Online tool connects businesses with experts for one-off advice

KnowHowMart is an online tool, currently in beta, that's focused on helping skilled professionals sell their expertise to companies that need one-off advice.

Connecting those with skills and those who need them is a perennial challenge in the labor marketplace, and there seem to be virtually infinite ways to make that happen. Just a few days ago we featured Beyond the School Run, which focuses on career opportunities during school hours, and since then we’ve come across KnowHowMart, an online tool now in beta that’s focused on helping skilled professionals sell their expertise to companies that need one-off advice. Experts can create a profile on the site manually or import one from LinkedIn; either way, they also specify an hourly fee they’d like to be paid, including the option to donate a percentage of it to charity. Businesses, meanwhile, can post details on what kind of expertise they’re looking for along with any deadline and maximum hourly rate they’re willing to pay. Experts can then bid on specific opportunities; when an expert and a business connect, fees are held in escrow until the work is completed, and a confidential conferencing service ensures that no personal contact details are disclosed. KnowHowMart keeps a service fee of 20 percent of the total sum paid. Experts can make GBP 50 or more per hour using KnowHowMart, the site says, while companies get risk-free, pay-as-you-go advice. A new model to try out for your own needs on either side of the hiring equation? Spotted by: Murray Orange