Murray Now

A Murray Region business has launched an innovative website directory that is set to revolutionise the way consultants, governments and businesses connect with one another.

Known as findaconsultant.com.au, the website directory is the first of its kind for the consulting industry.

The directory is the brainchild of Heather and Julie Woodrow, who have their own consulting business 100 Monkeys and discovered a gap in the marketplace for promoting their services.

"About two years ago we were looking at ways to take our consulting business to the next level in terms of promoting our work to a broader audience," Julie said.

"We investigated with Yellow Pages Directory to place an advertisement, but there wasn't a listing that covered the range of consulting work that we were doing. We did an internet search for a national consultants' directory and to our surprise discovered that none existed."

The pair quickly formed a group of partners with information technology and marketing expertise, conducted extensive market research over the past two years and developed their innovative website, findaconsultant.com.au.

Murray Now has assisted in linking the entrepreneurs with advisers and offering direction in exploring funding partners.

While it is only early days, response to findaconsultant.com.au has been overwhelming.

"Unlike a lot of online directories, this is designed specifically for consultants who can upload their information, include their logo, link it to their website and include testimonials and examples of recent contracts," Heather Woodrow said.

"It is particularly beneficial for regional consultants who can detail contracts that may cover a wide geographical area and highlight their ability to travel for interstate clients."

The next phase of the marketing campaign for findaconsultant.com.au will be targeted at end users, primarily local, state and federal governments, not for profit organisations and corporate businesses who are seeking consultants for contracts.

"What our research showed was that when these organisations put out tenders for contracts they don't have a wide database that they can use," Julie said.

"Generally they use whoever they've been using in the past but that doesn't necessarily mean they are the best consultants for every single contract that comes up. Organisations don't have a wide spectrum of consultants to draw from as they don't know who else is available or how to find them. This website allows them to look at consultants listed on our site, assess their expertise, follow up with their most recent contracts and then make contact with them and see if they are the right fit."

Julie and Heather Woodrow are appreciative of the support that Murray Now has given them as they embarked on launching this new business.

"It's been great to have Barbara Hull and the team from Murray Now in our corner, giving us guidance and direction as we developed this concept," Julie said.

"Our aim is to create a community of consultants who can support and share ideas and we'll be working with them to include a range of features on the website to further assist and develop their specific needs," added Heather.

For further details log on to www.findaconsultant.com.au.