Tarik Khribech was born in Morocco before moving to the United States to finish his degree. He has been an entrepreneur for as long as he can remember. He started All Better to help other communities of color find their slice of the American dream.
What is AllBetter all about?
AllBetter is a mobile application for homeowners to find contractors to do work around their house. Whether it’s a typical house cleaning or a larger plumbing project, AllBetter can connect small businesses with homeowners.
What sets AllBetter apart is that homeowners can set the exact day and time the work is to be done and allows homeowners to name their price for the work.
AllBetter was built for small businesses. Instead of being created to help the large contracting businesses find jobs, AllBetter helps mom-and-pop contractors find work and connect with their local communities.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I was born in Morocco, and I came to the US to finish my Master’s in computer science. Right after college, I started working for Fortune 100 companies. In 2008, I launched my first business and grew that to over 400 retail distribution locations. Then I got into real estate helping with building and repairs, and I experienced firsthand the pain of finding reliable and affordable help.
I remembered that when I lived in Morocco, contractors and other hourly employees would hang out on the street corner looking for work. Whenever anyone needed anything done, they would go to that corner. I wanted to create the mobile version of that experience to help lift small businesses up and allow everyone else to get their little slice of the American dream.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
You need to be imaginative. The best entrepreneurs are not only able to think of a creative idea, they’re able to imagine new ways to disrupt already established industries. When I had the idea for AllBetter, I didn’t get hung up on the competition in the space, I figured out what homeowners were looking for and how I could develop an application that would help them.
You also need to be determined. Starting a company is hard, and you need to have the grit to power through the tough times. If you’re able to stay determined no matter what you face, then you will be able to be able to make your company successful.
You need to be a team player. Collaboration is the key to success. You need to be able to know what you’re good at and what you could use help at, and then bring on teammates that will help you with your weaker areas. Entrepreneurs won’t succeed if they aren’t able to collaborate with those around them.
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
We recently rebranded from ChoreRelief to AllBetter as part of the preparations to expand our business. We want to keep on improving the platform, listening to our users, and bring more awareness to our mission nationwide. We want to eventually expand to help gig workers in other industries. Home contractors and cleaners aren’t the only ones who are struggling right now. We want to be there for anyone who is looking to get more customers.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
The pandemic has been hard on everyone, especially small mom-and-pop contractors. Social distancing killed many small businesses’ best marketing tactic: word of mouth. This was especially true in the home contracting industry. Contractors came to AllBetter because it was a low-cost way for them to increase the number of homeowners they reached and avoid competing on paid advertising with the big guys.
On the homeowner’s side, so many people were forced to work from home at the same time. They started noticing little faults around the house they wanted fixed, but many homeowners lost their jobs and didn’t have as much income available to fix them. Because they could set the price on AllBetter, they were able to save money on repairs and employ local contractors to do the work.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
We put the interests of homeowners and contractors on our platform above our bottom line. Our competitors charge hefty fees for small businesses to sign up or see a homeowner’s phone number, and homeowners are also charged convenience fees every time they book a job, without even having the ability to set a price they are willing to pay. Contractors don’t need to pay fees to bid on jobs, so they take home more money.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
I have always had to fight to make sure I stayed organized. Organization is key when running a small business. It’s not just having everything ready on time and then trying to figure out how to get it done; it’s planning, researching, and prioritizing what needs to get done. If you don’t get organized, you’ll be stressed out and fall behind — even though you may not realize it because everything moves so quickly. You run the risk of getting burnt out from trying to keep up with everything or forgetting vital tasks that aren’t urgent but need to be done.
When I first started out, I made a mistake that many founders do. I focused on building something cool and never looked at the end results. Much has changed since then – as have my views on the role of a startup founder. Now that I’m a more experienced leader, I’m much more focused on results. The most successful founders I know are constantly assessing how their efforts are playing out, what’s working and what needs to be changed.
Don’t try to do everything yourself
Don’t try to do everything yourself. The best way to start a business is to start small. You can find many ideas for launching a service or product on the internet. Don’t spend too much time reading random blogs about starting a business or searching for services that are already established. Instead, learn about specific start-up business ideas and how they were started. Get in touch with people who have already started businesses and ask them for their feedback on what you’re reading. This will give you an idea of what kinds of questions to ask yourself before jumping into anything that could potentially become a business.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
My biggest piece of advice is to make sure you sign up for Hubspot. That will give you access to all of your sales leads and marketing in one platform. You should also try to automate your onboarding process which will save you a ton of time.
Don’t be afraid to ask experts for help. Get someone to manage your social media and use external third-party tools to find hyper-local targeted clients for your business.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
In my experience, the challenges are never-ending. Finding a product market fit at first was very challenging because we needed to be able to pivot and change quickly and adapt to your user’s needs. It’s hard to get direct feedback from your audience, but we built a tool that allows our users to chat within the app. I would sit there for hours reading those conversations to see if there was something we could improve about our user experience, and there were so many. We were so glad that we found out about them and got them fixed, but every time we solve one problem another pops up, so being successful means constantly problem solving and pivoting.
If you started your business again, what things would you do differently?
I would like to have found an expert graphic designer first. Ease of use is so important when you are launching an application, and that starts with the design. You want to make sure you have your designs down before worrying about developers.
What are the top 3 online tools and resources you’re currently using to grow your company?
- I use copy.ai to come up with good copywriting. It has made my life much easier.
- I also use Canva for graphics and Hubspot for any marketing automation.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
Don’t wait. Get up, and get at it. Too often entrepreneurs wait around for the perfect design or the perfect idea or the perfect wording. If you wait too long, your opportunity is going to pass you by. You need to get up every morning with intention and get to work.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
It’s incredibly important to me that I leave a legacy behind for my family. When I came to the states from Morocco, I knew I wanted to work hard to achieve my American dream. Now it’s just as important for me to help others achieve their dreams. That is what I want my legacy to be.
How can readers get in touch with you?
You can reach me by emailing me at Tarik@allbettterapp.com.
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