Building Apps Fast and Better at No Cost

We’re highlighting small businesses from around the country as nominated by you, our readers. If your favorite small business is using Twitter to communicate with customers, let us know about it @fbsmallbiz with the hashtag #mysbc, and it may be featured as an upcoming Small Business of the Day.

Small Business of the Day: Appsbar

Who: Founder Scott Hirsch, 45, @appsbar_inc

What: Smartphone app developer

When: 2011

How: Hirsch had been working in online marketing for the past 20 years when the company he worked for wanted to create an app. After during some research, Hirsch was floored by the cost and amount of time it took to develop apps for businesses, and sought to develop a more-efficient way to streamline the process, especially for small-to-medium-sized companies.

"Getting an app developed was time and cost prohibiting for most people in this economy," he said.

Appsbar creates free smartphone apps for people online within an half hour. The site just got out of beta testing, and in nearly one year, it has attracted 60,000 members and has created more than 8,000 apps.

Hirsch has opened a physical office in Florida that provides “app coaches” for users who want more guidance before jumping into the game. Currently, he is funding Appsbar out of his own pocket, but is actively seeking investors.

Where: Deerfield Beach, Fla.

In his own words: "We are building a community of app developers, builders and members here. We want to give the opportunity [to develop apps] to the very people buying these millions of smartphones."

To view more Small Businesses of the Day, click our interactive map.