Are you struggling to put together the financials for your business plan? Or are you looking to launch a new product line but aren’t sure where to begin? If so, there’s a new business that aims to help. It’s called HourlyNerd and although it’s only been around for a year, it’s garnering lots of buzz in the press.
The business idea behind it is simple. Rather than take on the economic burden of employing an MBA graduate full-time, why not hire one on a per project basis? For small business owners who lack a business background, it offers a great opportunity to get well-reasoned advice, project planning assistance, or help with marketing.
According to Co-founder and Hourly Nerd CEO, Rob Biederman, the process is a straightforward one. In an interview with Idea Mensch, he says, “We connect small businesses with MBA students and graduates from top programs. Our marketplace allows businesses to post tasks, review bids from a variety of MBAs with different experience and resumes, and then select the bid (and the price) that most closely fits their needs. We take a small percentage of each transaction as our fee.”[1]
HourlyNerd takes on projects of all sizes for businesses of all sizes, and the MBA freelancers—who set their own prices—typically charge between $30-$100/hour. Prices are fixed, meaning that once an MBA grad has submitted a bid for a project, business owners are aware upfront of the entire cost of the project.
Seemingly, HourlyNerd does it all. According to their website, they take on projects that involve market research and data analysis, strategy, business plan creation, marketing/branding, finance, accounting, and social media/public relations.
So, if you’re sweating bullets over obtaining financing for your startup or merely need a second set of eyes to review your social media strategy, there may just be a nerd out there who can help…