Building a Better Doorbell

One of my side hustles is managing an apartment building in Seattle. It’s one of those brand new “micro-studios” on Capitol Hill. One of the most common complaints I received in 2019 was that there wasn’t a call box down at the front door. The peephole on the door doesn’t help when your guest is down at the front.

Amazon drivers were dropping my renter’s packages in plain view in front of the building. The existing cam on the door wasn’t much help. I needed something that could be made available to my tenants in their unit without being installed by a pro. I definitely couldn’t allow a proliferation of ring doorbells plastered to the front of the building.

After searching for a conventional answer on Google. Ring’s doorbells just weren’t a good match. Sixty different people needed to be able to have a separate doorbell all at the same time. I couldn’t be running around drilling and stringing video camera lines everywhere and I could have cared less about whether or not it was Echo compatible or Alexa-enabled. 

This couldn’t just be solved with a big red button. I needed a novel solution instead.

I wrote a web app that I call Digital Doorbell. It’s stupid simple. I posted a QR code on the door that allows visitors or delivery drivers to select the unit they want to contact from a list. The web address is also listed in case there is something wrong with the user’s lens. The best part is that both parties privacy is respected as no phone numbers are revealed in the transaction.

Since I have installed the system, I have seen a marked decrease in missed packages and package questions from my residents. I think it’s a win for us here in the building.

You may be asking what this has to do with passive income. Well, I turned Digital Doorbell into a service that other property managers can use to solve their problems and I’m currently looking for a few good affiliates to help me spread the word.

If you’re interested in Digital Doorbell for your apartment building or rental property please check out our online demo. If you think that you may be a fitting affiliate, contact us.