Setting up a one stop shop

Customers rate service providers

To use the service, a customer posts a request to the site: what service, where and when they need it. Get It Sorted then sends through leads from the four businesses that are fastest to respond and suit the criteria. Customers choose the business that best meets their needs, and a feedback facility lets customers rate the business once the job is done.

Busier every week

Following a false start with one web developer, Hamilton recruited Robbie Bird in February 2015 to build the site. The team moved to a technology incubator in Sydney’s Pyrmont three months later, and by January 2016, Hamilton had launched Get it Sorted.

The business is on track to realise Hamilton’s vision of growing the service to cover not only Canberra and Sydney, but all Australia’s capital cities.

“It’s very early days, but we’re getting more and more consumers on board. Every week is busier than the one before.” And he wants to expand the business into the US in 2017. “There is a huge amount of potential and the market is massive,” he says.

Invaluable telecommunications

Technology plays a critical role in the success of Get It Sorted. A text messaging service from Telstra notifies Hamilton when a consumer posts to the website looking for a service.

“In the initial stages, as we’re setting it up, I need to make sure that everything is working 100 per cent at the back end and this service allows me to keep an eye on things,” says Hamilton. “I don’t have to check my emails every five seconds and I can perform other tasks without significant interruption.

“The text service also means that if we don’t have the right suppliers on board to meet a customer’s requirements, then we can quickly go and find them,” he adds.

Hamilton and Robbie are both on Telstra mobiles, and Hamilton also makes the most of Telstra’s Wi-Fi connectivity at home. “Telstra has a great brand and great products and services,” he says.  

Plans for the future

By May 2016, Hamilton plans to establish a call centre service with Telstra. More broadly, he is confident he has found a technology partner that can support his ambitions to grow into new markets.

“No matter how large we become, I know that Telstra will be able to provide the services and performance that meet our requirements,” he says. 

Insights From Telstra

“Starting up a new business can be a daunting but exciting activity. We recommend taking space in creative, energetic environments where you can collaborate with like-minded entrepreneurs and gain access to people with complementary skills who can provide advice and empathy. Working with an experienced telecommunications and information and communications technology partner, such as Telstra, can enable you to focus on your business rather than worry about the services that support it.” 

Andy Giles-Knopp, Executive Director Telstra Business – Small Business