Crowd Corporation: Crazy Notion or Definite Potential?

Well here I am on a somewhat wild and chilly Wednesday night in my part of the world, however here the temperature is warm and cozy and there are things to discuss.

I have been thinking about an idea recently that I thought that I would share and see what you guys think.  It goes along the lines of establishing a Crowd Corporation.

What you may ask is a Crowd Corporation? - well, in its simplest form, it is an organisation that is wholly project driven, meaning that head counts expand and contract as the need arises.  Sounds a bit like an agency doesn't it?

However, a Crowd Corporation can be a whole lot more than that.

What happens when a Crowd Corporation doesn't actually exist until it is required?  How about a group of freelancer's and independent small businesses who want to expand their horizons by taking on larger projects that they themselves could not handle, and agree to work together to achieve a common goal.  Or how about a situation where someone needs a specific set of expertise to accomplish a task, etc.  The possibilities are endless!

A primary requirement, and one of the basic foundations of a Crowd Corporation is integrity or trust.  And sometimes there just isn't time or motivation to get a whole wad of paper called a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) together, so trust is really fundamental to its success.  Of course, starting out on the premise that everyone has integrity and trust until proven otherwise is also a helpful approach as it creates a level of self-expectation within the individuals involved that would usually preclude them from entertaining deviant behaviour.  Not always, but usually the case - and most would probably not invite the type of scrutiny that such deviance's usually generates.

And, an important point to bear in mind about integrity or trust, is that once in place, it is rarely broken.

A useful feature of a Crowd Corporation is that it does not need marketing.  It is agnostic and takes on the identity of the primary freelancer or small business and thus has a familiar presence with whom the client already has an established relationship, which can shorten the cycle to obtaining a project 'go-ahead' considerably.

Examples of candidates for Crowd Corporations could include special interest groups, product/service user groups, friends with a common vocation, etc.

I see real potential for Crowd Corporations in small to medium sized businesses in particular, but believe that they also have application in environments where economics or other such influences either preclude or limit permanent work opportunities.  Importantly, they are not necessarily permanent structures, and one may also not get rich from the idea, however what a Crowd Corporation can do is provide competitive edge to smaller businesses which typically do not have corporate budgets.  They can provide employment opportunities on a fairly regular basis as everyone who subscribes to the idea can immediately begin looking for larger projects amongst their clients, so there is a fairly large marketing/sales team at work by default.

There are of course things that can be done to make the Crowd Corporation highly effective, amongst them introducing a recognised certification process for individuals involved, and access to a common project base from which case studies could be drawn are just two quick examples.  For the individuals involved it is a no-brainer in my opinion - instant access to additional trusted partners to increase workload capacity, access to crowd wisdom (another story) and expertise, and increased income earning potential going forward.

So, what do you think - crazy notion or definite potential?

Until next time, keep safe, work smart and I hope to engage with you further going forward.