Start a $100 per Hour Consulting Business in 5 Minutes with clarity

https://claritymoney.com/

https://clarity.fm/

Clarity earnings are incremental; it’s $1300 I wouldn’t have made otherwise. I say that because my “clients” don’t have a pre-existing relationship with me, but this platform brought us together.

This post will cover:

• What Clarity is.
• How it works.
• How to set up YOUR expert profile for success.
• How to earn your first reviews.
• My tips and tricks to maximize your earnings.
• Other Clarity-like platforms you might consider.

What is Clarity.fm?

Clarity is the marketplace to get one-on-one expert advice on a wide variety of business topics. The site makes it easy to facilitate quick Q&A-style consulting calls.

The site was established in 2012 by Dan Martell, and now boasts more than 30,000 experts and facilitates more than 12,000 consulting calls every month. The company, which raised an initial seed round of $1.6 million, was acquired by Fundable earlier this year.

Consider one of the common themes of Side Hustle Nation: putting your “buy buttons” on marketplaces that already exist.

Clarity is one of those marketplaces. People are browsing on there looking for answers to specific questions — and even better, they’re ready and willing to spend some money for help.

For service-based businesses and consultants, this is another potential way for clients to discover you; one that doesn’t rely 100% on your own marketing efforts.

It’s not passive income, but there’s also very little overhead involved.

My average call lasts 20-25 minutes and earns $36.40.

How Clarity.fm Works

How Clarity works is as a facilitator between experts and those needing expert advice. If I’m looking for help with a specific business question, I can go on and browse qualified professionals to set up a call with.

For example, if I need help with Infusionsoft, I can find specialists on-demand who can help me out:

To set up a call:

• I fill in a little form to give my expert an idea of what I want to talk about.
• Estimate how long I think the call will run.
• Suggest 3 times, beginning as early as an hour from the time I make the request.

Clarity will bill me immediately for the estimated length of the call, and refund me the difference if the call is shorter than anticipated. (And charge me the overage if we run long.)

The company provides a conference call number to dial in to, and tracks how long the call lasts. You pay only for the time both you and the expert are on the line.

Setting up your Clarity profile

The first you need to do is to create an expert account, which is free.

Next, Clarity offers a few ways to “verify” your account with other social media profiles, and at the very you must connect your LinkedIn account. (It’s required.)

While I can’t be sure, I imagine these verifications will be a “ranking factor” in Clarity’s search algorithm if they’re not already. It’s also a way to safeguard you really are who you say you are — so people like me can’t pretend to be Mark Cuban and charge $167 a minute!

Setting Your Rate

When setting up your profile, you’ll be asked to set your hourly consulting rate. Rates on Clarity start at $60 per hour, but generally average $100-300 per hour:

Your Areas of Expertise

Each expert on Clarity can have up to 5 areas of expertise. Naturally, it makes sense to fill out all 5 to give yourself the best shot of being discovered.

Like all marketplaces, there’s a search engine element to clarity. Consider your expertise headings as your main keywords you’ll be targeting in “Clarity SEO.”

Building Your Profile: Your First Calls and Reviews

Whenever you start on a new marketplace (Amazon, Udemy, Fiverr, Upwork, Etsy, etc.), you’re starting from scratch so it’s on you to give your profile the initial push it needs to get some real attention.

Thankfully, Clarity is aware of this problem and has a cool workaround for new experts. (After all, they want you to succeed because that’s how they get paid.)

The best way to collect your initial Clarity reviews is to set up free calls through the platform. Each expert has the ability to generate a “promo” VIP link you can share with friends, clients, or other trusted individuals.

Maximizing Your Clarity Earnings

On each call, you can kind of get a feel for the type of customer you’re dealing with. Some are happy with a long rambling conversation, while others have a precise pre-written list of questions they expect you to answer. Some, surprisingly, love to hear themselves talk and will dominate the conversation.

I’m an excellent listener when the clock is ticking!

Downsides to Clarity

One of the most frustrating parts of Clarity is at the moment their suggested call times don’t integrate with your calendar, so it will occasionally take a few back-and-forth rounds before you find a time that works for both parties.

Also, this is a small annoyance, but every time I withdraw my earnings I have to pay the PayPal transaction fee as well. For example, on my last withdrawal PayPal took $16.95 in fees from my $427.01 in earnings. I wouldn’t normally complain, but I don’t see those fees with similar payments from Udemy or Fiverr.

Clarity.fm Alternatives

Clarity may be the most prominent player in the one-on-one expert advice arena, but there are a handful of alternatives you can try out as well.

• WizIQ – focused on academic tutoring.
• Coach.me – focused on personal growth and self-improvement.
• PopExpert – “get better at life, work, and play.”
• 24Sessions – business advice for entrepreneurs.
• SoHelpful.me – [discontinued] offer your assistance for free (for lead gen and market research).

(Google had a competing service called Helpouts, but shut it down in 2015.)

Your Turn

Go forth and sell your expertise on Clarity!

Have you tried out the platform already? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below if this side hustle sounds doable to you.