Home Renovations Just Got Even Easier!

When we started talking about the idea of a renovation platform in May 2020, the problem we wanted to solve was obvious. Too many homeowners were paying massive up-front deposits to contractors for home renovation projects, only to see those deposits disappear into the night when the contractors never showed up to start the work. Or, contractors started a project and abandoned it partway through, leaving homeowners in very difficult situations. It seems like these cases of fraud are happening more frequently, and are finally starting to get the attention they deserve, like the so-called fencing contractor in Durham or this supposed pool contractor in Kitchener. These are the obvious problems to homeowners we were hoping to solve.

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On the contractor side of things, the struggles are similar. Homeowners often agree to a given price, with the intent of renegotiating once the project has been completed which only devalues the contractor’s work. Or, homeowners who don’t pay invoices on time, if at all, causing contractors to waste time and effort chasing down payments. We recently sent out a survey to contractors across Ontario, and they listed cash flow as the biggest impediment to growing their business, second only to a lack of available, skilled employees. This is not surprising when the average time to pay an invoice in this sector is over 70 days.

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If you're a residential contractor, you're no doubt familiar with this narrative. If you're a homeowner, you likely know someone who paid a deposit and never heard from the contractor again.

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HOW BIDMII CAN HELP

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PAYMENT SECURITY

When you use Bidmii, our system holds the full payment amount in trust. This provides comfort to homeowners because they KNOW that their hard-earned money is going towards the renovation they’ve paid for. It also benefits contractors, because they now know that they're going to get paid for their work in a timely manner. Contractors have been blown away with how quickly they get paid. Some of my favourite interactions have been with contractors who have called just to let us know how fast the money appeared in their accounts.

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RATINGS & REVIEWS

Bidmii homeowners are confident in who they're hiring thanks to Bidmii’s two-way rating and review system, and describe feeling 'much less vulnerable' than they would if they were hiring someone directly. Ever feel unsure about the legitimacy of a review you see on Google or Facebook? Well, contractors only gain reviews once they complete a project on our platform by the homeowner they completed the job for.

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MORE FEATURES, MORE BENEFITS

When we officially launched Bidmii in June of 2021 we did so with the knowledge that we were trying to improve a fragmented industry where no one was happy. Since then, we've continued to launch additional features like Bidmii Finance, to help you finance your projects; Covermii, insurance for contractors; and the ability to invite a contractor to your job.

Here is an unedited sampling of some of our recent feedback (and yes we're adding this to our website as well):

“I am so pleased so far with the Bidmii process, as elsewhere it is so hard to find a contractor who will want to do something small.” - Jean B.

“Thank you so much! The Bidmii experience has been amazing, helpful and seamless.” - Michelle D.

“The Bidmii quoting and payment process is very trustworthy as jobs have already been funded. Bidmii will definitely play a role in the growth of our company's future.” - Sean R.

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BIG CHANGES

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The biggest change to our platform was quietly released last week, and we're at a point where we're happy to talk about it publicly.  One of the most frequent questions we receive is "How does Bidmii make money?" The answer seems simple now, but took a little hand-wringing to get to: MAKE BIDMII FREE. We've charge a 4% payment processing fee which covers our costs under almost every scenario, and we're allowing this fee to drop to 1% if the homeowner wishes to pay via wire transfer. We've also shifted this cost to an upfront payment line item that’s displayed to homeowners clearly and transparently. We're confident that this will be the first step to market domination.

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Now that at its most basic level, our system is free to use for both homeowners and contractors, there is no reason not to use it. Even if, as a homeowner, you happen to find a contractor elsewhere, there's no harm in asking them to put the quote through Bidmii to still reap the benefits of our payment security feature (it may also signal to you a red flag if they decline to do so). And contractors, if you submit a quote through Bidmii and a homeowner refuses to pay through our platform, maybe ask yourself: "why?"

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Beyond this, having a free platform gives us the ability to integrate with partner systems, and provide 'preferred' contractor programs at a fraction of the cost that it would take to develop them on their own. Ultimately, this gives us the ability to bring even more quality projects to the platform, and help even more contractors build their businesses with projects they wouldn't have previously had access to.

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BIDMII PRO & OTHER VALUE-ADD SERVICES

We also make money through value-added services like Bidmii Finance and our Bidmii Pro subscriptions. These are, of course, entirely optional to homeowners and contractors, but definitely boost the value of our platform to the individuals that need them. Take a look at Bidmii Finance and our Bidmii Pro tiers to see if either option is a good firt for you.

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If you’re a homeowner and want to take advantage of the security offered by Bidmii for FREE, sign up and post a project through app.bidmii.com. If you’re a contractor looking to grow your business securely, get free leads by signing up or Bidmii at app.bidmii.com.

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To learn more about how Bidmii is disrupting the home improvement industry, one project at a time, visit us at www.bidmii.com, or connect with Bidmii on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.