The most common question you see on local social media forums is 'does anyone know of a (accountant/plumber/place to eat/etc..)'.

Once upon a time we had local directories that promoted local businesses to local people. Many of you will have grown up with Yellow Pages or Thomson's Directory, which largely addressed this issue at the time.

Today, finding local businesses or tradesmen for local jobs is something that has become a real problem, hence the endless shout outs on social media. After all, the best recommendation is from an existing customer and by word of mouth.

But the result is that massive American businesses like Google, Facebook, Checkatrade and NextDoor have become the gatekeepers for local businesses, taking their cut for their largely US shareholders along the way. Essentially every time you use Uber or Deliveroo or Amazon or Etsy or Checkatrade or click links or ads on Meta or Google you are paying taxes to the wealthiest people on earth. The tech billionaires building all those data centres. Just to engage with a local business. You make Zuckerberg richer by looking for a plumber.

At inReading we think that it's time to change this, so this month we're launching the The inReading Directory.

If you would like to add your own business or recommend a local business then please just fill in the form below.

As a local person (or business) you will be able to find, book and buy locally with ease.

As a local business you can publicise your business and make special offers for free, and work with inReading to promote your business to our community and grow your business. We don't need any new data centres, or to pay Trump's supporters. We need our own directory.