New app helps consumers connect with nearby small businesses

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) – Have you ever wondered how you could find more local small businesses throughout Nashville? Now there’s an app for that.

Joshua Davis created the BuyLocal app in an effort to connect small businesses with consumers right in their communities.

Inside the app, users can type in their location and five small businesses within a five-mile radius.

He decided thee was a need for this app during the pandemic, especially since many entrepreneurs were out of work and had to find a way to pivot their business.

“There’s so many makes in Nashville that, just in a few miles around you, you’d be surprised how many people there are who cold offer you things that you need,” Davis said.

You can find just what you need by sharing your location, and then finding small businesses to cater to that need.

“It’s ordered by who’s closest, and then you can call them, hit their social media up and connect with them,” Davis said. “It’s really just a directory where you can find where people are going to be at physically.”

Davis worked on the app last year. It’s been a beneficial platform for Hannah Vaughn, who has two small businesses where she creates are and owns a marketing firm.

“BuyLocal was another way for me to get the name of my business out there and get my art in the middle of people’s hands without having to pay through the roof for Facebook advertising or any type of social media marketing,” Vaughn said.

Davis said during the pandemic one-third of small businesses were not operational, so he came up with the app to connect area consumers with nearby businesses.

“I like to refer to it as the local Amazon specifically for small businesses that are right here,” Shandy Butler said.

Butler is the owner of Nashville Craft Beverage Company, an organic juice and wellness chef company. She said the app has given her a lot of online traction for her site.

“People weren’t allowed to leave their houses, so if you’re sort of like the prime of juice and something directly affects you locally, you know versus going through Whole Foods or Amazon, basically it went up because of that,” Butler said.

Click for information on BuyLocal.

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