I had never considered getting into the directory game before Brilliant Directories came to AppSumo. When they first popped up, I watched the video and read the description and then moved on... but my mind kept coming back to the possibilities.

One of the niches I frequently work in is so fragmented that people actively complain about it. It's hard to figure out who is doing what and may the gods smile upon you if you need something in this niche in a new city. Almost all of the info is just passed around word-of-mouth style. I just couldn't stop thinking about how a directory could really solve problems for people in this niche.

I didn't want to get in over my head, so I started watching the videos on the BD website. Whoa. This company puts out more solid content to help users than any company-- yes any company-- I have ever seen. They record a webinar every week and post it... and they've been doing that for like 5 or 10 years. And these aren't crappy old "get some SEO juice" videos... they are serious about teaching you everything you need to know about making a solid business out of this. I was blown away by the content. Yet, still not convinced, I wandered over to their extremely active FB group. This sealed the deal... the group is helpful, supportive and full of pro-tips.

I picked up a fresh domain name for the niche (and lucked out with probably the best domain name pickup I've ever had) and got to work. A few hours later and I am off to a solid start. The software is powerful, but still easy to use. I am pretty excited to see how all of this unfolds, and I am impressed with the company.

Having said all of the positives... hey Brilliant Directories, 2005 called and they want they web design back. While I am thrilled to be onboard for the functionality-- the current templates are a throwback for sure. This stuff looks dated. I am so stoked for the idea, the power of the software, and even the company, but they really need to take the AppSumo cash they are flush with and hire some designers to make it slick. I do see there is a chorus of voices with the same plea, and the company seems super responsive to its customers, so I am giving it 5 Tacos on the belief that this will happen sooner rather than later.