Getting started on a website for independant contractors

[LightningHelix]

Hello Gents,

I am completely new to starting a business online. But I have an idea for a project I would like to work on. I am here to show what my plan is and to look for a little bit of guidance, as their is still much I don't know.

The Idea:

Create a website designed to connect potential clients with independent contractors for home repairs and home projects. More specifically, I am looking for plumbers, electricians, masonists, woodworkers, handymen, etc and compiling them within the site. Each potential contractor will be screened beforehand to ensure that they are qualified and will not tarnish the name in the early stages. Clients who access the site will be able to contact local contractors for work. They can give written details and photographs that may help the contractor in knowing what he will need to do. The contractor may give a quote before the job. The site will charge a small "brokerage" fee for meeting the two together. The system will be something akin to Odesk or Elance, except (for now) restricted to a few major cities in Canada.

To Test:

I'm not sure if it will be an effective method, but my idea is to make ads in craigslist and various other online classifieds. I will make two type of ads:

1) Fake Client ads, seeking to have XX repaired, see who bites, this will give me a potential list of leads when I am looking to populate my list of contractors, also it will give me an idea what kind of supply/qualifications I will find in potential contractors.

2) Fake Contractor ads, this will allow me to judge how much supply of clientele there is and what type of problems they are encountering, this lets me know how feasible the whole idea is.

Where I'm stuck

Marketing Strategy

I'm not sure how to market this, I can figure brute force in craigslist, social media, etc is something I can do, but I don't feel like it will be enough. How do other people market a brand new concept online? Just pay google to feature it? I'm hoping to find a strategy that won't cost an extravagant amount of money.

Building a website

My knowledge of website building is pretty basic. The website I create will need to be able to take accounts, write feedback, and be a decent size. These things feel a little out of my league. I could spend my time learning to develop it from scratch, however, is it just better to outsource and have someone else do it?

I have all the energy and motivation ready, but past my test and contractor gathering, I don't know what I should do first. I guess just start constructing the site?

Hoping for someone who is experienced with this to chime in here.

Cheers!

 

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[Andy Black]

This is a two sided market. People seeking services, and the service providers.

It's a hard sell to get the service providers signed up. You can cold call them, but you will be one of many of these types of calls they get a week.

The way to get into the good books with the service provider is to bring them leads.

I suggest you start that side. See if you can generate some genuine leads, and when you get a lead, ring around to try and get someone to fulfill it.

You may not need a website to generate the lead.

You certainly don't need anything other than a lead gen landing page.

Honestly, just start. If you can't generate leads then there's no point continuing with that vertical/service, so move onto the next.

 

[LightningHelix]

This is a two sided market. People seeking services, and the service providers.

It's a hard sell to get the service providers signed up. You can cold call them, but you will be one of many of these types of calls they get a week.

The way to get into the good books with the service provider is to bring them leads.

I suggest you start that side. See if you can generate some genuine leads, and when you get a lead, ring around to try and get someone to fulfill it.

You may not need a website to generate the lead.

You certainly don't need anything other than a lead gen landing page.

Honestly, just start. If you can't generate leads then there's no point continuing with that vertical/service, so move onto the next.

That makes more sense to me now.

Start by finding people who need a solution, then find people to satisfy the need. Create relationships with contractors. So I can spend the next several months using craigslist ads to find actual leads and connecting them with contractors.

This is actually smarter, because now my fake ads become real lead generating tools that actually help both contractors and clients. (Whereas fake ads help no one but me.)

I may just start with freebies for the first few, just to get the feel for it. And figure out a price structure if I can generate some leads. Reason I want to convert to a website format eventually is because I want to allow the site to be self-sufficient for the most part, keeping trusted contractors and put my efforts to bringing in more leads. I don't see how I can make the system self-suffcient without a website eventually.

But baby steps...

 

[Andy Black]

Yes, baby steps.

Reason I want to convert to a website format eventually is because I want to allow the site to be self-sufficient for the most part, keeping trusted contractors and put my efforts to bringing in more leads. I don't see how I can make the system self-suffcient without a website eventually.

The website is just one way HOW. You could have a call-centre do all that in a mechanical-turk fashion. It works pretty good for Groupon.



You might want to read this:

• www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/creating-a-new-platform-community.58870/#post-445292

And this:

• www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/company-with-over-25m-users-folds.57359/

... and maybe consider paid search?


In which case you might want to read this:

• www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/how-to-get-profitable-or-fail-fast-with-adwords.59147

... and some of the posts linked to in my signature.


You might also find these podcasts interesting:

1. www.tropicalmba.com/consulting
2. www.tropicalmba.com/services
3. www.tropicalmba.com/7daystartup

Good luck!



EDIT: I really liked your last response... realising you're trying to help others first, and not yourself. Kudos.

 

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[LightningHelix]

Yes, baby steps.



The website is just one way HOW. You could have a call-centre do all that in a mechanical-turk fashion. It works pretty good for Groupon.



You might want to read this:

• www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/creating-a-new-platform-community.58870/#post-445292

And this:

• www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/company-with-over-25m-users-folds.57359/

... and maybe consider paid search?


In which case you might want to read this:

• www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/how-to-get-profitable-or-fail-fast-with-adwords.59147

... and some of the posts linked to in my signature.


You might also find these podcasts interesting:

1. www.tropicalmba.com/consulting
2. www.tropicalmba.com/services
3. www.tropicalmba.com/7daystartup

Good luck!



EDIT: I really liked your last response... realising you're trying to help others first, and not yourself. Kudos.

Such a wealth of knowledge, thank you very much!

Much reading ahead.

 

[AndyBogart]

Hi! I use WordPress, because this CMS is increasingly being used and better documented. If you create a website for business, also use the business website builders. If you are not familiar with these tools, start by reading the review on http://www.webbuildersguide.com/website-builder-categories/website-builders-for-business/. I hope that my post will be useful for all.Good luck!

 

[Lord Taco]

This reminds me of http://www.thumbtack.com/

 

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[Grinning-Jack]

generate leads

is a key point.

 

[JoeB]

In the UK we have RatedPeople.com and CheckATrade.com which do exactly what you are aiming to do.

I don't really have any advice to offer but thought mentioning those may help if you wanted to do research in case you can find out how they started and what they did etc.

Good luck with your project.

 

[Andy Black]

Maan. How poor is www.checkatrade.com ?

I am in Dublin and need to find a builder in Carlisle. I don't have the option to specify which location I want to find a builder... instead it is trying to determine it from my IP.

So they have spent time and money implementing a more complicated solution that is LESS useful for their market.

Double bonus.

 

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[Andy Black]

I'm going through the www.ratedpeople.com form fill. It's long, detailed, and ensures a great quality lead (I'm not going to fill it in unless I'm pretty serious).

HOWEVER, I get to the final page of the form and it insists I enter my phone number.

But won't accept an Irish phone number?!?!

Lads, ffs, I need a builder in the UK, but live in Ireland. Some landlords don't live in the same country as their property.

Also, I've just spent 10 minutes on my mobile filling in 99% of the form, for me to drop out because they want to ensure the phone number is valid. Errr... why would I get through all those pages of the form and NOT want someone to contact me?

OP... bear these frustrations in mind.

Back to Google and the Yellow Pages...

(I'm also asking people I know living in Carlisle - the age old trusted network method of finding tradesmen.)



EDIT: Yay... the competition are crap!

EDIT2: It's so enlightening being the consumer and having a problem/need. It's quite different from just doing competitor research and going through people's funnels and just noticing that I can't add my phone number.