In less than 100 words, what is your idea?:
Build a site that facilitates the discovery of small businesses (particularly professional/trade services) and management of a "virtual currency" which allows business operators within a local district to trade their services for services provided by others. The listings would be in the form of a video profile outlining each business's capabilities and qualifications. The virtual currency concept is similar to Barter Card, but instead of trading goods, participants trade their time in time (offset by a multiple of a base hourly rate). People who provide services without consuming them initially build up a pool of "time credit" that they can cash in with any business listed on the directory, or if pending for a certain amount of time, cash out the hours for an equivalent monetary value.
What is the social need or challenge your idea could address?:
Small businesses tend to be run by specialists who have deep knowledge in a specific field. However, not all small business operators have all the skills required to run their business effectively. Additionally, business to business relationships are often plagued by the need for prospecting and sales preparing sales pitches. With a visceral directory of video business profiles, businesses in a given area can "shop around", decide which provider they want to work with and engage them directly.
What’s really new about your idea?:
This is really an extension of the concepts currently running successfully on freelancing sites, but with more focus on building self-sustaining local business clusters than on lowest price. The video listings allow businesses to get a sense of having met their counterparts in other businesses, building additional trust out of the gate, and opening the door to a solid business relationship that doesn't require a heavy sales pitch to get started.
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