Do you feel like an expert in business?
Or do you question why someone would actually pay to work with you?
If it’s the latter, you’re not alone. All of us at some point or another have questioned whether what we offer is actually valuable and if people will buy it. We’ve questioned whether we’re skilled enough to support our clients. We make up reasons why we’re not qualified to do what we do…we haven’t been doing it long enough, we haven’t gotten a certain number of clients or made a certain amount of money, we don’t have a certification, etc. etc.
There are only three things that make you qualified to be an expert and I guarantee you already have them. And no, it has NOTHING to do with the number of followers you have or whether you had a $10K month last month.
Your Passion
You need to have a desire for whatever it is you’re putting out there. When you have desire and passion for your offer, your expertise shines through. Most women struggle to see themselves as experts because they’re focused on offers that don’t utilize their natural talents. They’ve gotten away from what they’re good at because they feel like it’s too basic or because someone else told them they should.
What if being an expert meant leaning MORE into your expertise? What if it meant you stopped consuming more info and started creating? What if it meant you focused more on the people you want to serve?
How would that change your business?
You can have the fanciest certification in the world, but if you have zero passion for what you do, your clients won’t see results. Plain and simple. You’ll also feel like an imposter because deep down you know you’re meant to be doing something else.
Passion is contagious. Your passion is what motivates clients (and the people around you) to change. If you don’t have passion in your business, then what’s the point?
Your Experience
Most people think experience comes in the form of clients. That may be true, but experience isn’t always tied to your business. Think about your entire career up to this point. Chances are you were already utilizing the skills you have in business in some other role. Heck, you’ve probably already utilized those skills throughout your entire life. For example, my natural talent is in building relationships. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. I was always the friend that people confided in. The person that organized get-togethers and sleepovers. So it makes sense that I would use those talents in business too.
Experience is about perspective. You have a unique perspective based on the things you’ve done up to this point in your life. That perspective shapes how you view your craft and the work you do with your clients. It’s easy to take your experience for granted because you think it’s too “basic.” It SHOULD feel basic to you. After all, you’re the expert. Just because it seems basic doesn’t mean others feel that way. Many people struggle with the thing you’re an expert in…and if you’re too busy telling yourself that you don’t have enough experience, you’ll miss out on the chance to help those people.
Your Willingness to Grow
Are you willing to learn new things? Will you step out of your comfort zone and invest in yourself?
If you answered yes, then congrats! You’re an expert.
Here’s the thing…it’s hard to call yourself an expert if you are not willing to grow. A true expert knows that she’s not really an expert at all. The world is alway changing. Clients are always evolving. What used to work may not continue working in the same way. The real experts know that and they are committed to continuous growth. They’re never too proud to say they don’t know something. They don’t put the burden or expectation on themselves to have all the answers. Which means they’re in a far better position to support their clients.
Think about it this way: when we expect ourselves to have all the answers, we close our minds to alternate strategies or outcomes that could benefit our clients. Whereas when we approach all circumstances with curiosity and a willingness to learn, we stay open to possibilities that our clients may not see. That’s what makes us so valuable.
Be careful of all the posts you see from well-meaning experts who talk about clients and money. It may seem like those two things are the only criteria for being seen as an expert. There is SO much more to it than that.
In fact, I would venture to say that if you don’t have the three things I mentioned in this post, you’ll never reach the big client or revenue milestones everyone else is talking about.
What’s your definition of an expert and how did this post change things for you? Leave a comment below!
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