You may feel like you don’t have enough of the right credentials or qualifications to do what you think God is leading you to do. You may not have the ‘expert’ status you feel you need, BUT…
What if I told you that how to position yourself as an expert is more about your solution? That combination of qualities and experiences only you possess will help you build your God-centered business.
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Choosing WHAT you will do for your business and how you will do it requires different ways of thinking. The WHAT can be as easy as the pull God has on your heart, the things you are good at, or the job you are already doing. The HOW is where you get to shine in your unique way.
What is helping you to stand out in your industry? Where do you see a need you know you are perfect for fulfilling? How can you create your own unique business style?
So no matter if you are in a saturated industry or not, you can position yourself as an expert at what you do and how you do it. So let’s look at what you possess right now that will do the following.
- Position yourself as an expert and
- Give you a way to build your expert reputation
You are the expert at doing what God wants you To Do
Let’s start with something we can all relate to and have probably one time or another said to ourselves.
I’m just not good enough, smart enough, important enough, valuable enough, likable enough, attractive enough. ENOUGH
God has designed you uniquely. He has given you your personality, talents, gifts, and abilities to be used for His glory through your business. You are the expert at doing what He wants you to do because only you can do it in your way, your design.
What does that mean? That means what you possess inside right now is the beginning of how to position yourself as an expert. What is that exactly?
Start With What You Know
Start a list of your degrees or certificates. Then list all the hobbies and interests you have dedicated time to do.
For example, I think about my Master’s Degree in Education, Missionary Training & Experience, and the certificates in other training from Discipleship to Social Media Marketing.
Also, I think about other interests where I spend a lot of time and focus. For example, I say I’m an expert at drama through acting, writing, and directing. I have hired coaches, read tons of books, and taken online courses in my business. With Bible study, I have been a lifetime learner. I attended a Christian college, am a trained Precept Bible studies leader, and leading Women’s Bible Studies over the years in two languages.
Let’s Look at Your Beautiful Mosaic
“They,” say it takes 10,000 hours of study and experience to say, EXPERT. If we broke that down to 8 hours a day/five days a week/ it would take you 250 weeks to have the 10,000 hours. That is almost five years! You didn’t even study that much in college.
Stop right now and list all those hobbies, activities, classes, books, podcasts, videos, documentaries, degrees, etc. List everything you have invested yourself in to get the knowledge that is part of your design.
God has allowed each interest to become part of the beautiful mosaic of your life. You may have the same degree as someone else in your industry, but I BET they don’t have the same Expertise Areas List that you just created.
Expertise Areas List
Using myself as an example, when I think about how my list looks when I apply it to my business, I think about how my drama background shines through.
I’m a business strategist and clarity coach who thrives on stage by giving motivational talks. I am comfortable taking people through a process, whether in a workshop, a lecture hall, or an auditorium. My drama gives me confidence, presence, and the ability to show up uniquely. It is part of why I chose to use YouTube for my business.
I have been teaching since I can remember. Getting a degree was just a step in the journey. God does sometimes call us to do things that come quickly. I know He did that for me. I’m the type of coach that is going to give you homework.
The one thing I love about teaching is curriculum development (nerd, I know). I get a real kick out of creating something NEW and valuable for my clients. That’s why continuing to develop resources for Calling Clarity is so important for me. It is never one and done.
I grew up in church, so I was a student of the Bible throughout my entire schooling through quizzing (you know, study the Bible and then compete against other churches).
However, creating a business focused on the Bible is unique. Showing others what God wants them to do with their business is an honor (and somewhat scary). I love that I get to show Christian Businesswomen how to apply God’s Word to their lives and businesses.
You are ENOUGH – Your Expert Reputation
No more talk about not being the expert. You have the expertise you need and can position yourself uniquely because of the combination of things on your Expertise Areas List.
The second part of how to position yourself as an expert is to build your expert reputation.
Choose a Good Reputation with Consistency
I have said it before. The first thing that builds your reputation is consistency. That’s the key. You need to show up in a way that is always the same. You will not be building anything if you are all over the place with your moods, message, and madness.
Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold. –Proverbs 22:1 says,
Your expertise can only be shown to others if it is consistently demonstrated. Likewise, you can only position yourself as an expert if you stay consistent in all areas of your business.
It is essential to know your expertise, what is unique about you, and why your ideal clients should listen to you. Let’s face it. If you are not known, you cannot be considered. Hence you cannot get clients.
Invest Your Time and Effort Wisely
Being known takes time and effort. One of the things I often hear from my clients is, “I can’t find clients.” When I ask them where they are showing up online and where they are networking, I get a lot of excuses about how they don’t have time, don’t know how, and aren’t consistent.
Building your reputation means carving out time to work, investing in the help you need to know-how, and creating systems that help you be consistent. You need to be known for what you offer, the problem you solve.
Your way of solving it, the expertise you bring is what your ideal clients are looking for. Therefore, they need to be able to find you.
Building Your Expert Reputation
People watch your behavior, your reactions to situations, and how you respond to others. They are looking for how you show up the same way, every time. But if you are not there but every once in a while, they will forget about you.
I meet women every week that tell me they have been following me for years. Some have met me at an event, some on the LIVES I do in my Facebook group, others have downloaded my freebies, and others found me on YouTube.
Show Up and Stand Out
I have clients now that took years to decide that I was their coach. The consistency of sending my content (each week) built my reputation that I would stay around, giving the same content and solving the same problem with my expertise.
I have a coaching business, and it is unique. I want to stand out from all the other coaches. And, I have discovered just what makes me show up in a unique way to my ideal clients.
No one else has the unique combination of skills that I have. You are the same. When I got serious, I looked back over my life and asked God to show me how my expertise could make me stand out the way He wanted.
Position Your Expertise Uniquely
You already have what it takes to position yourself as an expert and show up uniquely in your industry. Once you know that, you can keep showing up in that specific way to build a reputation that grows with your expertise.
Remember, you have to keep learning. Decide what you will bring into the mosaic of your business. Still unsure what to choose from and how it can all come into one focus? Start with the How to Get Clarity Worksheet. This exercise will give you a place to bring together those things from your LIST and add more. You will see the intersection of your expertise.
There is no secret here. God has equipped you with what you need to do what He is asking you to do. Sometimes it is just a matter of getting a little help coaxing it out.
Discover your design, God’s design of you. Learn the strategies for building your reputation. Then you will show up as THE Expert in your God-centered business.
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