Frequently Asked Questions
Consumers
What is SkillSlate?
SkillSlate is a website that helps people find and hire independent service professionals. These service professionals typically charge less than larger companies (since they don’t have all the overhead costs to pass on to you), but often perform a higher level of quality given their personal ownership of their business. Each service provider is represented with a business profile that includes a photo, service & price information, and reviews from previous clients, which together give you more information to help you choose the best service provider for you.
What makes SkillSlate different than other websites in the space?
We are focused on independent business owners -- not larger companies. For local services, many people want to do business with other people, not a faceless company. Independent businesses tend to do great work, and feel a very real sense of responsibility toward ensuring great service since they are their own brand - there’s no company name to hide behind. However, good independent businesses are hard to find online because they typically don’t advertise, don’t have their own website, and don’t show up in Google results. SkillSlate wants to change that by giving you, the consumer, more information about these independent service professionals so that you can find the best person to hire for your needs.
Is SkillSlate a safe place to find a service provider? Does SkillSlate offer a background check?
We focus on providing as much transparent information about each service provider on our site as possible. Our goal is to help consumers make informed decisions based on detailed business and personal information about service professionals whom they are considering hiring. We believe that a photo, detailed information about each service professional, and reviews from past clients are tremendously helpful in finding a trustworthy local service provider. We may provide background checks in the future, but we do not currently offer that functionality.
Are the service professionals on the site affiliated with or employed by SkillSlate?
No, none of the individual service professional on the site are affiliated with or employed by SkillSlate. Each service provider on SkillSlate runs his/her own business and is responsible for their own operations. SkillSlate is an information source which is intended to help consumers make better decisions, but cannot guarantee any of the services you find on the site. Please see our Terms of Service for more information.
How do you make money?
SkillSlate will always be free for people looking to hire a service professional. The SkillSlate profile and all related basic functionality will always be free for service providers as well. In the future, we will offer premium features to SkillSlate service providers, such as featured business profile placement within our directory.
Does SkillSlate protect my privacy?
We won’t sell or share your information with anyone else. For details on our policies, please see our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy pages.
Service Providers
What is SkillSlate?
SkillSlate is a website that lets independent service professionals showcase detailed information about their businesses online. Each business is represented with a business profile that includes a photo, service & price information, and reviews from previous clients. SkillSlate’s goal is to help you better market your business online, and to ultimately help you get more clients.
What makes SkillSlate different than other directories?
We are focused on independent business owners -- not larger companies. For local services, we think people prefer to do business with other people, not larger companies. However, independent businesses are hard to find online because they typically don’t advertise, don’t have their own website, and don’t show up in Google results. SkillSlate wants to change that by giving you, the independent business owner, more tools to easily market your services and be found online.
I already have a website. Why should I have SkillSlate business profile?
By leveraging the collective power of all the members on SkillSlate, a SkillSlate business profile is able to generate significantly more business leads than a typical website. In addition, SkillSlate provides members with free marketing tools, such as our Post-to-Craigslist tool, to drive even more leads for their businesses.
Where did you get the information to build my business profile on SkillSlate?
We started a basic business profile for your business from publicly available information. You can update or remove any information on your business profile (except reviews) by claiming your business profile and then clicking ‘edit’ on any information field.
How do you make money?
Your SkillSlate profile and everything you see on the site today will always be free. In the future, we will offer optional premium features to SkillSlate members, such as featured business profile placement in your local area, or other premium services to help you with your business. Our premium services will be entirely optional, and you will not be required to pay a dime if you choose not to purchase them.
Can I delete my business profile?
Yes, you can click “Unsubscribe and Delete My Profile” at the bottom of the ‘Claim Your Profile’ email that we sent you (the first email we sent to you). If you do so, your business profile will be deleted immediately and we will never email you again. You can also email help@skillslate.com with a request to delete your business profile and we’ll remove it within 24 hours.
I received a negative review, can I remove it?
SkillSlate strives to be a transparent source of information for consumers. All reviewers must authenticate their identity with us before writing a review. As a service provider, you can respond to reviews in order to tell your side of the story for any review that is left for you. If you feel that a review is inappropriate, please flag it and we will review it. However, we will not remove reviews unless they are clearly fake.
Why don’t I see my city. How can I join?
SkillSlate is currently available only in select areas, but will be expanding soon. If you don’t see your area listed, you currently can’t create a profile. We add new cities every few months, so check back once in a while to see if your city has been added.
Why is my SkillSlate profile not showing up in Google search results?
SkillSlate submits business profiles to search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, and they should be searchable on those sites. However, it can take time for search engines to update their search results, so you may have to wait a few days (or weeks) to begin showing up in search engine results.
Some of the information you have for my business is wrong. How do I fix it?
We try our best to ensure the information for your business profile is correct. However, some of the time there is important information missing, or occasionally, some information is incorrect. To fix the information about your business, simply claim your profile by click “Update Now” under the photo on your profile. Once your profile has been claimed, you can change any of the information on the page.
My business profile service category is wrong.
Sorry about that. Email help@skillslate.com and we’ll change it.
Can I change the photo in my business profile?
Yes, you can change your photo by claiming your profile and updating it with a new picture, or you can send an email to help@skillslate.com and we can remove it.
I provide multiple services. Can I have more than one profile?
You can have more than one profile if you provide services in multiple distinct service categories. However, currently you’ll need your two business profiles to have distinct email addresses and phone numbers.
How can my business profile rank higher in the SkillSlate directory and in search engines like Google?
The more complete your business profile, the higher it will be listed. You can make it more complete by adding a photo of yourself, listing your pricing and other service details, and accumulating reviews. The more useful information you provide about your business, and the more reviews you have from actual past clients, the higher you will show up in your category and in Google.
Do clients need a SkillSlate account to leave me a review?
No. When you request a review from current or former clients, they are sent an email with a link to your business profile. To leave your business a review, the reviewer needs to confirm their identity by either confirming their email address, or by logging in using their Facebook login.