Business Feature: Level Up Construction, LLC

RIBBA’s mission is made possible by a stellar community of businesses, staff, volunteers, and supporters. We’d like to place a spotlight on one of the members of this incredible network: Level Up Construction, LLC. 

Urcella Isom is the founder and president of Level Up Construction, LLC, a Black and women owned business that focuses on general contracting in both the residential and commercial realms. Urcella’s journey to business ownership in construction consisted of many twists and turns along the way between pursuing different business paths as well as working as a laborer, which lends to her expertise and commitment to changing the landscape of the construction field. As is the case with many businesses, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other people of color) owned businesses in particular, a barrier for Level Up Construction, LLC is access to critical financial and operational resources to help propel the business to the next level of growth. Some additional obstacles as a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other people of color) entrepreneur is that in some communities, there is more questioning about competency and ability to deliver high quality results.  

Photo by Leo Selvaggio, RIBBA Volunteer Photographer

Urcella is grateful for the support of RIBBA, as the opportunities afforded to her and her business through the organization have been meaningful and impactful. As a busy and highly mobile business owner in construction, her time is limited, but as a next step she would like to explore more ways to get involved with the organization. Additionally, as some particular areas of need in terms of support, Urcella has identified business counseling and capacity building resources as the next step to facilitate growth and advancement. As someone who began the entrepreneurship journey officially just months before the pandemic, Urcella is very aware of the challenges associated with balancing life responsibilities and taking this narrow path of business ownership that requires deep courage and tenacity. Her recommendation to those aspiring to a similar journey is: “although it is not as easy as people think [to run a business], if there is a fire burning within, it is achievable, just follow the necessary steps and go for it”. She also believes and practices the adage “it takes a village” knowing the power of community; and is deeply grateful to her family for their support and partnership and belief in bringing her vision into action. 

For more information about Level Up Construction, LLC, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/100412291766287/posts/320363819771132/ 

For more information about RIBBA, please visit: https://ri-bba.org/  

About the author: Stephanie Mireku is RIBBA’s volunteer Content Writer and works with businesses, volunteers, and community members to highlight their and RIBBA’s work. Her passion for writing of all kinds, and background in English and Business Administration fueled her interest in combining these areas through the Content Writer role. Stephanie first became involved with RIBBA through the LEAP Mentoring program as a mentee in the 2021 cohort. She is enthusiastic about relationship building, mission centric creativity, social impact, and philanthropy, and puts this into action through various outlets including her work as an Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at Providence College.