Hidden Gems: Meet Sara Potter of OutpostLE.com

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Potter.

Hi Sara, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today. What exactly is OutpostLE.com?
OutpostLE.com is a full-service e-commerce / commerce marketplace developed by Raleigh, NC-based software development company, Fibonacci Solutions, inc. The entire team is working to accomplish a centralized location for consumers to shop locally virtually, seek local service businesses, and find restaurants, activities, and non-profits throughout all states.

OutpostLE.com’s team describes the concept of OutpostLE.com much like the map directory in the mall. Remember the Saturdays of going to the mall with your friends? You knew you needed some new shoes but weren’t sure where to find them, especially if it was in a mall you had not been to before. The directory had all the shops broken down by category. Under shoes, you might see Journeys, Rack Room, and a hand full of other such listings. This is very similar to how OutpostLE.com operates, making it user-friendly for consumers to access the 3 main categories: retailers, service providers, and hospitality industries (food and beverage businesses), and countless subcategories. The mall analogy may sound similar to an online directory, a place to find businesses like the yellow pages of yesteryear, but OutpostLE.com has many more layers and does so much more for its members. OutpostLE.com makes it easy for consumers to find local businesses, check reviews, leave reviews, seek services, and make purchases. Because it is more than just a list of local businesses, a more accurate term for what OutpostLE.com would be an ‘online local commerce marketplace.’

Ask most anyone if they support shopping local, and they will answer with a resounding ‘YES,’ but it must be easy for the consumer to find what they are looking for, so they do not resort to the larger corporate chain options. The catch is that sometimes it is hard to find those budding businesses in the local community. They might be on the cusp of exploding but aren’t big enough to get picked by a simple Google search. With OutpostLE.com, members can trust that consumers will find them.

A direct quote from the OutpostLE.com website states, “OutpostLE is a unique twist on today’s local e-commerce, local shopping, and local service experiences.” Notice the repetitive use of ‘local.’ That is not without design; It’s even in the name. The LE stands for Local Economy. OutpostLE.com’s primary focus is to curate a custom online marketplace that caters to local businesses and consumers. With a steadfast dedication to building local economies, OutpostLE.com’s model creates a trustworthy and dependable online presence for all local businesses. OutpostLE.com helps businesses.

Ratings Run the Roost.
Like or leave it, but it is a digitally driven world. Word of mouth spreads faster online than it ever could in person. Businesses explode, and businesses fizzle with reputations gained by online reviews. OutpostLE.com allows members to showcase their business in the form of reviews. Customers can log in, locate the business and leave a review. Positive reviews in a local commerce marketplace can be the difference between a would-be customer and a loss to a competitor. With your business listed on OutpostLE.com, a good review that is easily read and found is vital to building your brand and makes your business easier to find when a potential customer is looking for you. A positive review is one step closer to converting a shopper into a buyer.

Easy Economics.
Aside from paid marketing for business and brand promotion, OutpostLE.com is a cost-effective way to bolster your online visibility within the community. OutpostLE.com has two membership options. Premium memberships boast many perks, including a sub-domain website custom curated for members, unlimited categories that fit their business, reviews, lots of link backs, and a space within the main directory with its own benefits such as map, location, reviews, and more for $199 a year. The basic membership at $5 a month is a link to the business website in the main directory and reviews. OutpostLE.com gives you a more convenient approach for reaching a larger audience and managing real-time content. With a membership, your business will have improved visibility online, build your brand, and be a part of a local online community that increases revenue and repeat customers.

Finders Keepers
With everything online, the difference for businesses between a customer and lost revenue is being found. Most people prefer to use a local online directory when looking for a nearby business or service. This means that people are willing to skip a google search and instead, use a local option like OutpostLE.com. Of those looking on Google, 46% of the searches are individuals searching for a business in their geographic area. Mobile devices and high-speed internet mean the ability to locate a business is seconds away for anyone. You may lose a potential customer if your business doesn’t have your information easily found. In the past three years, there has been a huge uptake in those online clicking the near me the link, which leads to local business directories. This is where OutpostLE.com excels and will keep your business at the top of the search. You are more likely to have someone find you when your business is listed with OutpostLE. With sophisticated filtering tailored to your business, OutpostLE.com increases the odds of a potential customer coming to you. OutpostLE.com can help you increase your online presence, market a personal website, and generate revenue.

Why OutpostLE.com above others?
OutpostLE.com was developed by Raleigh, NC, software development company, Fibonacci Solutions, Inc. partners Keith Potter, Neeraj Rohilla, and the late Veera Musku, along with Sara Potter, Mike Tuscano, and other key team members. Everyone worked collaboratively on this project that represented what each of them could bring to the table. For one, it was essential to create something that drove eCommerce. For another, it was a priority that local businesses were promoted and supported, etch. And what rose to the top that fit all the criteria was the beginning of OutpostLEcom. Before the launch of OutpostLE.com, there was not one virtual platform where the community could go shopping, seek services, and find a restaurant that was all local to their area You had to go to several platforms for each, individually, including social media. OutpostLE.com aimed to enrich the local economy and help local businesses. The analytics prove that they are more than reaching the goals and objectives of the creative partners.

The site averages 20,000 users per month, and of those 20,000, each user spends approximately 4 minutes investigating and navigating OutpostLE.com. Those numbers and time navigating is a promising opportunity for local businesses that have until joining OutpostLE.com to rely on potential foot traffic to bring customers to the door. Even more exciting is that these numbers are only projected to grow and increase, thereby increasing the probability of increased revenue for OutpostLE.com members.

Since its inception as a think tank idea and its official launch in January of 2021, OutpostLE.com boasts over 30k users and close to 200,000 page views as of mid-August 2022; that is an impressive statistic. The better part is that almost $30,000 in sales and subscriptions have already been generated for businesses that are members of OutpostLE.com during this time frame. At this time, Fibonacci Solutions, Inc has rolled all profits into the community through school donations, charity, or helping families in need.

OutpostLE.com builds business and strengthens local economies.
The more the community gathers and explores OutpostLE.com, the more it becomes a commonplace word around town and will be the go-to place for people seeking goods and services. It is essentially word of mouth online and is community-centered and locally driven. Local directories like OutpostLE.com operate on factors that the community can trust and will naturally and organically drive traffic to the businesses that subscribe to OutpostLE.com.

Aside from OutpostLE.com’s unique innovation as an all-in-one place to find local businesses, a potential customer bypassing Google to look for local goods and services can also boost their local economy, and the research supports it. OutpostLE.com helps to keep money in the community. Taxes and revenue generated from businesses on OutpostLE.com go directly back to the community to help pay for schools, roads, community initiatives, and public programs. In fact, for every $100 spent at a local business, $68 will go back to the community. With the majority of local spending staying in the same community, the community’s overall economic health will continue to rise. This positive will be seen in more salaries and a higher tax base, leading to more economic activity. It is a loop that benefits local communities. Author of Going Local, Michael H. Shuman, references local-driven shopping versus bog box and chain store shopping, “Control moves from the boardrooms of distant corporations and back into the community where it belongs.”

OutpostLE.com is in the prime position to be a driving force that builds the local economy and bolsters business. When asked what the big picture plans for OutpostLE.com are, Sara Fallon Potter will tell you that it’s to have OutpostLE.com as the community go-to for cities across North Carolina and then steadily branch out to surrounding states and even nationwide.

What sets OutpostLE.com above other online directories?
Yesterday’s mall might be fading, but a community shopping experience is alive and well with OutpostLE.com. It is the first online platform where the community can shop, search for services needed, and find a restaurant all in one place. It’s poised to take off and continue to expand its reach within the community. As a member of OutpostLE.com, your business is seen and shopped by your local community and even those that live outside the community. Members can have their own online storefront to market and sell services, products, and food and beverage options in a community marketplace. Even if you already have an established website and online presence, OutpostLE.com can still help to build your brand by enhancing your presence in your local community and being linked to your current site. Help your business extend its reach with OutpostLE.com. Simply sign up on OutpostLE.com, and a team member will reach out with the information provided to help you add your business as a premium member. Still have questions? Reach out to Sara Fallon Potter at SFallon@OutpostLE.com

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
With any new product, you need to develop it and put it on the market for review. Once you understand more of what your target audience needs, you make it happen. We are always making OutpostLE.com better! We will always ensure that the community comes first.

Contact Info:

• Website: OutpostLE.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outpost_le/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/outpostle
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8qrqtbeSsN2zQvUCKtVH-A