Are you an expert in your field?
Do you have an interest in profiting from that knowledge?
There are companies out there that put you in touch with business leaders who are looking for guidance in your area of expertise.
When they win, you win.
Here’s what it’s about…
What is GLG?
GLG (https://glginsights.com/)is a connection business that puts business leaders together with experts so businesses can get expert insights to make smarter decisions.
With this opportunity you can earn a small (or larger depending on how you scale it) side hustle income based on you being an expert they can call on. You set the hourly rate you will accept – I chose $150 per hour (make it worth your while as each opportunity is typically a one-hour call).
You get paid for a call you have with GLG’s business client individual or team. There will be an email contact to you telling you about the opportunity, then a follow up call with GLG to make sure you qualify for the call (they basically make sure you are able to answer the questions that will need to be discussed on the call with their client).
There are significant confidentiality requirements and you agree not to work with the company after the introduction in order to maintain an independent, non-biased relationship.
If you work for a company in the same industry, they can’t ask you certain questions that would put you at risk with your current job due to sharing confidential or proprietary information.
While this type of work isn’t for everyone, it is something that can be done (like joining a board or doing part time executive consulting) by senior level management/executives in an industry that GLG has demand for experts in.
It can be fun to learn about opportunities being discussed in your industry/area of expertise and you can make a little money on the side.
While I was contacted by GLG (I believe based on my LinkedIn profile that their technology searched), you can also reach out to them to offer your services.
If you find you like this opportunity, there are competitors out there that you could also sign up with if you wanted to boost the amount of work you get (and your side hustle pay). I’ve done several calls and have made about $1,000 over time as I haven’t made it a primary side hustle income stream. I still get an opportunity request every week or two though.
Now let’s get to the details…
About GLG
GLG helps their clients explore new strategies, products, segments or direction through strategy calls in a 1 to 1 phone call with experts.
Their clients are thousands of big businesses worldwide – tech, life science, and industrial companies. Nearly half of the Fortune 100 companies and over half of the top 10 global tech companies are their clients. They also work with investment and financial firms, professional service companies, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs.
They’ve been in business over a decade…so they’re legit.
Is this legit?
Yes. I’ve worked with them and gotten paid multiple times. I’ve also worked for a competitor and gotten paid there. This is a real service business and one that you can do part time if you have the expertise.
How does this expert advice service work? How do you make money?
You get paid to answer questions and provide guidance (within certain guardrails) on a phone call with GLG’s client company representatives – usually 2-5 people. You get paid typically for one hour of your time at a rate you choose that the client company agrees to in advance of the call.
How much can you make?
While initially you aren’t going to retire off of this money, it can be a nice side income if you focus on it. Starting out you might get $100, $150, or even $500 a month for a single gig. If you have expertise that is more highly valued you could reasonably do 1-2 gigs a month for around $200-$1,000/month income. If you then scaled with other competitor companies (I also worked with AlphaSights), that might get up to a couple thousand dollars a month.
How do you maximize what you can make?
If you are good at this then you might consider also providing your services to a fractional executive placement service where you can devote more time and make a very substantial side income ($50-$100k easily in those businesses). So you can look at this as an opportunity to test the waters as a consultant and see if this is something you enjoy doing.
This is a great pre-retirement consulting training ground..
How does GLG make money?
They make money from their client companies who pay to access their network of experts.
What I like about this service.
Once you’re set up you just need to respond to inquiry emails and do phone calls with GLG and then their client. You make real money at a good hourly rate (can be double what you’d normally make per hour in your day job).
You learn about interesting opportunities – something that helps keep your side hustle/entrepreneurial juices going and can lead you to other business ideas or models you haven’t considered before.
It is a low risk lead-in to starting your own consulting business.
What I don’t like about it.
It doesn’t generate income in large chunks. Since each call is a one-off, you can’t leverage it by just working more hours. You still need the opportunity-invite email requests before you can do a call.
You have to schedule calls at times that work for both parties so that can be a challenge to work around your day job hours – work it at lunch or start or end of day if possible. Sometimes different time zones can work to your advantage here.
Is this service worth it?
If you are looking for an interesting, profitable way to make a little side cash and have unique business conversations, then this can be worth checking out.
What are the alternatives/competitors?
AlphaSights – https://www.alphasights.com/
Maven – https://www.maven.co/
Fractional Executive Placement Companies
If you find you want to leverage your expertise further and are a CEO, CFO, CMO by trade, these fractional-part-time employment options may be worth checking out.
AboveBoard – https://www.aboveboard.com/
Blue Signal – https://bluesignal.com/recruiting-industries/fractional-executive-recruiting/
That’s it!
Check GLG out and see how far you can take this side hustle!
