Can anyone recommend a good USA based answering service (that can do more than just take a message)?

Ask your current clients what they value the most in their relationship with you; use their answers to describe what you provide to others (note that it may be a "feeling" or "outcome" rather than a "service"!). Also, give your consulting process a unique name to differentiate how you do what you do well.

I've worked with nearly 100 startups over the last 10 years to launch their brands/online platforms and a common mistake I see is an initial overinvestment in the design and aesthetics when they start out. They spend tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours trying to figure out the perfect logo, font, icon, packaging etc just to get their brand/service/product out the door. You can use design to really differentiate your company from the market, but early on there are other things that I think should take priority before overcommitting that many precious resources to design. That is absolutely not an excuse to be lazy or have poor quality work; it is more a lesson of seeing your design as an evolving concept and definitely an area where "great is the enemy of good" starting out. Designs and even brands can and should mature over time – I’d focus on a good quality and scalable design to start while seeking to iterate and mature it over time as your business grows in the first months/year after launch. I'd also say that while startups tend to overinvest aesthetically, they generally underinvest when it comes to organization and documentation around their brand. Things like style guides and other branding materials are critical so you can maintain cross-platform branding consistency (and as your brand/design evolves you can continue to maintain those standards internally and with third parties by just updating the materials.) they also tend to underinvest in the wireframing and planning/blueprinting stages of designing their technical platforms (spending time during that phase saves time and money come time to bring in the graphic artists.) So, to the question of “how much” a startup should invest; that is a little subjective. If you are a retail or consumer product brand of some sort I’d say spending a little more time and money makes sense since you have to include product and packaging design as well as possible displays in stores etc. If you are a digital brand then you may be able to get away with a more streamlined approach. If you are focusing on designing your software (web/mobile) applications then go through the wireframing process first so you can be crystal clear with your design partner what it is you’re looking for from them. It could be as little as a few hundred dollars or as much as $5-$10k starting out; it really just depends on what sort of startup you’re working on. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to discuss your specific needs and talk further about your exact design needs and cost expectations.

Do in-depth competition research. Find people doing exactly what you do and call/email and ask for pricing. Make sure you have exact specs for the "job" mapped out and use the same exact details for everyone you call. If you can't find anyone at all who does what you want to do you should dig deep and find out why nobody does it. There are probably good reasons.

How many new clients and what types of clients (individual, business)? Local? Here is a pick list of strategies I know work: If he has a large, satisfied base, use them for referrals and to get their friends to seminars that he hosts. He could partner with a stock brokerage firm (they usually don't do taxes) and do joint marketing (education-based meetings on minimizing taxes, increasing business cash flow, etc.), partner with a legal firm and do joint marketing, their own meeting titled "How to read your business financial statements like a CPA" or "10 ways to get more cash flow out of your business". I have a long list on this topic so connect and I am happy to share.

As you are looking for a ready-to-use solution to create yur own Fiverr like marketplace. I would suggest you to explore YoGigs ( www.yo-gigs.com ). YoGigs is the most feasible option to develop a marketplace like Fiverr. It is a readymade solution with built-in features and functionalities to emulate Fiverr’s business model and deal with various use cases. For example, just like Fiverr, YoGigs lets freelancers create multiple service packages and sell them on the platform. It also has an internal messaging system to ensure smooth communications. To manage payments, Yo!Gigs has both split payment and eWallet management systems. Furthermore, as the marketplace admin, you can create as many service categories and subcategories as you want. You can book a free one-on-one demo of Yo!Gigs to get more detailed information on how it works.