About this idea
Being from Grand Rapids, it is fascinating seeing how quickly the city is growing and expanding, but also looking around and talking to others, we realize there is a lack of places to stay. There are currently more than 1500 unused and vacant properties, and there are so many families, visitors, and out of state workers that could benefit from putting these spaces back on the market.
Our mission for HostYourSpot.com is turning these properties into beautiful spaces to be put to good use and bring extra money back into our local economy, while employing locals to help run this business smoothly!
Impact
The main target of this business are local property owners, renters, and small businesses.
Property owners who live in West Michigan and could benefit from having their spaces transformed from an empty spot to a home.
Renters also benefit from this, since there will be more spaces to rent, and the demand would go back down, since there will be less competition.
Small business owners also benefit from this greatly, since we team up with local restaurants, artists, and other industries when giving recommendations out to our short term tenants who come here on shorter trips. We spend money on local artists and photographers when we decorate and furnish our spots, and hire out photographers when we do the listings.
We always employ small businesses for property maintenance and lawn care, keeping the profits within the Grand Rapids area.
What I'll do with $5,000
Since we are in the beginning stages of developing and maximizing our clients, we would use the money to market, grow, and invest.
Marketing is essential and isn't cheap, so $1000 of it would go towards SEO, social media ads, and getting our name out there, so we are able to help as many people as possible.
Growth is the next opportunity for the business, and $2000 of it would go to growing our resources so we are able to employ more people in the community for the various tasks, such as cleaners, maintenance, and lawn care workers.
The next step would be investing back into our business. This includes updating the technology our employees are using, and making it a more streamlined process to assist in providing a better experience for everyone involved.
Links
About Aislinn Spaman
Growing up in Grand Rapids, I have seen the city change and develop over the past few years. Working within the community since I was 16, I always knew I wanted to start my own business to add to this growing and popular city and make it a better place every day!
