Mary B. Scheibel
Founding principal/chairperson
Scheibel Halaska Inc.
735 N. Water St., Suite 200, Milwaukee
Industry: Marketing and public relations
Revenue: $2.5 million
Employees: 14
Mary Scheibel created Scheibel Halaska Inc., a Milwaukee-based marketing and public relations firm, in a spare bedroom in her house 20 years ago. She has grown the company into a firm with $2.5 million in annual revenue and a prominent player in the city’s PR scene.
Scheibel is also a second term board member of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) as well as president-elect for the Council of Small Business Executives (COSBE) of the MMAC. Scheibel also served as the marketing chair of the Well City Initiative, is on the board of directors at Tempo Milwaukee and is on the board of directors at Central Legal.
Scheibel says one of her main goals is to maintain balance in her life. Scheibel takes a holistic approach to accomplishing this and saw many years ago she wanted to be both a success in business and in her family. To achieve balance, Scheibel said that a strong network of help and good faith are crucial.
Scheibel understands making both sacrifices and commitments. In order for Scheibel Halaska and her family to function she needed to make both. Time management is an asset crucial to Scheibel’s success.
“Our company could not sacrifice our values or integrity for the purpose of business,” said Scheibel, “My faith is extremely important as is being a strong business leader. I believe at the end of the day I must answer to the man at the pearly gates.”
Scheibel is an active member of her church and volunteers regularly with organizations and social service programs to help better the city of Milwaukee.
Scheibel established her own home as a safe house for children and women who needed help and the interactions with those less fortunate moved her to adopt an 8-year-old special needs child out of the foster care system.
Scheibel believes wisdom comes with age but credits improving her business by mixing old ideas with the new.
“It is important to surround yourself with young people,” said Scheibel, “Wisdom comes from being in business for a long time, and new up-and-comers can bring new ways of thinking and new innovations.”
