Driven by the lifestyle desires of husband and wife Directors, Zane and Carey-Ann Wood, Handylocals have moved their headquarters to the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre.
An online company with the potential to be based anywhere in the world, the decision to locate Handylocals on the Sunshine Coast was an easy one.
“There was never any question of choosing to locate to the Sunshine Coast. We visited Australia Zoo on a holiday a few years ago and knew this is where we wanted to live,” owner Zane Wood said.
“The one thing that stood out above all else is no matter who we spoke to – everyone loved living here. The Sunshine Coast offers absolutely everything in a neat, beautiful package,” Mr Wood added.
Based on a UK business model that has achieved phenomenal growth over the last 5 years, Handylocals provides marketing solutions to small and medium sized businesses to help them capture the local market.
Mr Wood said with most business receiving up to 80% of their income from the local community, Handylocals concentrated on helping their members capture this audience.
“Our point of difference is we promote only three businesses within an area. We market our clients extensively on and offline in the community through the exclusive use of the Handylocals brand.”
Innovation Centre Entrepreneur-in-Residence Nigel Hall said “Handylocals has a great business model, offering the top three recommended businesses in the region the opportunity to replace the costly yellow pages as their main source of leads, with a minimum annual spend.”
“My main concern was that there was no way they could provide so much value for $248 per year, but having crunched the numbers with them, it’s possible!”
“The value of their service is highly visible, it gives SME’s access to internet advertising such as Facebook, Google and Twitter, as well as more traditional media such as radio,” Nigel added.
The Innovation Centre’s ideal position on the edge of the USC campus, along with access to an attractive package of business services were major drawcards for Handylocals.
“With fantastic resources such as networking, technology, mentoring and a community of thriving, local businesses, the Innovation Centre was our first choice as a base for our business,” Zane Wood commented.
“In our line of work, being up to date with technological advances and consumer trends is a necessity. The University is a thriving community representing the future on the Sunshine Coast.”
To find out more about Handylocals visit www.handylocals.com.au. For more information on the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast visit www.innovation-centre.com.au.
