Austin, TX (PRWEB) March 5, 2010 -- Today, Austin-based BidModo launched public beta of its online small business marketplace that connects buyers with vendors, identifying business needs and automating bid and matching processes. BidModo is live nationally, with active connections in over 100 different business service categories happening in over 80 cities. BidModo will officially roll out focused cities once reaching critical mass of that city’s local databases of vendors. The first city to officially roll out, effective today, is Austin Texas, bringing companies together with the right service providers for their jobs. BidModo expects to formally “turn on” additional cities at a rapid clip.
BidModo was started by three independent business owners who themselves were frustrated with both sides of the equation – finding the right partner for business tasks at hand, and being found by companies who needed their services. Especially in these tough economic times, business owners need to find cheaper and more efficient ways to run their companies.
“Prior to BidModo, I ran a video production company,” said founder Toby Schwartz. “I would regularly hear of companies in town turning to New York or San Francisco to hire for their video needs. And I can’t tell you how many times I’d meet people in Austin who would comment that they wished they knew I was here. It was time for a simple technology, an online market place, to connect businesses in a better way. That’s why we started BidModo.”
According to VISA, every year 25 million US small businesses spend $5.3 trillion on products and services with over 34% dedicated to core business services, such as legal, accounting and insurance. Most business owners prefer to partner with local vendors with 64% using search engines, local search sites and directories to find partners, according to a TMP Report. On the vendor side, businesses are spending over $7 billion yearly on local online advertising, per Borell Associates, and are currently allocating 61% of their lead generation budget to online sources according to EConsultancy. That’s a lot of time and money, on both sides, ripe to be saved, or made, by automating the process through a marketplace like BidModo.
Business owners getting what they need in their own backyard
Everyday small business owners are trying to find and engage with outside vendors, whether a tax accountant once a year or outsourced HR ongoing, whether a marketing design firm to build a web site once, or a hosting company to keep the site up and running. And while there is no substitute for referrals from peers, the word of mouth network should not be the only source.
BidModo offers business owners a free marketplace that allows a company to post a service request, and then review a short list of most appropriate vendors, according to specific needs, scope of project and preferred services. Through BidModo, small businesses can easily compare competing vendor profiles, ratings from previous clients and bid amounts, enabling them to easily - and way more quickly - make the best decision for their business.
“We just opened 24 Hour Diner in Austin, and along with that came all those first-time start-up tasks, finding the roster of outside partners to help us open and keep us going,” said Bob Gillett, owner, 24 Hour Diner. "I used BidModo to find a graphic designer for several jobs I needed done quickly – literally heard back from 3 viable designers within one hour of filling in my request. BidModo saved me a lot of time and money because it did all the work for me. Being able to compare several quotes literally saved me several hundred dollars. I know I would have never had the time to find all those quotes and options on my own.”
“And this is why I believe so strongly in BidModo,” said founder Zack Fuentes. “Over my professional career, I’ve started five different companies. Each time, I’ve needed marketing support from graphic designers, web developers, PR firms. Each time, at some point, I thought about outsourcing HR, or needed IT support. Usually, to find vendors, you are going to your own short list or those of your closest business friends. Not a very strategic or deliberate way to ensure you are engaging the very best partner – at the best price - for the task at hand.”
BidModo Value to End Users includes:
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“I run a multimedia design firm in Austin, and as much as possible, I love to work with local companies. But my advertising budgets are essentially zero,” said Anthony Watkins of Straight Creative. “With no cost, and a couple minutes of my time to fill out the profile, I was up and running on BidModo, which has already opened the door to new revenue streams for me.”
BidModo Value to Vendors includes:
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