23. Asynchronous Micro Consulting
Paid 10 minute recorded video consults with an expert in any field.
Problem
Micro consulting is up-and-coming. Micro consulting are meetings with an expert that are rather short (<1 hour) and often non-repeating.
Scheduling is always a pain, and introduces a lot of overhead. There is no clear website or platform to offer these services.
Solution
A micro consulting platform, where as an expert you get your own page offering your services with a prompt form to fill by customers.
Customers pay up front and enter the prompt form (or upload a short video). The creator gets a notification and head to the website when they find some time. On the website they start a video recording of both their webcam as well as their screen. The timer starts and they read out the prompt and provide their expert advice.
Example consults:
App idea review (no, AirBnB for dogs is probably not a good idea).
SEO and copy tips for your website.
CV feedback for job seekers.
Dating or relationship advice.
Fashion, hair or makeup advice.
Review of a potential developer candidate's CV for non-technical founders.
Presentation coaching (the customer would upload a video of themselves).
Inspiration
I'm seeing more and more micro consulting offers pop up, such as “pay me $25 through Paypal and I’ll roast your product website.
The idea here is to open up this kind of consulting to a wider potential audience, not just those who can program. Why would make-up artists not offer their advice over a digital platform?
Business Model
Two-sided marketplaces are notoriously difficult to get off the ground. One way to get a micro consulting hub off the ground is to get experts on board who already have an audience - and incentivize to get their audience on the platform.
The business model would be taking a plain cut of the overall fees, say 20%. One would need a lot of volume to make this sustainable.