For the people who do the work
Free to exist. Pay only if you want the top of a neighborhood list.
Ask Around makes money if people keep opening it and shops want to be found. That takes time. Most local apps die because the list is empty — so day one is free.
Free listing
$0
Name, neighborhood, phone, a couple of photos. You exist on the list. First 200 stay here.
- No lead fees, ever, on the free tier
- Customers can call or text
- We will not charge people to search
Claimed profile
$29/mo
The shop actually owns the page. Booking, photos, Open now, a badge.
- Request-a-time button
- Open now in Charlotte time
- Claimed badge so you are not a ghost listing
Neighborhood featured
$49/mo
Sit at the top of your trade in your neighborhood. $20–$75 is the real range; $49 is the Charlotte default.
- Top of Barber / HVAC / Sitter on your block
- Optional search boost — first when someone types brake job, east Charlotte
- City pack later: $49 across every neighborhood
What works later — not launch week
- Booking / lead fee $5–$25 when someone taps Call or Book. Shops hate this if Thumbtack already burned them. Keep it small or optional.
- City pack $49/mo — badge, more photos, reviews highlighted across Charlotte.
- Ads from people who are not on the list — insurance, credit unions, apartments for newcomers.
What we will not do
- Charge customers to search. They will use Google.
- Take a percent of a haircut. Barbers will not join.
- Hope Apple pays us. They will not.
Honest numbers, Charlotte first
If we get 300 real providers and a few thousand people actually searching:
- 40 shops at $30/month → about $1,200/month
- 80 shops → $2,400/month
That covers a cheap phone number, hosting, and gas to walk shops. It does not pay a salary yet. A living looks like 1,000 paying shops at $29–$49 across several cities, or a city where this is the list people text — the way a Facebook group is now. That is years, not a launch week.
What decides if this is a business
- Do shops sign up for free? If they will not do free, they will not pay.
- Do customers come back for a second service? One-time tourists do not fund the app. Locals who need a mechanic and a cleaner do.
- Are we the list people text each other? If the answer is still “ask in the Facebook group,” there is no business.
Start this month
A live list people can use, not a perfect app.
Instagram plus this site plus a flyer. An App Store app is a later cost. First 200 profiles stay free.
List yourself free