How bizlite Is Helping Small Businesses Get Online in Small Cities

bizlite is a small business solution based in Udaipur, and it is a part of India’s highly notorious (and cash-burning) DukaanTech startup ecosystem.

Started as a digital card for small business owners, bizlite is slowly growing as a solution that helps anyone take their first step towards going online—be it shop owners, freelancers, professionals, or anyone wanting to appear market-ready and start networking.

According to Anmol, the founder of bizlite,

The idea of ‘going online’ and turning small businesses market-ready is not new. Many agencies, players, and startups have burned their hands in the space.

But his approach, he claims, is different. He doesn’t want to become a ‘Shopify killer’ or turn it into an ‘Indian Shopify alternative.’ Instead, he wants small, unorganized businesses in India to feel included in the digital world through a simple solution that doesn’t even need daily logging in.

Just set up your bizlite account in 10 minutes and you’ll be good enough to share about your business with anyone worldwide.

The Origin Story

Started by Anmol Ratan Sachdeva, a seasoned marketer with ten years of experience, bizlite aims to solve the problem of going digital for business owners without a dedicated budget or understanding of the tech world.

Coming from a generational business family based in a small border town in Rajasthan, Anmol learned the ropes of content marketing and has 10+ years of experience in the digital space.

Over the years, he saw hundreds of businesses (like his family’s) get lost in the digital wave. So much so that despite 93% of the total workforce being employed in the informal sector, the contribution of small businesses to the economy has shrunk to a mere 15-20% in just three years.

I was working as a content writer in New Delhi back in 2017 when this idea struck me. I came from a small town in Delhi and saw small local shop owners facing problems similar to those in my hometown. Shopowners were desperate to go online after the popularity of online shopping platforms, but most were not tech-proficient, just like me. I understood the problem and had a solution in mind, but it was not technically sound enough to start something then.

Cut to COVID-19, when the whole world came to a standstill, he saw the rise of DukaanTech startups in India and started learning the basics of building a product. Using his knowledge and experience in organic rankings, he validated his idea through his blog, which received almost 30,000 organic hits monthly.

How bizlite Is Different?

bizlite is unlike the conventional eCommerce platforms that small business owners feel apprehensive about, already.

Instead, it is trying to solve the problem of market readiness and discovery for small businesses while removing apprehensions from the minds of non-tech business owners who are getting old or youth who have never had the opportunity to learn about technology.

It is unlike other platforms that require a business owner to pay a subscription or listing fee and then sign in to a dashboard to check orders regularly. It connects directly to the business owner’s existing WhatsApp account.

Anytime someone checks their bizlite card or wants to get in touch, they get a lead inquiry directly on WhatsApp.

bizlite aims to be a facilitator who helps a small business owner get online rather than a competitor in the space. Once small businesses get familiar with the idea of ‘online’, bizlite helps them:

Save time wasted on digital cataloging of their offline store;
Automate engagement with their customers via WhatsApp;
Improve discovery on Google & search platforms;
Network with the right people to grow their sales.

How Does bizlite Help Small Business Owners?

Small business owners struggle with digitization. Although they’re familiar with mobile phones, e-commerce platforms intimidate many of them, especially because they fear being scammed.

bizlite aims to help them deal with the fear by building a collaborative community of like-minded, level-headed, and zero-BS business owners who are supported by people who know their struggles and the tech landscape.

The first phase of this solution is onboarding 1,000 small business owners who’ve never been online. This includes:

Bringing their store online through bizlite’s FREE digital business card;

Cataloging their products through a Whatsapp-based digital cataloging solution.

Unlike existing players in the digital cards/Whatsapp catalog space, bizlite isn’t pushing hard on small businesses or asking them to pay upfront. Instead, all bizlite offerings are 100% free and will stay forever free for its core audience.

Instead of charging its users for basic features or the digital solution, bizlite plans to build its revenue stream by selling paid add-ons (on-demand modules) and NFC-based products for some unique use cases in networking, corporate gifting, automation, and digitization space.

Future Growth Plans

bizlite is growing slowly and steadily, currently with 200+ users, who are helping its founding by providing real-world feedback on the solution’s future course.

In a way, it’s a collaborative development process where the actual stakeholder—the user—decides what they need the most. The founder personally contacts almost every user and helps them solve their challenges when going digital.

Apart from the standard marketing and organic growth plans, bizlite actively participates in small business hackathons and tech challenges floated by the Government of India and ONDC. Their recent submission was about solving the challenge of digital cataloging for the Government’s ONDC initiative.

Along with everything else on the digitization front, bizlite is developing a new platform that will potentially solve the problem of SEO discovery for small business owners. They’re also focused on building a solution that helps young entrepreneurs pick the right business idea that suits their personality, find suppliers & professionals, and everything they need to build and grow a small business.

Final Words About bizlite

bizlite is registered under the Startup India initiative and is actively seeking partners and collaborators who can help it accelerate the process of digitalizing small businesses without burning cash.

The goal is simple – help small towns in India write the next chapter of growth without falling into the glitz and glare of ‘online courses,’ ‘pseudo entrepreneurship,’ and ‘migration’ to bigger cities (and countries).

Contact us if you want to feature your startup/small business in our spotlight section.

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