Business Concierge — digital platform for local business growth

A streamlined digital platform assisting local business growth through targeted funding opportunities, regulatory guidance, and direct council partnerships.

My role: Experience design, concept and delivery

Focus: Local business growth, council efficiency, grants and compliance guidance

Deliverables: Conceptual prototype and pitch deck; ROI calculator

The Challenge

Local councils and businesses needed a clearer pathway to connect with one another: businesses often struggled to find relevant grants, regulatory guidance, and council resources, whilst councils faced high volumes of repetitive inquiries.

Business Goals

Link businesses directly to relevant grants and economic development initiatives
Simplify navigation of local services and compliance guidance
Facilitate access to professional networks, expert mentorship, and council resources
Deliver intuitive checklists with clear, implementable action items

What Was Done

Concept & Discovery

I defined the Business Concierge vision as a single digital platform to connect local businesses with grants, regulatory guidance, and council resources.
I mapped council and business pain points: fragmented inquiry handling, hard-to-find funding, and lack of a clear pathway for growth and compliance.

Design & Prototyping

I designed the app concept with direct links to grants and economic development initiatives, and clear navigation of local services.
I included access to professional networks, expert mentorship, and council resources, plus intuitive checklists with implementable action items.
I delivered a conceptual prototype and key screens suitable for stakeholder review and pitch presentations.

Final Deliverables

Conceptual prototype of the Business Concierge app, demonstrating the user experience and value for councils and businesses.
Pitch deck and narrative for communicating the platform’s benefits to stakeholders.
ROI calculator to estimate staff time saved and economic uplift, supporting business case discussions.
A functional "Progressive Web App" (PWA) of the Business Concierge.

Screenshots

Key screens from the Business Concierge app concept.

Results

The functional PWA, conceptual prototype and pitch deck were used to clearly communicate the value of a unified Business Concierge platform to councils and stakeholders.

Clear business case

— an ROI calculator to explore scenarios for staff time saved and potential economic uplift for local businesses.

Reduced ambiguity

— stakeholders could see (and click through) the end-to-end experience rather than debating requirements in the abstract.

Reusable foundation

— the concept was structured as modular flows (grants, guidance, networks, checklists) to support phased delivery and future iteration.

Decision-ready artefacts

— the deck and screens created a single narrative for alignment, prioritisation and next-step planning.

Key Learnings

Service-led businesses benefit from clear, single-point digital experiences that reduce fragmentation. Designing with council and business needs in mind from the start made it easier to articulate benefits and secure interest in the concept.