After we renovated our Airbnb, I wanted to connect with businesses in our community to offer more to our guests. The property wasn’t in a touristy area, so the idea was to encourage locals to plan a little getaway close to home. I had the space ready. What I needed were the right services, products and experiences to bring it to life.
That’s when I realised how hard they were to find. I didn’t know who was out there. I wasn’t even sure what to search for. I just wanted to browse my own community. Not scroll through social media. Not bounce between websites. Not guess the right keywords.
The more I researched, the clearer it became. Nothing out there was made for finding and supporting the businesses in your community. The tools we use were built for something else entirely. Search engines find information. Social media keeps us up to date with friends. Video apps keep us entertained. None of them were made to answer two simple questions. Who around here does this, or sells this? And just as important: who do people actually recommend?
That second question is ignored everywhere. Before we spend our money, we want to hear from people who’ve been there. But anyone can leave a review online, and fake ones can be bought by the hundred. Ask in a community group and you get a pile of random answers. Asking for a recommendation is one of the most basic things people do, and nothing was built for it.
So I built it. I’ve spent more than twenty years organising things, and this was the thing that needed organising. On Bizbie, only customers can recommend. Every recommendation comes from a verified person who bought that exact item through the app.
Then I looked at what businesses are offered instead. Pay us to build your SEO. Pay us to get you seen on social media. It adds up fast, and the smallest businesses feel it most. So Bizbie has one flat, fair price.