The trade show corresponded with the launch of BidChapel.com a unique wedding website with the goal of creating open access to brides and vendors in the industry.

Have a look at the new site…

Of course this early release has some bugs, but we have already begun adding professional wedding photographers, venues, and other wedding related specialities to the system.

How does BidChapel.com work?

Buyers (brides, grooms and wedding planners) and sellers (bridal vendors) go to BidChapel.com and sign up completely free of charge.
Buyers post a description of their wedding job, organized by category, then set any budgetary and timeline constraints for the seller.
Sellers, divided by category, set up profile pages and upload any desired portfolio images and video components that illustrate their company’s services. They are notified of the buyers’ posted jobs and then are able to post competitive bids.
Buyers review the bids, while having the ability to view the sellers’ profile pages and interact directly with them through message boards. Upon selection of a vendor, buyers place the funds for the job in a safe escrow account until the job is completed.
Buyers and sellers have the opportunity to rate each other through feedback and performance review posts, motivating both parties to meet and exceed expectations.

Why Brides, Grooms and Wedding Planners Are Saying “I Do” To BidChapel.com:

Bid Chapel is the fastest and easiest way to find quality vendors in a defined area who want to meet and exceed a bride’s dream wedding expectations in accordance with a specific budget and timeline.

The website is user-friendly and completely free.

The affiliate marketing system is an easy way to earn additional cash!

Why Bridal Vendors Are Saying “I Do” To BidChapel.com:

The site provides instant access to thousands of jobs posted by brides, grooms and wedding planners. There are no limits to how many bids a vendor can place, thereby maximizing reach and revenue potential.

BidChapel.com’s sophisticated and modern profile pages include portfolio and video sections, providing a unique opportunity to create exposure for a vendor’s company—absolutely free!

The affiliate marketing system is an easy way for vendors to earn additional income for their companies.

ABOUT OPEN SOURCE MARKETS, INC.

Open Source Markets, Inc. (OSM, Inc.) is an online platform by which buyers and sellers share and exchange ideas and commerce without barrier. Founded by entrepreneur Matthew Rogers, OSM, Inc. is a visionary enterprise with the power to revolutionize the digital marketplace of products and services, efficiently connecting vendors with customers and stimulating growth in local economies through competitive edge. Open source markets can be used worldwide, in any industry, to facilitate conversation, competition and commerce.

Most of the members questions were about crowdsourcing and how to ensure quality work is performed. The concept of reduced cost due to active open membership and competition was the main takeaway… We will update with a few notes on that meeting asap.

Contractors,

The following draft article on crowdsourcing technology explains what you can do as a contractor to make the most of your time online!

Contractors get ready... There is a drastic change coming to the way your customers are finding and buying your services.

That change is called crowdsourcing.

Crowdsourcing happens when a homeowner posts a project or job description once and allows everyone interested in bidding the job access to do so.

To day there are a few websites that are created just for crowdsourcing labor. Some of them allow access to contractors that have been prescreened, others charge a fee for contractors to view customer details like phone numbers and email addresses.

Other sites like those created by Open Source Markets allow everyone equal access to the job information and even act on your behalf to ensure that the jobs performed are beneficial to your community.

Traditionally your customers found you by using the Yellow Pages. That was a great tool, and for its time it brought your services to the market place like none other.

After the yellow pages came the web search… and this is still the dominant method for sourcing professionals like plumbers, electricians, painters, remodelers, and handyman services.

Now there are a few people using Craigslist to crowdsource jobs, but the value of Craigslist only goes so far… One of the benefits of the site is that it allows you to post a description of your services on the small business ads or in the skilled trades services categories… but often these listing are very limited and including pictures and links to your website takes somewhat advances skills.

Once you have posted a description of your contracting company it is almost instantly buried by the listing of hundreds of your competions advertisements

Now there are other ways of promoting your business online today that are more effective than Craigslist but Craigslist seems to be the go to place for handyman and landscapers looking for work and an easy promotion.

This article is not about promoting your business through the available channels… It is about preparing you for the game changing effect that crowdsourcing is having on almost every industry..

Wether or not I convince you of the coming change is not the point… the point here is for those that see the future of buying and selling services is online… I want to help you get prepared.

First off you should be cataloging every job you perform, yes that sounds like a lot of work, but it will give you a substaintial advantage when porting your job history and customer reviews into a crowdsourcing system.

Get a letter of recomendation from every customer even if it is a simple one liner like “Mike and his team did great work, I highly recommend them to anyone seeking a contractor in Dallas”

Get pictures and even video of your construction work. Having abundant images in your portfolio will always set you apart from your competition. In most cases customers want to see that you have completed similar work even if that should be understood, an image will always help you to close the deal and get the job.

Postitioning your business to compete on both price and VALUE…

Value is someting that can be seen as very different from price… for instance your company provides added value by using green building methods, recycling building materials, offering your services to your community, or even shaping your community with the progressive nature of your companies mission or values.

For instance company A provides landscaping services at a rate that is well below industry standards, but uses a labor force that is not US citizens, and pays their employees a wage that is far below the established standard for quality living… They will always win the customer that is shopping for price alone, and how can you compete!

More to come for Contractors and Homeowners.

I guess there has always been a barrier to entry into most marketplaces. For example you must have the capital to purchase a Yellow Pages advertisement, or a radio spot in order to get job information from consumers looking for your services.

The development of the internet changed things over the past few years. Every contractor I speak to notes that their advertising in the Yellow Pages was money lost last year… But changes in media are just the beginning, the full cycle of change will be happening this year as consumers no longer search for service providers… rather they simply upload their job information to the internet and all contractors and service providers interested can view the data and bid on the job.

True in the past there was a clear need for the Yellow Pages and advertisements. Now the middle man and layer of advertisements between buyers and service providers is vanishing. Today the market has made that clear, and the business that embrace the change quickly and begin to engage their potential new clients on the internet will stand to see the greatest benefits.

This year will mark the official launch of TriangeForHire.com a new contractors marketplace in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, NC.

To your continued success in 2010!
P36Q3994A25R

To create a job and hire Dallas contractors just enter your project info on the home page.

If you already have an account just fill in the details and your project will be seen by our growing list of contractors.

Open source jobs are instantly published to the home page and up to 50 contractors are notified instantly to bid on your project.

The news about the launch of DFWforhire.com was published first here on the blog, where you can always visit to find the latest stories and events.

We will be announcing a few new advertising opportunities that are the result of the news release in the Dallas, Tx area.

DFWforhire.com allows the Dallas community to post service jobs, such as home improvement or repair, and receive unlimited bids from contractors in an open source environment. The community-driven portal fosters broad-based competition through equal access and ultimately drives lower prices as new members join.

Commonly referred to as crowdsourcing, the website provides Dallas residents access to a larger crowd of contractors to solve their problems in the most cost-effective manner.

“Crowdsourcing is the new way people evaluate, buy and sell products and services on the web today,” stated Matthew Rogers. “Gone are the days where you choose one of the few contractors that advertise in the yellow pages. Instead, we allow input from multiple parties (the crowd) to help determine the cost, procedures, and best practices for completing a job in a sustainable way. People drive better commerce and competition in an open source environment.

There are no barriers to participating in the marketplace. Dallas contractors pay nothing to access job information, and homeowners pay nothing to use the system. The website launch means that now both parties in the transaction are on equal footing in the labor procurement process from both an awareness and opportunity standpoint. The content on the website is essentially driven by the community similar to Craigslist.org, but is perhaps best described as an Ebay for services created just for Dallas contractors and residents.

A quick look at the site shows projects that are open for bid by Dallas contractors. Some of these projects have received over a dozen bids and represent potential savings of thousands of dollars to consumers.

For more information on how Open Source Markets Inc. is changing the way Dallas buys and sells services, visit http://www.opensourcemarkets.com or contact Matthew Rogers at Matt@OpenSourceMarkets.com.

Media Contact:

Matthew Rogers
Co-founder
www.DFWforhire.com
www.OpenSourceMarkets.com
Matt@OpenSourceMarkets.com
(940)453-3646

Open Source Markets, Inc will have 5 minutes to demo the DFWforhire.com marketplace and solicit feedback from the network of Dallas interactive marketing and SEO companies.

You are invited to stay after the meeting for a roundtable discussion with the founders of Open Source Markets. We will be discussing the open source approach to new business development. Please considering joining us… You can register for the event here.

The new website design brings simplicity to the user experience.

DFWforhire.com

]]>