, and all phases of construction carpentry and construction ongoing through final cleaning, anti-graffiti services, and traffic safety control. They provide quality services and living wages for the King County residents they hire. Delton Johnson, Director of Operations, says, “I believe we must have a balanced approach; some things are seasonal, some are year-round, some take different skill sets, education, training. And so, one of our goals is to hire people from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds. So, what can I do to facilitate a company that doesn’t require a degree.” Bubbers provides work opportunities for people looking for flexibility.
Delton and his team completed management education programs at Foster’s Consulting and Business Development Center (CDBC). Ascend Seattle, a CBDC program is a construction industry-focused ecosystem. Hoffman Construction recommended one of its trade partners, Bubbers, LLC, to join the program in 2018. The company has grown from $160,000 to $1.5 million in 2021 and is poised for further growth. Bubber’s motto is “For a cleaner environment and safer community”, keeping the community in mind as they expand their business. Besides completing Ascend Seattle, Delton has also participated in the Minority Business Executive Program.
In managing a small business, Delton does not have much time available, so he needs to consider his time investments wisely. Upon joining Ascend Seattle, he prioritized networking with the other business participants and the host institution. Procurement opportunities are his foreseeable return on investing his time. It is Ascend Seattle’s goal to prepare businesses, like Delton’s, for those contract opportunities to understand scalability. From his last interaction in Ascend Seattle, he was introduced to JPMorgan Chase presenters which led to an outside conversation on Bubber’s financial goals. Since then, Bubbers has been able to secure a loan from JPMorgan Chase to purchase their first commercial building. JPMorgan Chase is a sponsor of the Ascend program.
Delton Johnson, Director of Operations at Bubbers.
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