Surreal Media Lab doesn’t shy away from our status as a small business in Omaha. Part of what we do is bring the spotlight on other small businesses because we understand the dream and we know the struggle. In the last few years, Omaha has been expanding in every direction, which is good, but that can cause some challenges. Finding enough local contractors while competing with the larger national companies was creating imbalances that came to the attention of our client and frequent collaborator, the Omaha Chamber.
A few years back, we first teamed together with the Omaha Chamber’s then-new REACH Program to introduce the idea of working together with small businesses. REACH was there to break down the barriers and give the tools they need to be ready to grow and capitalize on the booming construction scene in the city and guide contractors to the next level. In the time since they have continued to develop more programs and a greater outreach under the guidance of Winsley Durand.
Now, the expanded REACH ‘Beyond‘ newly implemented a Mentoring Program that bridges that gap in an even simpler way. Bring together two reps from a larger and a smaller company and let their own mentorship develop on its own. We met with Winsley along with Kris Montgomery of McCarthy Construction and Mark Santo, owner of Mark VII to take part in their conversation about how big a change this made for them, and becoming the start of something greater.
