Quality consultants are key to many businesses, particularly startups who need help setting up and running of a new business. Benjamin Franklin said that, “An Investment in Knowledge always pays the best interest” and this is true for businesses who often need to engage expert consultants for their knowledge.
Such experts spend several hours helping the client build different strategies for the growth of their business and they help the client with valuable advice as well. In fact, businesses have had to close their doors due to the lack of a proper consultant or due to the fact that the consultant was not properly utilized.
The untapped field of consultation
The field of online consultation still lacks professionalism and tools for proper sharing and auditing. Many clients continue to use primitive tools like Skype to consult with professionals, even though Skype lacks proper tracking of time and content. Often, a great deal of time is spent just arranging a proper appointment between the consultant and the client given differences in time zones. Thus such consultations immediately start out on the wrong foot.
There are other tools for knowledge sharing between individuals and businesses, such as Dropbox, Evernote and Asana, but the question of tracking, payments and so forth is still unclear. Most of these applications still lack the necessary tools for a quality business-consultant relationship.
The actual time spent in consultation and the payments that are due afterwards are often a matter of confusion. This lack of transparency leads to mistrust between all parties. Consultants must balance keeping the clients happy with getting paid for their valuable advice, and this is difficult to do.
Blockchain has the capacity to bridge the trust gap through the security and stability that it offers. Blockchains are both secure and transparent as each and every transaction is recorded on the Blockchain for future reference. Transactions are also verified by others who secure the Blockchain.
Tom Dyl, CTO and Co-Founder of Experty says:
“The world is moving towards decentralization. Nowadays, people prefer less control [over] what they do from the various governments. They also prefer to see and use quicker services and services that make their lives easy in the long run. This is the gap that Blockchain seeks to fill.”
Blockchains improve the process
Blockchain technology is used to build apps through which experts and clients can communicate quickly and effectively. The use of Ethereum introduces a lot of flexibility and credibility since the Ethereum Blockchain is preferred by developers the world over.
These apps track communication between experts and clients closely and transparently. Payments are done instantly through the Blockchain which can be verified by anybody. The charges of an expert are also set upfront and publicly thus removing any sort of confusion in the payment mechanism and making the system transparent.
Users of these applications include Blockchain experts, lawyers, business advisors, medical consultants and anyone who is willing to share his knowledge for a price. All that they need to do is list their consultation costs per minute so that it is available publicly. Anyone who needs advice from the expert can access that profile and set up a consultation.
This essentially creates a marketplace of experts and knowledge. The tracking of calls and payments, through Ethereum or any other cryptocurrency of the expert’s choosing, would be managed by the application. This significantly eases the process of consultation and improves trust and security. It also helps experts and clients to focus on the consultation process rather than worry about the nitty gritty of payments and tracking of the process.
Knowledge sharing would be key
Easy-to-use, decentralized, Blockchain-based consulting platforms help unlock the knowledge of experts worldwide. Any expert with an Internet connection can offer their knowledge to clients and earn money doing so. With the advent of Blockchain and decentralization, knowledge will have more value and be more accessible than ever before. Experts in every field are likely to be in high demand in the future, making the use of these Blockchain apps even more prevalent and important.