CONTRACTOR SUCCESS STORIES III : MERON , INC
“ I established trust with the client by bringing the level of expertise necessary for the project ’ s complexity .” However , Isaac felt very uncertain about meeting the client ’ s insurance requirements and being able to finance the project costs . Noticing Isaac ’ s hesitation , Ron reached out . As Isaac explains , “ While the large contractors of the world have some great programs , they normally don ’ t go the extra mile to provide individualized help to a small contractor the way that Escobar Construction did for me . Ron understood the challenges we were going through because he had been there himself .” With assistance from Ron and CDABP staff , Isaac was able to secure the prerequisite commercial insurance and work through the funding issues . He was subsequently awarded contracts in Bakersfield and West Los Angeles for the National Cemetery Association , which have particular significance to him . “ Ron and I are both vets , so we take great pride in restoring military facilities . We also both care about helping and enhancing the community as part of our work .”
Issac credits enrolling in the Contractor Development and Bonding Program with showing him the value of networking and collaborating with others . “ I ’ m a technical , detail-oriented engineer not an extrovert or salesperson , so I was not very good at networking . Being in the Program helped me to see that in this environment , networking
Ron Escobar , President and CEO , Escobar Construction who partnered with and mentored Meron , Inc .
and collaborating can give me opportunities to learn from other people ’ s strengths while they can also benefit from mine . In today ’ s environment , it ’ s even more important to enhance our interpersonal relationships regardless of politics and trends to focus on supporting and helping each other , doing our part to create more opportunity .”
He is extremely grateful to Ron Escobar for taking the time to help him navigate the obstacles that might otherwise have held him back . “ You cannot jump from private sector projects into large government contracting projects without
24 - imwis . com