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For entrepreneurs on a tight budget, new “Free Consultation Hub” could be a valuable resource

Guest post by: J Michael Mangalam

Article Overview: The new service is ParetoCentral.com, which is a "free consultation hub" connecting entrepreneurs and consultants. Clients (Entrepreneurs/Startup execs) post requests for a free, confidential consultation and Consultants respond with their qualifications and availability. This gives Clients immediate access to experienced professionals – typically, professional consultants or business executives – to help them solve a specific problem that requires immediate attention. For the Consultant, he or she is able to network with Clients, while building a reputation as a trusted and valued resource. The free consultation could lead to paid project, full-time employment or a recommendation for future business.

For entrepreneurs on a tight budget, new “Free Consultation Hub” could be a valuable resource

As an entrepreneur, you probably have core expertise in a couple of functional disciplines - say, Marketing or Software Architecture. These core skills most likely make up the foundation of your new company. However, any new company needs other skills to achieve a well-rounded business presence. How do you fill them under your tight budget conditions?

ParetoCentral.com is a Free Consultation Hub established with entrepreneurs like you in mind. You can post a "Free Consultation Request" at ParetoCentral.com, specifying your immediate need (Marketing advice, HR advice, business development advice, etc). You will receive a responses from a subset of 12,000 (and growing) expert consultants at ParetoCentral.com. You decide from whom to accept free consultations and then continue on to free confidential consultations with each of them over the phone or by similar means.

What do the consultants get in return? First of all, free consultations could lead to a compensated consulting project (cash or equity-based) or a business referral in the future. Also, a good "feedback" from you will give them more credibility at the site.

ParetoCentral.com's name comes from the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule, which says 80% of outcomes come from 20% of the influencers. ParetoCentral.com wants to elevate the visibility of 20%, or the top talent at the site, through the power of feedbacks.

Currently, one can now post a "Free Consultation Request" at ParetoCentral.com at no cost. The company plans to charge a "posting fee" at a later time to be the main source of revenue for the company.

No such service exists in the market currently, and market research has indicated a high degree of acceptance of such as service. Founder/CEO Joju Mangalam notes: "Two years ago, I was working at a well-known, major internet company during a large-scale layoff. Even though I was not affected, I knew quite a few employees who were. When I talked to them, I realized many were in a quandary on what to do next. Some did not want to go back to a full-time job, only to deal with office politics and the daily grind. They wanted flexibility of their time and the ability to work on things that interest them. Remarkably, most of them were senior-level or mid-level managers.

"This is a common issue as an increasing number of baby boomers are looking to semi-retire and millions of young mothers are trying to balance family life with a career. I looked at the marketplace and did not find a good alternative for these individuals to showcase their talent and get consulting work. This led me to create ParetoCentral.com."

After couple of business model changes, the site has evolved to become a Free Consultation Hub that connects prospective clients with consultants.

While the service is designed with entrepreneurs and small businesses in mind, it can help larger companies as well. For example, a staff member in such a company may be unable to carry out a task because he or she lacks expertise in a specific area. A long budget approval process could make it hard to hire an on-demand consultant. Instead, the employee can post a "free consultation request" at ParetoCentral.com and get immediate responses from qualified consultants who can provide their expertise free of charge, enabling this individual to complete the task without delay.

Or, the company could be looking to hire a consultant sometime in the future and has a short list of consultants from its experience using ParetoCentral.com. This shaves valuable time and mitigates the risk of hiring a consultant that is not a good fit.

As mentioned earlier, for the expert, he or she is able to network with corporate executives and fellow consultants, while building a reputation as a trusted and valued resource. Of course, there's the possibility that the free consultation could lead to paid project, full-time employment or a recommendation for future business.

We encourage you to check out ParetoCentral.com for your consulting needs.

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Article Tags: entrepreneur, find consultant, free confidential consultation, free consultation, startup consulting



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