We had the good fortune of connecting with Brooke Joiner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brooke, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My Co-Founder and husband, Matteo Onori and I had launched and grown a company previously. Together with the owner, we brought that company to over $1 million in year four of operations before starting Back2Business. We enjoy working together and our differing skillsets make operating a business natural for us.

Matteo and I are also personally committed to supporting local businesses and we try to make purchases with companies that align with our values. What we found is that it’s surprisingly difficult to find them without investing significant time and effort on every search.

We realize most people don’t have the time to be digging through pages of search results. And while everyone says, “Shop Local,” consumer spending data shows that most of us simply aren’t doing it.

Not surprisingly, we heard from business owners about how they struggle to be found by local clients, despite their ad spend and marketing investments. We realized a solution was needed to bring local businesses together with intentional shoppers, so we created it.

What should our readers know about your business?
Back2Business exists to support and promote independent brands & businesses in Boca Raton & Delray Beach, and to empower consumers to Shop Local. With Values. We offer a unique digital platform, podcast feature, and multiple promotions across our community to get the word out about our members. Driven by our own Core Values, we are focused on the needs of our growing community.

Several elements set us apart from other directories and advertising mediums. First, we only list independent local companies with 30 employees or less, and that’s because we recognize the fundamentally different process of building a company from the ground up. Second, we feature Core Values as a search function in our directory. With a broad spectrum of values represented, businesses can safely share their values and consumers can easily search based on theirs.

In the search and advertising space, we stand out because we are also an ad-free platform. With our value-packed membership model, every member receives the same benefits and there’s no way for anyone to buy their way to the top of the search result list. It’s also impossible for someone else’s ad to display on top of your listing because we just don’t sell ads.
Instead, our search results are a true best match every time, which means no wasted time for consumers and no wasted advertising dollars for businesses. The only way to show up higher in a given list of results is if the user searches for specific Core Values, or if they filter for highly rated businesses, which is where Ratings & Reviews come into play. It’s a merit-based approach in a truly free market ecosystem that is designed to serve both businesses and consumers. Research shows that consumers are seeking the true local small businesses, so we make it easy to find them.

We have intentionally built a platform where relationships and community are the main drivers and where consumers can search for true local businesses for all of their needs. We are inviting local businesses to list with us, and we are asking consumers to use our platform to Shop Local First– with a vision for the future of Shop Local Only.

We list all business types, including nonprofits. We invite nonprofits to enjoy the same membership benefits alongside the best businesses but with a lifetime complimentary membership. We offer this so that values-driven local consumers can come to our site to Shop Local. With Values. AND Give Local. With Values.

Community is truly at the heart of everything we do, and we have the honor of featuring the most amazing organizations. We invite everyone to get involved by visiting our website and/or sending an email to learn more!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Boca Raton & Delray Beach have so many great destinations! We have to mention breakfast at Grelma Italian Bakery Cafe in Delray Beach. They have the most authentic Italian pastries and breads we have found.
Sugar Sand Park is one of the best ways to spend a few hours with a family, with options for indoor and outdoor fun, though any of the parks in Boca are ideal for soaking up some sunshine & fresh air. Of course the beach in Boca is our other favorite way to spend an afternoon.
Hanging out at Mizner Park is always a pleasure, as are the various markets and community events going on throughout the year in both Boca & Delray.
We love to grab dinner at Rafina Greek Taverna, Medi Terra or Red Pine in Boca, but you can’t go wrong with any of the restaurants featured on our website. If you’re up for a little drive, Paradiso in Lake Worth is an excellent choice for celebrations.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
After we had developed our concept, we sought initial validation of our idea. In reality a lot of ideas sound great to founders but validation is really what’s needed. So we had the opportunity to share with the brilliant team at Get Structure. They help founders streamline the day-to-day operations and their leadership team’s experience is honestly incredible. To my surprise, their response to our idea was positive! We will always be so grateful to them for taking the time that day and giving us their honest reactions because that is what encouraged us to realize the concept and launch the company.

We have also been very blessed with the abundant support of our family and friends, both near and far, and have been received warmly by the small business communities we aim to serve in Boca Raton & Delray Beach. We are so grateful for the many graces and blessings we have received so far on this journey.

Website: www.getback2business.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/get_back_2_business/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/back2business-inc/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/getback2business

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkuJ55oP3o-an8VvLfRmCjQ

Other: info@getback2business.com

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutMiami is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.