About us

WHAT IS SHUSTIR?

Shustir is the online marketplace bringing small businesses closer to the millions of consumers who want to discover and buy from them - whether they're a block, or an ocean, apart.

How? Shustir provides small business owners the space and tools to build elegant, contemporary virtual storefronts. Shustir is free, and takes minimal time to start capturing the attention and dollars of consumers on their block, in their town, and far beyond.

Shustir gives local retailers, service businesses, consultants and start-ups instant, new power to market themselves on the web. That kind of power has been in short supply - until now. Forty-four percent of small business owners don't have a web site. And many who do have a virtual cabin in the woods - a nice place that's tough to find. That's a shame, since 92 percent of regularly online consumers surveyed said web research led them to buy something locally. (Source: WebVisible/Nielsen Online.)

Shustir member businesses can log on anytime to add or edit content and photos, respond to a consumer's comment or question, update their blog - even upload a virtual video tour of their store or products. E-commerce functionality is available at a modest $25 monthly fee.

A small business on Shustir is instantly more visible to consumers through Shustir's own searchable marketplace, and through Google and other major search engines. Shustir handles the optimization - often too costly for a standalone small business site, but the most critical element in getting found via search, or not.


WHO IS SHUSTIR?

Shustir is the brainchild of Shu Kim and Khanh Pham, former Lehman Brothers colleagues who embraced their freedom by living a dream: parlaying their personal experiences and business acumen to help neighborhood businesses thrive.

Shu came from New York City's multi-ethnic borough of Queens, where fierce loyalty to local businesses reigned supreme. Khanh grew up working hard alongside her parents in their family businesses in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Shu's and Khanh's experiences made them lifelong fans of neighborhood businesses, but also acutely aware of the opportunities so many small business owners forego in carefully shepherding cash, balancing transient labor, opening on time everyday - all told, the stuff of small business that precludes effective marketing.

Enter Shustir: the sum of Shu's, Khanh's and other experts' insights, harnessing the web's power to help resource-limited small business owners gain the attention, and incremental dollars, they've long deserved.