New Business Helps LDS Serve Each Other

LDS Living Staff

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When Russ Wenzlau purchased a home, he realized just how many services the house needed. So he turned to his trusty phonebook and started looking people up. But how was he supposed to know he was getting good, honest service? He could hire people in his LDS ward for certain projects, but what about the services they didn’t provide?

“I thought it would be nice if there was a list of businesses somewhere with owners who shared your same values,” Wenzlau said.

The result was LDS Phonebook.

Wenzlau and his partner, Curtis Ross, decided that they would use a similar format to other business phonebooks, but that LDS Phonebook (found at LDSPhonebook.com) would provide users with contact information for businesses owned by Church members. The idea for this type of service has been attempted in the past, but, said Ross, it hasn’t really ever been viable. “There have been other things out there, but they usually only have one or two business per state. It’s not usable on a regular basis.”

LDS Phonebook is quickly becoming regularly usable. Though the Web site went up only a couple months ago, it already has over 1500 business listings in 42 states—and it keeps growing. “A lot of people are really excited about it,” said Wenzlau.

Besides the main difference that this phonebook only lists LDS businesses, the site has a couple other notable differences from typical online phonebooks. Most phonebooks only let businesses list the phone number and business name for free; LDS Phonebook allows businesses to also post their website, a description, and e-mail information—all for free.

“Part of our goal is to help those smaller businesses that are struggling, that don’t have a very high budget,” said Ross. “We’re trying to come up with innovative ways for these small businesses to make money where, otherwise, they may not have been able to.”

These innovative ideas include ways to cut advertising costs, such as an option where LDS Phonebook pays 50 percent of advertising charges from major companies (like LDS Living, BYU-TV online, Deseret News, etc.) in return for a small “By LDSphonebook” at the bottom and a link to the business’s listing on LDSPhonebook.com.

“[The business] is also our customer, not just the user. We’re doing everything we can to make their opportunities the best,” said Ross.

This sentiment indicates the strong sense of community responsibility that Ross and Wenzlau have. While the site really started with a goal to allow users to more easily find honest service, it has become about more than just the user.

“There are hundreds of Church members who have lost their jobs. If there was ever a time to say, ‘Yeah, I have hundreds of options for a pest control company right now; why not call up the one who is struggling everyday so that his wife can stay home with the kids? Or because he’s spending nights fulfilling his Church calling, when he could be working on his business?’ I feel like it’s our responsibility, if we have an option, to help people in our church community,” said Ross.

They’re also conscious of small businesses run from home, including those run by mothers trying to earn money but stay home. “People who work from home have no way of marketing their product to everybody,” said Wenzlau. “I think [our website] helps out those women that do crafts or have businesses that don’t get a lot of visibility—it gives them a larger audience.”

Ross said simply, “We want to provide service on both ends.”

But they’re not looking through rose-colored glasses. Wenzlau and Ross understand that, unfortunately, being LDS doesn’t necessarily mean honesty, so they have built-in security for customers. Per their terms and conditions, if standards of the Church are violated in a listing, it will be automatically removed. Additionally, any business receiving three bad reviews will be taken off the site; even one bad review merits check up from LDS Phonebook.

Still, Wenzlau and Ross believe those cases will be the exception to the rule. “There’s definitely a higher chance that you’ll get good service, if for no other reason than you have the same background and you may get along with them better,” said Ross. “You’d think that maybe businesses would try to hold a higher standard than they might otherwise.”

In the end, the owners hope their service will help LDS people serve each other, both on the business side and the consumer side.

“Maybe you can find another pest control business that’s just as honest and isn’t owned by LDS people, but the point is, support each other! If we have the option to do that, let’s do it. And now there is that option,” said Ross.

For more information, visit LDSPhonebook.com, get the LDS Phonebook app at the iPhone store, or look for LDS Phonebook on Twitter and Facebook.

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