The COVID-19 pandemic continues to raze businesses, shutting many down for good. It’s a heartbreak shared by many business owners who feel like they’ve lost a child. Professional landscaper Mario Reyes has seen this all before in a different setting. The recession of 2008 closed down many of his fellow contractors in New Jersey. This time, he’s determined to help businesses along with his new app, Property Reputation.
Property Reputation is an app designed for business owners in the contracting trade. Mario Reyes started his landscaping company in 2004. Over his 16 years of experience in the field, he realized that there was one major issue that all contractors faced. Many other contractors have never received payment for services rendered. Mario often observed many different contractors being hired at the same property at different times, but all with the same result—lack of payment.
Unfortunately, for many contractors, settling in court would be far more expensive than what they were going to receive in payment, so they never take action. Not even the rise of social media has helped with the problem. With the growth of social media accessibility, many in the industry have taken to showing an idealized version of running a business in the contracting field. While many experts talk about generating leads and creating contracts, but hardly any have spoken about non-payments. Property Reputation frankly addresses this issue and lets contractors know that this happens more often than it is talked about. The unspoken stigma of not receiving payments often leads contractors to think that they have failed as a company. Mario’s goal is to let other contractors know that they are not alone in this industry and that there are others in the field who, with their insight, can help them along the way.
He was motivated to launch Property Reputation after realizing that the industry was suffering from a large communication gap between business owners. Early on in his career, he realized that many contractors were not being paid for their services. He wondered how many unpaid contracts and bills from customers there are in the industry. He also started to question how many contractors were called to the same property only to end up with the same results. When he spoke to many other contractors from different fields, the same problem always came up, even when there was a contract in place.
Mario knew that many of these businesses were run by families who depended on the income to put food on the table and to pay their workers. It wasn’t fair to the many workers who sacrificed hours away at work and time from their families only to not get paid at all. He knew that after all the sacrifices that contractors make for their families and businesses, many could not afford the loss of income.
Property Reputation allows contractors to read information about client properties in real-time. The platform allows them to rate and review their experience with the client. It also allows others to know the reputation of the property before they can render their services. The app makes it easy for contractors to find out how reliable their clients are, especially regarding payment. Property Reputation was built for everyone in the contracting trade: landscapers, roofers, plumbers, construction workers, painters, HVAC(ers), masons, interior designers, cleaning services, etc. When contractors know their clients, they can confidently provide their services with the knowledge that their client has been good to other businesses in the industry.
Mario Reyes is confident that Property Reputation can help his fellow contractors stay in business amid the threat to their livelihood. Ultimately, the app helps pull those in the contracting trade together and helps them realize that they are not alone in their struggles.
Learn more about Property Reputation on its website.
