- AZ Charged
About
Phoenix
Scottsdale
Gilbert
Mesa
Chandler
Tucson
A hand-vetted Arizona business directory. One vetter. Zero pay-to-rank.
AZ Charged is a curated directory of Arizona businesses — hand-selected, personally vetted, and never ranked by who pays the most. It's run by one person: TJ Loftus, an ASU grad who's spent 25 years inside the digital advertising machine — AutoTrader.com, Jobing.com, ReachLocal/Gannett — and built this directory to be everything those pay-to-play platforms aren't.
Who's Behind AZ Charged
I'm TJ Loftus. I grew up in South Jersey, moved to the Valley to attend Arizona State, and never left — that was 30+ years ago. I graduated from ASU in 2001 with a B.S. in Global Business and Marketing, later added a year of master's work at Grand Canyon University while working at Phoenix's own Jobing.com, and spent the next two decades inside the exact industry this directory exists to push back on.
My career ran through AutoTrader.com and ReachLocal — the local advertising giant acquired by Gannett and now operating as LocalIQ. I've seen from the inside how national platforms sell "local visibility": whoever pays most, ranks first. The plumber with the biggest ad budget beats the plumber with the best work, and the homeowner searching never knows the difference.
Since 2006 I've run my own companies instead — digital marketing, web design, and AI consulting for local businesses (more on those below). AZ Charged is the project that pulls it all together: a directory for the state I've called home my whole adult life, built the way I always thought one should be built.
The full work history is on my LinkedIn if you want to verify any of it — that's kind of the point of this page.
How Businesses Get Into This Directory
Every listing on AZ Charged goes through the same filter — me. There's no sales team, no algorithm, and no tiered placement scheme. The process:
1. Review. I look at the business's actual work: reviews across platforms, licensing and certifications where the trade requires them, how long they've operated, and how they treat customers when something goes wrong — the part ad budgets can't fake.
2. Selection. If the work holds up, they're invited in. If it doesn't, no amount of money changes that. Plenty of businesses have asked; the answer is the same every time.
3. Placement. Listings are organized by category and city — never by spend. A business paying for a listing and a business I featured editorially sit under identical rules. Nobody outranks anybody by writing a bigger check.
AZ Charged vs. the National Aggregators
| AZ Charged | National Directories | |
| Who vets listings | One named human, in Arizona | Self-serve signup, anyone |
| Can you pay to rank? | No — ever | Yes — it's the business model |
| Coverage | Arizona only, on purpose | Every zip code in America, thinly |
| Local knowledge | Knows Ahwatukee from Anthem | Knows your zip code |
The Other Companies I Run
AZ Charged isn't a side hustle by a hobbyist — it's one arm of a group of companies I've built since going independent in 2006:
Lifted Websites
Web design and SEO for local businesses — the build-it-right-the-first-time shop. liftedwebsites.com
AI Warhorse
AI strategy and implementation for businesses figuring out what the AI era actually means for them. aiwarhorse.com
DIAP Media
Digital marketing and media — the agency work that keeps me current on what actually ranks and converts. diapmedia.com
South Jersey Contractors
A contractor directory serving the place I grew up — the East Coast sibling of AZ Charged. southjerseycontractors.com
⚡ WHY "CHARGED"
Arizona's Business Energy. After 25 years watching national platforms treat Arizona like a set of zip codes, this directory runs on the opposite premise: the Valley, Tucson, and the high country deserve a guide built by someone who's actually driven the Loop 101 at rush hour, sat through a monsoon at a Diamondbacks game, and knows which businesses locals genuinely trust. Start with our featured Arizona businesses, or dive into the guides — things to do in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and the vetted service company lists that show the selection process in action.
Questions People Ask
Who owns AZ Charged?
TJ Loftus — Arizona resident of 30+ years, ASU graduate (B.S. Global Business & Marketing, 2001), and independent business owner since 2006, with a career background at AutoTrader.com, Jobing.com, and ReachLocal/Gannett (LocalIQ).
Do businesses pay to be on AZ Charged?
Listings are paid, but payment never affects ranking or selection. A business can't buy its way in, and it can't buy its way up. Vetting comes first; the listing fee keeps the directory independent of advertising.
How do I get my business listed?
Submit through the contact page or call (888) 863-7421. Every submission gets a real review — if your work holds up, you're in.
Think Your Business Belongs Here?
Every listing gets reviewed by an actual Arizonan. If your work holds up to vetting, let's talk.
Submit Your Business for Review →📞 Got a business to recommend or list? Call (888) 863-7421 — serving all of Arizona