Nancy Lee Video

INDIANAPOLIS –
The holiday season is an important time for retailers, a time that can make the difference between a profit or loss for the year.
The same is true for local, small businesses and a new website is designed to make it easier to find and support them.
Tucked away in a tiny workshop, Nancy Lee sees the beauty in scrap pieces of copper, aluminum, clock gears – even bullets.
“I’ve been doing all sorts of arts and crafts since I was really a little, little girl,” said Lee. “I even did a beautiful woven necklace with played violin strings.”
She pounds and saws away, making pieces that rival those in the finest, big name jewelry stores and even has a little gallery. But she sure doesn’t rival big name advertising budgets.
“I would love to be able to be located by people who are looking for handmade works,” she said.
So she made a profile on Thumbtack.com. The name for Thumbtack came from the way people advertise offline. The founders wanted to build an online bulletin board, where anyone can thumbtack their service.
It is not a new idea, but the founders in San Francisco say they separate themselves by including only businesses that have chosen to sign up, letting you say what service you need, getting several local bids within 24 hours and putting each service through a 12-step verification process.
“That makes me feel good that I am amongst other people who have also been verified, so that kind of raises everyone up,” Lee said.
There are 2,000 Indianapolis businesses on Thumbtack so far, of all kinds. You can even hire a Santa Claus if you need one.
A local personal shopper and moving company listed on the site say they just wish more people knew about it. You can search Thumbtack for free, but businesses have to sign up to be a part of it and it can cost them to be part of the bidding process.