Omaha small business owners can apply by Aug. 14 for a pilot program that teaches practical AI skills for marketing, customer outreach, and business growth. Breakthrough 402, run by Grant McGaugh's company 5 Star BDM, will accept 10 businesses for the initial cohort.
The program focuses on turning AI into a working tool rather than a buzzword. Participants will learn to create marketing content, automate customer follow-ups, and build an AI assistant trained on their own business data.
What the program covers
McGaugh, CEO of 5 Star BDM, said the program gives small businesses three concrete advantages. "Number one is speed, speed to market. It'll give you that, as well as communication modalities, that can be text, that can be, images, that can be video, and then that can be done at scale. So those three things, speed, communication, and scale, is what AI does for a small business."
For marketing professionals, the skills taught in this program mirror the broader shift toward AI-assisted content production. The AI Learning Path for Marketing Managers covers similar ground for those who want structured training beyond the Omaha pilot. Marketing teams can also explore AI for Marketing resources that address content creation and customer engagement at scale.
Who should apply
The program targets Omaha small businesses that want to reach more customers without adding headcount. Organizers are looking for owners who are ready to apply AI tools directly to their marketing and sales operations.
Business owners can sign up at 5starbdm.com. The application deadline is Aug. 14.
Why this matters for marketing professionals
For marketers, the practical takeaway is that AI adoption no longer requires a technical background or a large budget. The program's focus on speed, communication, and scale addresses the three bottlenecks most small marketing teams face: producing content quickly, reaching customers across multiple channels, and doing both without expanding the team. If you're in marketing, the question is no longer whether to use AI tools, but which workflows to automate first.
Your membership also unlocks:
