A Conversation With Lorenzo Dickerson

By Kevin Mackiewicz, Staff Writer

Lorenzo Dickerson (BBA ’07, MBA candidate) is proof that even in the post-dot-com era, an online startup can be successfully promoted on a shoestring marketing budget. The founder of the online bid site Bidrealm.net relies on word of mouth via social networking Web sites to generate much of his business. The Glen Allen, Va., based company began as a Strayer University class project in 2007, but has recently become much more.

What type of business is Bidrealm.net?
Realm stands for Real Estate Active Labor Marketplace. Our business is an online reverse auction Web site for homeowners and home improvement professionals. Instead of bidding for the highest price, they are bidding for the lowest. Homeowners go on the Web site and post projects they want to bid out. Contractors then go on the site to see the listed projects that need to be completed and bid on the available projects.

How has the recent recession affected your company’s business?
It has slightly hurt it, but we’ve been able to stay afloat. We are able to contend with our bigger competitors because our site is completely free for homeowners and contractors.

What are some of the other benefits to your customers?
Most of the time, homeowners aren’t sure what the costs should be for certain projects. On our site, they can go online and get the best prices because the professionals are bidding, which drives down costs. Our competitors usually charge for their services, so providing our services to homeowners for free really helped our company during this time.

What’s your company’s current outlook?
We have successfully built our company debt-free with very low operational, marketing and startup costs. Therefore, we are more secure, and able to compete with larger companies that have bigger budgets but also greater debt.

What have you learned about yourself and your business throughout the recent economic turmoil?
Travis [Bidrealm’s vice president] and I have learned how to cope with a recessive economy. A lot of times, big companies have large marketing budgets, but right now that’s just not feasible for us. Bidrealm will start its first full-blown marketing campaign this month, but it doesn’t have the kind of budget you might see at a big company. We focus heavily on social networking and targeted online pay-per-click ads. I’ve also learned that my ultimate goal is to work for myself. This has made me more determined than ever to succeed.

What recommendations can you give homeowners looking for a contractor to work on their house during these tough economic times?
I suggest you check out all of the contractor’s credentials. Make sure you really know the person. You need to make sure you’re dealing with credible professionals. Also, you need to find a service that allows reverse auctions, so you can find the cheapest price.

Based on the bids on your site, what type of home projects are most popular right now?
Electric and plumbing work are the most popular because people are looking to fix things in their homes rather than replace them. They’re not doing a lot of new construction. It’s about saving money in this economy.