Just two years into business, Sky Blue Builders was close to shutting its doors. It was 2009 and the custom home builder was feeling the squeeze of the sinking housing market. Founder and CEO Mowa Haile knew his company needed to pivot, so he turned to the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center (Denver Metro SBDC).
Haile took advantage of transportation-focused programming and consulting in order to change his trajectory from custom homes to the federal infrastructure market.
“With over a year and a half of monthly meetings with the SBDC, I was able to redefine our lines of business, our marketing strategy and grow the business,” Haile recalled.
After working with consultants to better understand the certification process, he had to navigate the procurement processes and get his foot in the door of government contracts. And he did. Sky Blue Builders now has about 50 employees and produced over $15 million in revenue for 2015.
Haile took advantage of Connect2Dot, a partnership between the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Colorado SBDC network that works to open doors for small businesses interested in bidding on projects with CDOT. Connect2Dot offers one-on-one consulting, business training and online resources that explain the certification process so that small transportation and construction businesses can attain their certification and connect with larger contractors.
“The goal is to leverage the deep business expertise within the SBDC network and the technical knowledge of industry partners to develop minority… women-owned and other small business contractors into viable, self-sufficient and sustainable organizations capable of competing for and performing on federally-assisted highway projects,” said Cathy Kramer, program manager of Connect2Dot.
Haile said he was able to work one-on-one with consultants to learn how to put together the information needed to pitch clients. This knowledge also helped Haile adapt the business to other sectors during the
recession.
Programming with CDOT and the SBDC continues to grow, including the addition of the annual Leading Edge for Transportation and Construction, which was created in 2015 to help small businesses grow and be successful on bidding transportation and construction projects.
Through networking at the Denver Metro SBDC and Chamber, Haile also forged a mentoring relationship with John Beeble, chairman of Saunders Construction.
“Mentorship makes you a better company. People talk about giving back – what better way to give back then to help ensure another organization becomes great?” Beeble said. “(Mowa) has a high degree of integrity … he is someone you want to help and see succeed.”
Olivia Rollene is the marketing and program coordinator for the Denver Metro SBDC.
This was originally published in the Spring Issue of Business Altitude. Click here to read the full issue.