Who we are, and who pays.
Our two cents is only useful if you know where it comes from. Here is who owns Two Cents and how commercial relationships are handled.
Two Cents publishes researched shortlists of businesses worth hiring, starting with Melbourne. Each guide explains who a business suits, what it does well, what we could not verify, and where every fact came from.
Who owns Two Cents
Two Cents (2c.au) is owned and published by James Richardson. James is also the founder of Optimising, a Melbourne SEO agency. Two Cents does not carry advertising and is not funded by any business it reviews.
Commercial relationships
Because our publisher runs an agency, some businesses in our guides may be owned by him or be clients of Optimising. Our rules:
- Any business with a commercial relationship is labelled next to its name, wherever it appears.
- Each guide may include one featured placement in position 1 for such a business, disclosed at the top of the guide.
- Featured businesses are scored on the same rubric and evidence as everyone else, and their scores are never adjusted.
- Every other position follows the score. No other business pays to be included or to change its position.
- Businesses cannot veto or edit what we publish about them, but anyone can request a factual correction for free.
How we research
Our current guides are desk research. We read each business’s own website and check independent sources such as review platforms, the Australian Business Register, award lists and industry directories. The details are in how we score.
Contact and corrections
If something we have published is wrong, please send a correction with a link to evidence.