Clarity.fm: On Demand Business Advice from Top Experts (at Affordable Rates)

As a small business owner or entrepreneur trying to launch a new startup, you’re constantly facing situations where you require good expert business advice to solve a problem or just someone to discuss ideas and strategy with.

Hiring consultants who charge exorbitant retainers is out of the question and chatting about these issues with your mates at the pub is probably not the solution you’re looking for.

Enter Clarity.fm.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs with limited budgets can now receive business advice from top experts and big name consultants at prices that won’t break the bank.

This unique service connects you to top advisors and leading industry experts so that you can ask them what you want over a simple phone call.

Need some an advice on market research for your product or service? Look for an expert who specializes in your industry and with expertise in conducting research in your chosen market.

Do you need strategic advice on how to grow your business? There are hundreds of experts on Clarity who will be able to help you.

Need to make an important decision which could ‘make or break’ your business but would like some expert advice before committing? Yup, that person is available through Clarity.fm.

There are literally thousands of top class professionals in the Clarity community who are just a phone call away.

Here are just a few of the big name advisors on Clarity.fm:

• Eric Ries, New York Times best-selling author of The Lean Startup.
• Cameron Herold, former COO of the world’s largest residential junk removal company, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?
• Rick Marini, CEO of Branchout.
• Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, investor on ‘Shark Tank’ and Chairman of HDNet (to name but a few).

Obviously speaking to big names like these isn’t going to come cheap. But when compared to what it would cost you to work with a consultancy firm (retainer, fees, etc) and, perhaps more importantly, the cost of making a big mistake if you don’t talk to an expert, you’re actually getting a great deal.

For example, speaking to Eric Ries or Cameron Herold will cost you $16.67 per minute. If you want to get advice from Mr. Cuban, it’s going to be a little more expensive… $166.67 per minute!

But don’t let these figures deter you. There are plenty of qualified experts available on Clarity from as little as $1 per minute. It just depends on what you are looking for.

So how does Clarity.fm work?

It’s really easy, just follow these simple steps:

1. Sign up for Clarify.fm (won’t take you more than a minute)
2. Use the browse function to search the community’s list of experts to find the one that best fits your needs. You can search by specific category or directly by the expert’s name.
3. Schedule your call. You’ll need to select three dates and times that work best for your personal schedule and specify the reason for your call (See image above). Your chosen expert then has 72 hours to respond (or the request will expire). Bear in mind that you’ll need to leave your credit card information as a guarantee at this point, but don’t worry, it won’t be charged until after the call.
4. When your chosen expert confirms, you’ll get an email that contains details of a conference line and a special access code you need to use. Don’t forget to block time off on your calendar and prepare for the call (I’ll give you some tips in a minute).
5. It’s conference time! All you need to do is call the conference line provided in the confirmation email. At the end of the call you are charged the agreed per minute rate for the expert. You also have the option to leave a rating and review for the expert you spoke to; a great feature as it helps speaker’s rankings within the Clarity system.

But what if you don’t live in the US? Is there a special number you can call to avoid paying long distance phone fees? The short answer is, yes. For the countries listed in the image below, Clarity offers a free local number you can call.

With all these phone systems you might be concerned about the privacy of your personal details. However, none of your contact information is disclosed to other parties and all the calls you make are actually connected through the Clarity system which means your telephone number and email are never disclosed.

Clarity’s suggestions for preparing for your call with an expert

Whilst Clarity allows you the opportunity to speak to business experts at affordable rates, you don’t want to waste those precious minutes by being unprepared; you need to make the most of every second! Here are a few suggestions to help you plan your call:

#1: Define your problem: Make sure you know exactly what it is you’re seeking advice for or the problem you are trying to solve.

#2: Send a message to your chosen expert before the call so that he/she can prepare for your conference call. A list of bullet points is fine!

#3: Forget the small talk. Remember, you’re paying per minute!

#4: Prioritize your questions by asking the most important ones first.

#5: Set aside enough time for the call. It’s good to allow at least 10 minutes before the call to prepare and another 10 minutes afterwards to write up any notes you may have taken and make sure you’ve taken in all the important and valuable information obtained throughout the conference call.

#6: Make sure you end the call well and amicably. If you’re happy with the information and advice received, it’s important that you leave a positive review for your expert. This helps them get more calls by raising their profile in the Clarity search rankings.

So are you going to give Clarity a try?

If you’re struggling with a certain aspect of your business – it could be anything:  your Marketing plan, social media strategy or funding advice – then signing up to Clarity may just be one of the best decisions you could make. Let’s summarize some of the advantages of using this service:

• It’s easy to use and allows you to search for the right expert for your needs. You can do this by searching the categories and sub-categories or using the search function to look for an expert or a specific topic.
• All experts and consultants within the Clarity system are rated by users which helps you identify the ‘real’ experts.
• You get access to expert advice without having to pay thousands of dollars in retainers and fees to consultancy firms. Unless you choose to speak to Mark Cuban 😉
• Allows you to tap into the experience of others in a fast and cost effective way.
• You get faster results and you don’t have to waste time teaching yourself. As they say, time is money!

For examples of companies that have experienced success by using Clarity.fm, just head over here. Read about companies like Pitchbox, whose founders walked away from their two calls with a compelling and focused value proposition to commercialize Pitchbox’s robust technology. The cost? $1000 for two calls which completely changed their business.

Have you used Clarity.fm? What did you think? If not, do you think it’s a service that might be useful to your small business? Let me know in the comments below.