We’re Building The Destination For Getting Things Done

A Community of Cooperation

Not long ago, three friends sat down in a diner to discuss a problem they had noticed among associates in the construction industry. Many contractors, especially new ones, were struggling to build up their businesses. At the same time, all three men had plenty of acquaintances who needed help finding qualified local professionals for remodeling and other projects. They agreed that the solution to both problems would be to provide a convenient way to bring the parties together in a safe online community where they could communicate and collaborate. On that day Locate.Contractors was born.

Results without the Runaround

Long gone are the days where a consumer would grab the phone book and start going down a column of contractors hoping they’d find a qualified professional with reasonable rates. With the advent of the Internet, shoppers for goods and services now can be inundated with a barrage of possibilities from which to choose with the click of a mouse. The anonymous aspect of doing anything online, however, makes it difficult for a purchaser to know exactly who they are interacting with or if a site visited has a hidden agenda.

Craig Fisher, president of Locate.Contractors, observed, “I’ve often found myself having a question and typing it in a search engine and then being hit with all sorts of ads and companies wanting to direct me here or there, with someone else controlling the situation.

“At Locate.Contractors none of this happens. It’s a place where people can ask questions and actual contractors will answer those questions.”

Cutting Out the Middleman

Millions of customers go online every day looking for information and services from the contracting world. Many have had business relationships with contractors in the past that they haven’t been happy with, and they’d really just like to find a good contractor they can trust.

Some companies exist to provide a role of “middleman”—someone who can negotiate an arrangement between the customer and available contractors. Like a dating service, however, a perfect match might be found, but it will definitely be at a cost.

Locate.Contractors was started to cut out the middleman. Our goal is to provide a forum where contractor and consumer can chat and see if problems can be resolved free of charge, and, if not, to determine if they can work out a suitable agreement.

We are attempting to recapture the spirit of the olden days where a couple of good ol’ boys could just sit around the local co-op sipping coffee and talking about the problems they were facing. Many a difficulty could be solved that way, in a relaxed, non-threatening environment with zero pressure to commit to any course of action.

Locate.Contractors was started to make a simpler way for contractors and customers to communicate while taking the hassle out of finding solutions to problems.

Customers Should Determine the Relationship

Have you ever walked into a car dealership to ask an automotive question and the salesperson started acting like you want to buy a car? Many online resources behave the same way, putting pressure on a customer who just wants a simple answer to a possibly complex question.

Locate.Contractors allows the customer to determine the size and the scope of their relationship with a given contractor, letting them determine at what point they may want to hire the individual for in-person work.

By using this site as an interface, customers can feel assured that there are no hidden agendas, no bait and switch, no ulterior motives of any sort. It’s simply a place where completely open business relationships can be created between two parties, with Locate.Contractors facilitating that without interfering.

How Does Locate.Contractors Cover their Costs?

How do we cover our costs? The truth is... we actually don’t much of the time! Customers are not charged for the service and contractors themselves can participate for free. We then offer additional services to the contractors that they can elect to take advantage of for a small fee.

Other costs are covered by sponsors who advertise with us. We are always in negotiations with a variety of like-minded businesses in the industries we participate in that bring added value to the contractors.

Our goal is to change lives. By staying true to the ethics of our communities and the professionals in it, we know we are making an impact and that the biggest dividends will pay off for us and those we serve down the road as we continue to build this network.

The Bottom Line

Locate.Contractors was started as the idea of a community where contractors and individuals could meet and share questions, answers and ideas and where they could cultivate mutually beneficial opportunities.

Please give us a try and let us know what you think.