Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcia Topiwala.
Hi Marcia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started Local Vendor Lookup because I love shopping at local festivals and farmers markets. I’ve found so many wonderful products over the years! But… I often found it hard to find the vendors after the fact. Sometimes I couldn’t remember the name of the vendor; other times I knew the name but couldn’t easily find contact information (there might be multiple Google results, for example). My goal with Local Vendor Lookup is to make it easier for shoppers to connect with local vendors (it’s right there in the name!). For example, locally made soaps and jewelry make excellent Christmas gifts, but often shoppers feel like their only option is to go to a store; it’s hard to shop local outside of a festival or a farmers market, and those don’t happen every day. Local Vendor Lookup makes it much easier to find and connect with local artisans.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road! It’s been a windy, twisty road that sometimes isn’t even paved! First, I have a full time day job, so I only work on the website in the evenings and on weekends. Also, I have two kids (10 and almost 3), so that narrows the work window even more, to after they go to sleep. Finally, I’m a lawyer by day (and by trade). I knew nothing about websites before I started Local Vendor Lookup. YouTube has been instrumental — I can’t tell you how many times I was completely stuck on a problem and YouTube saved the day! Still, at the beginning there were so many issues that someone with more technical expertise could have figured out in 2 minutes and that took me 2 hours to resolve. But it’s given me the opportunity to stretch myself and learn something entirely new. I think we should all aspire to be life-long learners, and I hope I’m setting that example for my kids.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Local Vendor Lookup is a directory website for local vendors, artisans, and farms. Its goal is to help consumers shop (and buy) local. Many of us know the value of shopping locally and want to support our neighbors rather than a corporation, but most of the time, today, it’s easier to shop at big retailers. They have websites that top the list of results in Google, their marketing budgets are massive, and they have teams working on their social media strategies. The only one of those three things that a local vendor might have is a website that’s near the top of the results list if you Google their exact name… but often they don’t. This means that they can be hard to find outside of a farmers market or a local festival, and those don’t happen every day. In our world of instant gratification, many shoppers just go with the path of least resistance: a big retailer.
Our goal at Local Vendor Lookup is to shake up the status quo. We want to make it easy to find and support the local vendors among us. We also have an events calendar which includes farmers markets and local festivals and holiday markets, so that shoppers looking for local events can easily find them all in one place.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Taking risks is critical! If you aren’t taking risks, you aren’t growing or stretching. I don’t view myself as a “risk-taker,” exactly (lawyers tend to be pretty risk adverse), but I certainly have taken (and do take) risks. Even though Local Vendor Lookup is my side hustle, starting it was a risk; it could have completely flopped, and I would have been left with nothing to show for it. I choose (daily) to not look at things that way. Instead, I recognize that everything in life, every experience, is an opportunity to learn and grow. Starting a new venture is no different. I’ve learned new things and grown in different directions, and I’m setting that example for my kids. That matters.
Pricing:
- Vendor listings are $149 per year, with a 7 day free trial.
- There is also a free listing option. It includes lots of functionality, but not as many links as a paid listing. For example, the paid listing includes functionality that lets shoppers message the vendor directly.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://localvendorlookup.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/localvendorlookup/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/localvendorlookup
Image Credits
Sonny Topiwala
