What value does a consultant NOT provide? If consulting firms can better negotiate hours or staff larger teams of consultants, they may continue to have a competitive advantage. Although I don't think HourlyNerd and some of the major consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG, Bain, etc.) will compete directly, I do think that some of the smaller boutique firms could be at risk. During the first month, as the company creates a database, consultants often interview people from different functions. Something that I would like to know more about and that your article doesn't provide is the type of people who actually work as consultants for HourlyNerd.
Since in Hourly Nerd, consultants can choose to work on a client's problem without real need to build a long-term relationship with that client, I wonder if the solutions provided to the client through Hourly Nerd are sustainable. Therefore, customers demand more analytical solutions from consulting firms and demand that consulting firms reduce their prices. When I think of a traditional consulting environment, the consulting firm aims to build a long-term relationship with its clients, so that it can receive future work from clients. In short, I believe that management consultants can be both a luxury and a necessity depending on the situation.
In addition, the company could consider changing the business model to a reseller model in which HourlyNerd selects consultants. After decades in business consulting, companies have a toolbox full of tools, all acquired from their customers. Whether correct or not, companies often hire large consulting firms to buy guarantees through the brand (that is, the analysis has been verified by the consulting firm XYZ). In addition, I would be interested to know the compensation of consultants, since being able to work anywhere eliminates a big problem for the job, such as the balance of traditional consultants.
Capturing knowledge prevents future consultants from having to reinvent solutions that others have already created. The use of technology by HourlyNerd to connect companies with certain consultants seems like an interesting way to serve customers with a lower price, but I wonder if they are really taking advantage of the full potential of their platform to offer services with higher added value or to start providing services to customers with higher margins.
