Peter: It actually resonates even more with me in Spanish than in English. Particularly because the expression ‘Abriendo Caminos’ has so many different meanings and it’s in a lot of songs as well.

In either language, it’s about access — access to resources, to people, to communities… What I’ve seen over the last two years has been this incredible post-Covid acceleration of small businesses, particularly small businesses from diverse communities. So, if we can even play a small part in helping those diverse businesses accelerate and ramp up, it’s something that’s very exciting for us to work on. And clearly our advertising partners are lining up behind it as well.

Craig: Open Doors is all about going and supporting small businesses, which make this entire country stronger. We know that small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy.

People think that big companies are, and we certainly need those jobs, of course. Those are millions of jobs. But small businesses in our communities are the engine of this country’s prosperity.

And so many of these businesses are owned by new immigrants, people of color, just hard-working people who are finding a niche that may be unserved in their neighborhood, a gap they’re filling, whether it be a grocery store, restaurant, bookstore, or an insurance office. We know that minority owned small businesses were hit disproportionately hard during the pandemic. We also know that they are such a vital part of small businesses overall. So, with Open Doors, it all just comes together, by being in service to underrepresented communities that are helping as an engine for everyone in the U.S.

Peter: Within our ad sales team, we recently launched an entire division focused on small and medium-sized businesses. So, if you think about something like the Olympics, for example, and who the big advertisers were in the past. The Olympics were basically a place for big brands to be able to strut their stuff, show what their brand values were, and really connect with audiences. But now we have the democratization of these different programs through digital streaming, which makes it possible for people with smaller budgets to advertise. And, for the first time ever, NBCUniversal is actually allowing programmatic advertising in the Olympics. This means small businesses, that purchase advertising in small quantities programmatically, will now be able to appear in the biggest event of the year.

Craig: There was a time, not so long ago, that participation in something like the Olympics was really limited to people who had five, six, or seven-digit budgets. But now, as Peter said, it has been democratized, because we have multiple platforms.

Peter: One of the big things that I came away with after the Upfronts, was just the sheer scale of the footprint of NBCUniversal. The fact that we are touching and talking to more people in the United States than any other media company every single day.

Coming out of these presentations, I was thinking — Wow, look at all the things we have. How do we leverage them even more? How do we pull elements of these different programs and tools into other corners of our company?

One that comes to mind is working more closely with our news division. I know in the past we’ve been able to shine a light on some of the small businesses. But is there a way to have a more frequent presence, particularly using our digital and social platforms? Is there a way for us to expand our relationship with Telemundo even further? Can we lean into our theme parks? Perhaps create an event where we host different communities at different times of the year?

Craig: Comcast, which is NBCUniversal’s parent company, is fantastic in terms of technology. Meaning we have the power of a cable company behind us. One that operates in hundreds of markets and has helped businesses grow and thrive in those markets, by showing them ways to do that through local advertising. Sometimes homegrown stores can’t afford network ads. But they can afford ads on the local cable channel.

Peter: Aside, from leveraging Open Doors/Abriendo Caminos, I would say my favorite saying is “luck favors perseverance.” If you keep knocking on enough doors and you’re relentless in your pursuit and your dreams – because entrepreneurialism is based on dreaming as well – keep knocking on enough doors and one will open.

Craig: The short answer is — You have to be deliberate. You have to recognize the need for it. You have to recognize that perhaps you’re too insular and you need more voices. And then you have to put together a plan for who those voices are going to be. Easier said than done, especially with a small family company, where there’s such a tight circle of trust and maybe not the infrastructure. But I just think the acknowledgement that in order to really grow, you have to have other voices in your ears.

Peter: Actually, it’s a very personal question. I started a small business when I was in college, a catering company And I quickly learned that it’s very, very difficult to grow and launch a small business.

Yes, I was doing catering, but along with that there was marketing. There was payroll. There was procurement of goods. All these different things which have nothing to do with actually preparing the meals. That’s what was very eye opening. And, as a result, I’ve always had a very soft spot in my heart for small business.

Then, about 15 years ago, my husband created a small business of his own. So, every day I come home and hear the joys of working and running a small business. And, to me, it looks like it hasn’t gotten any easier.

Craig: Small businesses played a very big role in my worldview. I grew up in Echo Park, near downtown Los Angeles. Before Echo Park was hip. You had lots of little family-owned stores on multiple blocks and that is what I saw because we were not within walking distance of a large grocery store. So, when I needed to go pick up something from my mom for dinner, I would walk to a store. They were generally owned by a Hispanic family, a Korean American family, or some other family… And there was a real recognition of how that store was our lifeline to some degree. That formed a lens I have to this day.