For minipreneurs with a service to sell, Ether provides an innovative and easy way to tap into new business. The idea is straightforward: the service provider signs up for a free Ether (1-888) number, which is forwarded to a phone number of his choice, be it cell, home or work.
He then decides how much his time is worth, per hour per minute or per call. Customers will only be able to call the service provider when they've prepaid the set rate. Ether bills their credit card and sends the provider his fee via direct deposit or cheque. Ether's commission is 15%, with no monthly fees, no setup fees, and no connection fees.
Excellent service for (budding) entrepreneurs who'd like to offer tech support, homework help, business tips, legal and tax advice, diet tips, career guidance or anything else that can be offered over the phone. Ether isn't set up as an Ebay-type marketplace, so the provider spreads the word about what he's selling, sets the hours he wants to take calls by adjusting an automatic schedule and waits for the calls and money to roll in!
One of Ether's main benefits is its ease of use: dedicated number, billing, payments – they're all taken care of by Ether. This is yet another call to action for anyone in the business of empowering minipreneurs and small businesses: don't only help them to outsource activities, but enable them to sell in new ways, too. Now let's hope Ether will be used for more than just phone sex and psychic hotlines ;-).
Fascinating new business model for information brokers of all kinds. Right now it seems like an experimental option that is nice-to-have. Once Avian Flu hits and the conference halls and streets empty these will become indispensable, as I blogged here:
http://www.exec-comms.com/blog/business-communication/sell-what-you-say/