Blair Freeman Group is a construction and real-estate firm in Omaha, Nebraska. For Ashley Kuhn, being a Black woman in an industry typically dominated by white males is something she doesn’t take lightly.

The company started when one of Kuhn’s friends wanted to build an ice cream shop. “Of all the developments I had done, that project was a nightmare,” says Kuhn. Her friend ran into trouble with the city, contractors, and suppliers and called Kuhn, who had 15 years of real estate experience, to help. They worked together and got through the process. Once finished, they realized that so many people deal with the same issues. After talking it through, they decided to start their own construction/real estate firm.

Kuhn understands that starting a business can be scary, especially when people overthink it. “When we over plan, we begin to talk ourselves out of things.” However, Kuhn credits her network of friends, family, coworkers, and people in the construction and real estate industry for supporting them. “The industry welcomed us with open arms. There are not many people of color or women in my industry, so people were excited when they decided to start Blair Freeman Group.”

It took around nine months to find out who, what, and why they wanted to start the Blair Freeman Group. “A lot of it was jumping and building the plane after we jumped. I really liked that because it helped us grow in an authentic way,” says Kuhn.

One of Blair Freeman Group’s values is transparency. Their vision is to make getting into construction and real estate a lot easier for people to do development. Kuhn says, “I wanted it to be transparent so that we allowed people to be in the driver’s seat of their project.”

Construction is confusing and expensive, and the idea of someone spending their own money and not knowing where their money went, not being aware of the schedule, budget, or the contractors working on the project is mind-blowing for Kuhn. Transparency is key.

While maintaining transparency, they also want to be accessible and create an impact in their community. For Kuhn, being black and a woman is not something you commonly see in her industry. “It is hard for minorities to get into construction because some people think we do not know what we are talking about. For us, being able to open those doors at a company level is important.”

Creating a positive impact in the North and South Omaha communities is something Kuhn takes pride in. Being a part of conversations centered around community development and their future is something the Blair Freeman Group values deeply.

The company has carved out its own lane. They do not have to treat each project the same way; they can be fluid in looking at things creatively and innovatively, which gives them a competitive advantage over companies that have been around for decades.

When it comes to starting a new venture, Kuhn advises collaboration over competition because you can learn from each other's mistakes. “If you are good at what you do, you do not have to worry about another company taking your market share," says Kuhn.

Blair Freeman Group has and will continue to be transparent, accessible and create an impact in the Omaha community.