Business & Tech

Checking In With: Help Around Town

Two years after its launch, Lexington startup Help Around Town continues picking up steam because, well, because it's working.

It started out as a feeling, which then grew into a business. Which now continues to grow in new and exciting directions. 

Help Around Town was born years deep into a down economy, out of Reem Yared's desire to create jobs for the un- and under-employed youth. 

"The only area of growth that nobody was tapping into was people's 'To-Do' lists," Yared said recently. "And we've done that." 

With Help Around Town, Yared built a hyperlocal online marketplace where locals looking for help around their homes could connect with nearby students, young people and anyone else looking for work any way they could get it. But what it’s become over the past few years is bigger than that.

Yardwork still represents the bulk of the job listings, but as the site spread into dozens of communities the scope of the jobs posted expanded as well.  Now, alongside locals looking for yards to be yards to be mowed and pools to be cleaned are listings for cataloging personal libraries, promoting restaurants, marketing internships and teaching Armenian.

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Seeing her site and service grow over its first three years has been both affirmation and motivation for Yared.

“At first it was this idea, but I had no idea if people would use it,” she said. “It gives me great satisfaction to see that it works. And the values and mission are still the same. It’s still about connecting neighbors and creating jobs.”

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Read Lexington Patch's first feature on Help Around Town, from June 2011. 

As the Help Around Town grows, Lexington remains the epicenter of activity. Earlier this month, the site had 1,260 registered users and 816 jobs posted. At any given time, there are at least 30 jobs posted for the taking.

As Help Around Town has expanded it’s also collected a few accolades, including the “Rising Star” and One-To-Watch In 2013 award from the Lexington Chamber of Commerce.

The bulk of the activity is still in Lexington or surrounding towns, like Arlington and Belmont. But last week there were jobs as far south as Hull, as far west as Fitchburg and as far north as the New Hampshire seacoast.

One thing Yared has noticed as Help Around Town has matured is how many older, qualified job-seekers it has attracted. While teens, as expected, are the biggest cohort, many middle-aged individuals have also sought jobs through the site.

Similarly, the core of job-posters has begun to expand beyond individuals and households looking for singular services. Small businesses and local organizations are increasingly looking to Help Around Town for their temporary labor needs.

And as her site and service grows, Yared will look to grow the company as well.

“I want to be the place where microbusinesses go to grow,” she said, “A place that promotes these businesses, like a local Etsy.”

That’ll mean expanding advertising opportunities for local businesses and growing the Help Around Town team to include tech support and sales and marketing. Part of the plan to make Help Around Town ubiquitous could also include local reps in various communities.

“What we’re looking for is champions in the different towns,” Yared said. “I want Help Around Town to be a no-brainer.”

For more information about Help Around Town, check out the website. 


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