Why I built SCRLODX

It started in Dad's shop

My dad had a menswear store in the small country town where I grew up. I would've been about ten or eleven when I started going down after school to help out. I'd wash the windows, price clothes, take the bins out, whatever needed doing.

The thing I remember most isn't any of that, though. It's how Dad treated people. He knew his customers, always had a smile for them and made everyone who walked through the door feel welcome. He was a big part of the community and genuinely cared about the people in it.

As a kid, I thought that was just how everyone ran a business. I didn't realise how much of that I'd carry with me. I've always believed you treat everyone with the same respect, whether they're running the company or cleaning the floors.

Going out on my own

I did an electrical apprenticeship, worked for other people for a while and eventually started my own electrical business. I knew how to do the work. What I learned pretty quickly was that doing the work and running the business are two very different things.

There were jobs to organise, quotes to send, invoices to chase and customers relying on me to turn up when I said I would. Then, on top of all that, I had to get my name out there.

I tried Facebook, local community groups, Gumtree and whatever else I could think of. I'd spend an hour and a half putting a post together and get absolutely nothing back. I got a good amount of work through a builder, but getting leads through those online platforms was another story.

Meanwhile, the bigger operators had more utes on the road, bigger advertising budgets and names people already knew. If you're a small business just getting started, it's hard to compete with that.

Then I started noticing the same problem as a customer

I'd see a business name on someone's ute and remember it for later. I'd Google it, find a few reviews and maybe four or five photos, then check the website. If I wanted to see more of their work, I'd head to Instagram or Facebook, assuming I could find them. Sometimes their social media name was different enough that I'd give up looking.

Even after all that, I still couldn't really tell what the business was like. Were those photos typical of their work, or just the best three jobs they'd ever done? Could they actually do what I needed? Were they close by? How do I get hold of them?

I kept thinking how ridiculous it was to have to bounce between so many places just to make a simple decision.

The idea came together in 2026

Earlier this year, I had a few of those frustrating searches within a week or two. At the same time, I was thinking about how hard it had been to promote my own business. And I started asking myself:

Why isn't there a place where you can just scroll through local businesses?

We already watch people mow lawns, lay tiles, cook food and do all sorts of jobs on social media. But those videos are mixed in with everything else. You might see a great local business once and never come across it again.

I wanted something built specifically for businesses. Somewhere you could look for an electrician and actually see their work before calling. Or open it without anything particular in mind and find somewhere new to eat, something to do on the weekend or a deal you didn't know was on.

Say a pub down the road puts up a video about $15 parmi night on Tuesday. You see it while scrolling, and later when you can't be bothered cooking, you remember it. That's the sort of simple, everyday discovery I want SCRLODX to make possible.

Why nearby matters

Location is a huge part of the idea. If there's a good plumber, electrician, café or fitness studio around the corner, you should be able to find them. You shouldn't automatically end up with someone half an hour away just because they've got a bigger advertising budget.

And for the business, local customers matter. Less time travelling between jobs, more time actually doing the work, and more opportunity to build a name in their own community.

I want people to be able to search when they know what they're after, or scroll when they don't. Either way, it should be easy to find a business, see what they do and get in touch.

What I hope it becomes

Dad spent more than 30 years showing me how important a small business can be to a community. He was a champion for local businesses, and I'd love to do my part for businesses on the Sunshine Coast.

If, in five years, we can see more small businesses staying open and doing well here, and SCRLODX has helped even a little by getting them in front of more customers, that would mean a lot more to me than just having a big platform.

That's what I'm trying to build.