Wanted and found all on the web

Wanted and found all on the web

Have you ever met an entrepreneurial visionary so passionate about their business that you immediately feel inspired by their ideas and passion? Meet Shane Bradley, the fast-talking, quick-thinking intellect behind one of New Zealand's fastest growing free listing websites, FindA.co.nz.

Rapidly climbing the visitor ratings, FindA.co.nz has grown 800% since forming in Bradley's mind 12 months ago. Returning from living in the U.K, the young entrepreneurial kiwi found himself frustrated that he could no longer continue to use the web to find just about everything he needed. He saw an opportunity to create an expansive classified site that is helpful, intuitive and most importantly, had the targeted information and services that the user requires.

The site launched in September 04 with 10 categories, to help connect buyers and sellers in a targeted, low-risk environment. The immediate success of the first categories lead to a plethora of new possibilities and the list of categories grew. Today the site boasts over twenty categories and helps over 27,000 unique web-users per month find almost anything from houses and vehicles for sale, jobs, holiday and rental homes, to a full directory of local services from Architects to Panel Beaters, all with the click of a mouse and with the convenience of 24-7 access via the internet.

The main aim of the site is to provide consumers with a one-stop search shop of a vast range of products and services, and to provide advertisers with a targeted way to reach their customers. But it doesn't stop there. The site boasts a range of other helpful services and features you wont find together in the same place on any similar portal.

For example, a potential homebuyer who has just found their dream property in FindA Property can quickly run a loan calculator to figure out how much they will need to borrow, and how long the loan will take to pay off. Finda is also associated with House of Travel, their successful link direct to 17 airlines, means you can book the best flight deals all on line. This is an example of the kind of intuitive, full-service functions that FindA.co.nz offers to the web-user.

Bradley’s inventive personality is currently working on a concept where you can type in a few words, and in less than a second have the exact answer to your question. Bradley explains; “In the future, FindA.co.nz will put you directly in touch with the person, company or product you need by imputing the criteria you need. He has just released Finda Sports Club, say you are looking for a soccer club for your son. You type in his age, location and level of ability and up pops the club closest club to you with information on the next training schedule and what the fees are to join. Next on the list is for a handyman. You may need someone to do a minor plumbing job in the next week, simply type in your location, the type of work required and when its needed by, up pops a plumber who works on small projects and is available at short notice matching your personal criteria. These are all work in progress ideas behind the scenes of the Finda site.

There are no online transactions that take place so there is no chance of bad debts or purchased items going missing. Bradley explains, “Kiwis are friendlier than what I experienced overseas - we like to pick up the phone and talk to the person selling, maybe even invite them over to see the product before purchasing. All purchasing is arranged between the buyer and seller direct.”

FindA.co.nz has a strong list of partners who compliment the site, while this provides traffic for both FindA.co.nz and their own sites. Having these relationships creates an absolutely free service for the public, meaning you can submit your listings for any of the 20 categories from a flat mate, car for sale, rental property with no charge. Property managers are finding the site fantastic for their ever changing list of tenanted houses, they simply upload all their properties and simply tick a box to make them viewable to the public, saving an enormous amount of time having to reload and delete properties as they become available.

Bradley is a fierce patriot when it comes to business and boasts that his site is “100% Kiwi”. He feels privileged to be a part of bringing together New Zealand business so that they can feed off each other's successes to become stronger, together. Bradley believes there is so much talent and initiative amongst the New Zealand business community and enjoys being able to bring that all together in a way that makes it accessible to the average kiwi with a simple net connection.

So who are these visitors? Bradley is happy to report from AC Neilsen demographic net ratings, FindA.co.nz's visitors are 67% female 33% male split with high disposable income aged from 21-39. FindA visitors are tertiary educated and work mainly in managerial positions. Growing daily figures currently report over 27,000 unique visitors per month, and over 1200 per day.

Bradley's mind is constantly at work – he has already thought of more categories to include in his site as we are speaking. He is also on top of what's happening in the online marketplace and is receiving a great deal of positive feedback. Advertisers are noting that as other large sites grow, they are getting less of a response to their advertisements – perhaps the result of an over-flooded market. FindA.co.nz has addressed this concern with the business directory by only taking on a handful of advertisers for each category and location, meaning that advertisers can be guaranteed they won't end up at the bottom of a long list. The business directory is charged out for under $100 per annum for a full page, no wonder they are getting a great response from businesses wanting to sign up.

Bradley has also tapped into the rapidly growing lifestyle professionals that work from home. The site is managed and developed with a range of designers and web developers from around the country. He notes, “Technology has made working from home so easy that I have been able to hand-pick specialists in each field and use their abilities to create and maintain an evolving site.”

And where to in the future? You can tell that Bradley has no trouble “blue-skying” in this area. He predicts new developments in technology will enable us to make searches and complete a range of transactions from anywhere. With advancements in mobile communications and GPS systems, combined with modern technology, you will instantaneously be able to view just about anything from your phone and your computer at anytime.

This technology is already available for technology buffs, but Bradley predicts that it will soon be picked up by more and more New Zealander's and FindA.co.nz will be there leading the way, giving people a tool to “FindA” the information they require quickly, and at their convenience.

For more information contact Shane Bradley at shane@finda.co.nz Ph 09 966 3790 http://www.finda.co.nz

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