About Kathink for Business Thinkers

A New Business Model

Kathink is an open ideas marketplace that gives Clients a new way to outsource services and Business Thinkers the means to run a profitable business from anywhere.

Business Thinkers on Kathink can access a stream of client requests for services that match their skills, and pitch against other Business Thinkers to win commissions.

Joining as a Business Thinker

To join Kathink as a Business Thinker, an annual membership fee of £200 is payable. All users must also provide details of a PayPal account, which Kathink will use for debiting or crediting fees.

Kathink makes no claim as to the quality of Business Thinker's work. Instead, clients must use Business Thinkers' ratings and histories to help them assess the most suitable candidates for tasks.

The Proposal Stage

When Business Thinkers see client requests that they think they can fulfil, they need to tender a free Proposal that indicates:

• The approach they would take
• Any original ideas they would bring to the task
• Applicable experience or skills that will give them insight or capability to do a great job
• Any other relevant information that they think will give them an advantage

Business Thinkers may optionally propose a different fee to the initial fee suggested by the client. This may be lower than the initial fee, if the Business Thinker wants to compete hard for the work, or judges that they can do it more cheaply. It may also be higher, if the Business Thinker considers the project to be more extensive than the suggested fee allows.

The client will also set a maximum number of proposals they wish to receive for their request. Once this number has been reached, the request will not be displayed to any more Business Thinkers, and no further proposals will be possible.

Commissions

Clients can then select one or more Business Thinkers to whom they wish to commission work. At this point, the client sets a final offered fee, and usually provides extra notes that explain in more detail the scope and requirements of the task.

A commission has a time limit, within which the Business Thinker must accept or decline the commission, and submit their response. If the time limit expires, the commission is no longer available.

Importance of High Rating

When a Business Thinker submits their response to a commission, the client will give them a rating, based on the quality of service they received. Business Thinkers' ratings are key factors on Kathink. Business Thinkers should endeavour to keep a high rating.

Basically, Business Thinkers with the highest ratings get the opportunity to pitch for new requests before Business Thinkers with lower ratings. This can make a significant difference to earning potential, as the highest-value and most attractive requests will quickly receive their complement of proposals.

Subsequent Work

After receiving a Business Thinker's response, a client may choose to send a request for further work directly to the Business Thinker, with a new fee. This may be to get further detail or clarification on an area, or to undertake a significant piece of additional work.

The Business Thinker may then send back a new proposal, after which the client may commission the further work. This process may be repeated any number of times, at which point the client will rate the Business Thinker's services.

Direct Contact

During the processes described above, all communication is processed through the Kathink portal. This protects both client and Business Thinker, and may assure anonymity if either party is using that option. It is important for both clients and Business Thinkers to use the Kathink channel, and not to make direct approaches, so that:

• Clients keep the benefits of anonymity, speed, and possibility of having fees refunded in the case of fraudulent service
• Business Thinkers get the vital rating

Communication via Kathink is constantly moderated, to ensure that all members respect these rules. Breaches can result in rating penalties and, in severe cases, exclusion from the service.

Clients can sometimes request a Business Thinker's contact details through Kathink, if they wish to continue working with the Business Thinker directly. This is only possible if the Business Thinker allows it in their preferences, and if the Business Thinker agrees to the request. If a Business Thinker does not permit this in their preferences, clients will not have the option to request their contact details.