If you are a consultant looking to boost your business or you are just looking for a site to earn extra cash from, there’s a site called Catalant that claims you can build your consulting practice through their platform.
It sounds like a promising claim, but the question is, is Catalant legit or a scam?
This Catalant review will not only address that question but will also give you a detailed look at what the site has to offer, so you will know exactly what to expect from it before you even sign up. Then, you can properly evaluate if it is the right opportunity for you or not.
So, let’s get started, shall we?
What is Catalant, and what does it offer?
Catalant is a website that specializes in providing clients with consulting services. To earn from this site, you must provide consulting services to its clients. And yes, it is a legit site since you can really earn money from it.
However, that doesn’t automatically mean it is worth your time. To determine if you should sign up, you must first understand how it works. To do that, we must examine the earning opportunity it offers so that you will have a good idea of how much time and effort is needed to earn from it.
So, here’s how to earn from Catalant.
The earning opportunity – Projects
The only way to earn from this site is to accept projects posted by clients. But to do so, you must complete your profile first (refer to the photo below).
This step is very important because it will let clients know what skills you have and what you are capable of. In short, this is the determining factor for landing projects. So, make sure you are honest and thorough when building your profile.
After you are done with this step, you can log in to the member dashboard and apply for projects. Just go to the Projects section of the dashboard, look for any project you are interested in, and click it. When you do that, you will see the full details of the project.
Now, there are two types of projects available on Catalant: fixed-rate and variable-rate projects. Fixed-rate projects, as the name suggests, will only pay you a set amount. Variable-rate projects will, on the other hand, pay you per hour.
As for the type of projects you can apply for since Catalant is a consulting service site, then expect that you must provide consulting services to the client. Most of the time, clients on this site are looking for marketing, business, and financial consulting services.
So, if your field of expertise is neither of the three mentioned above, you’ll have a hard time finding opportunities to earn. Now, if you are interested in a project, just apply for it. Then, you’ll have to submit your pitch.
If the client is interested in hiring you, they will schedule an interview with you via Zoom to iron out the details. During this step, you can negotiate with the client regarding all the details of the project (like the deadline, fee, etc.). Once you reach an agreement with the client, a contract will be drafted. To start working on the project, you must accept the contract.
When that happens, all that’s left to be done is provide the service required of you. When a project is completed, you’ll be asked to generate a timesheet. This will serve as the invoice. Catalant will guide you on how to generate a timesheet, so you don’t have to worry about how to do it. After it is submitted, the client will review the timesheet and once it is approved, you will receive the payment.
In the next section, I will discuss how you will get paid. When I tested the site, there were not a lot of projects available, so it was quite hard to land a project to earn from. You can consider yourself lucky if you manage to land a project once a month, in my opinion.
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How do you get paid?
For every project you complete, you’ll earn a certain amount. And as explained above, once your client approves the timesheet you’ve submitted, you’ll receive the payment. Now, the question is, how can you withdraw your earnings?
Well, Catalant offers Payoneer as its payment method for experts, so you can withdraw your earnings via Payoneer. You don’t have to earn a certain amount to withdraw your earnings, which is a good thing because you can easily withdraw what you will earn from projects.
However, you need to be aware that Catalant will charge a 25% to 30% fee from your earnings. So, don’t expect to receive the full amount. It’s a pretty steep fee, in my opinion, but it is to be expected since Catalant offers this service for free. So, they must take a cut from your earnings to earn.
Overall, the payment system of Catalant is relatively simple. I like the fact that it offers a convenient payment system.
How much money can you make?
You can earn a good amount from the projects you complete since you set how much you can earn per project. However, you must adjust your rate accordingly since Catalant will take a cut from your earnings. So, the rate you should always propose to the client should cover the Catalant fee, so you won’t be underpaid.
Catalant does say that its clients aren’t particular about the money. They are more interested in the quality of the service provided. That being said, as mentioned earlier, there aren’t a lot of projects available. So, you’ll have a hard time finding opportunities to earn from this site.
That is why I would say that the earning potential of this site isn’t that great. As I’ve mentioned earlier, you can consider yourself lucky if you land a project once a month.
Can you use it on mobile?
Catalant doesn’t have a mobile app you can download, but you can access the member dashboard using a mobile device since the site is optimized for mobile use. Now, as for the work that needs to be done, since you’ll have to provide consulting services, then expect that you’ll have to do a video conference with the client.
For this, you must use Catalant’s platform, and it can be quite hard to do that on a mobile device. So, it’s recommended that you should use your laptop or desktop when talking to a client to avoid glitches. In my opinion, using your computer is also much more convenient.
Who can join Catalant?
The site doesn’t tell you exactly which countries it is available in, but from what I can see, the site is available worldwide. However, most clients prefer to work with experts who live in the same country as them. And most of Catalant’s clients are based in the US.
This is why I would say that you should only join this site if you live in the US. That way, you’ll have a higher chance of landing projects.
Signing up is a relatively easy process. You just fill out the registration form and set up a password that the site will accept (wait for the bar to turn green to know if your password is acceptable). After this step, you’ll receive an email with a confirmation link.
Make sure to click the link to complete the registration. Now, here comes the hard part. After you complete the registration, you have to apply to become an expert. As mentioned earlier, you must set up your profile.
For this step, you have to carefully curate the information you include in your profile. You’ll need to include your LinkedIn profile as well. Basically, you must show Catalant that you are indeed capable of providing quality consulting services. In short, you must be an expert on a certain consulting service (business, finance, crisis management, etc.).
After setting up your profile, you can submit your application. It will take a few days for Catalant to review it, so don’t expect to hear back from them immediately. If your application is approved, you can log in to the dashboard and start applying for projects.
Can you get support?
If you have any questions about the site or your account, you can check out the site’s Helpdesk. It discusses all of the important topics you need to know about the site. It also has several resources you can use to help you be a more successful Catalant expert.
Now, if you can’t find the answers you need, you can sign in to the Helpdesk and create a support ticket. Overall, I would say the site does provide decent support to its members since it offers a convenient way for you to ask for help.
Final Verdict
Catalant is a legit site that will let you earn by providing consulting services to various clients. It has a couple of good features, but it also has some drawbacks you must consider.
To help you with your decision, I have summarized its pros and cons so you can get a clear overview of what it offers.
Pros:
- Offers a convenient payment method
- You can set your own rate for the services you provide
Cons:
- Requires a certain level of skill and experience to earn
- Has a high service fee
In my opinion, Catalant is not for everyone. You should only join this site if you are already an established consultant. That’s because you’ll have a hard time finding opportunities to earn if you don’t have the skills and experience to wow the clients.
But if you are one, then this can be a good fit for you. Just don’t expect to earn regularly from this site because there aren’t a lot of opportunities to earn. You can consider it as a secondary platform to advertise your services.
Now, if you want to promote your consulting practice without the help of a 3rd party website, I recommend you check out this step-by-step guide on how to make money online. It will show you how to build your own online business so you can earn a full-time income completely on your own terms.
If you have any comments, questions, or experience with Catalant, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.