29 Dec, 2008
You Are An Expert (No Really You Are!) Part # 2
Posted by: Zach
Filed Under: Examples | Marketing | Personal Strategy
Now that most of the holiday chaos is behind us we can get back to business. This is part two of our topic that explores the relationship between the things you are talented at (and enjoy) with the ability to make money doing them. Be sure to read part one.
An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. -Niels Bohr
Somewhere a person is having trouble with an issue you could help them with. I guarantee it is happening right now. There is no reason why you can’t be the one to help and you can’t get financial gain for your expertise.
A lot of people have trouble putting value on their knowledge because it isn’t like ordering food. The cost of everything needed to make a meal and prepare it to be offered is quite exact but you can’t say the same for your knowledge. As a photographer this is something I still struggle with but one day someone put it in perspective for me. I was at an auto repair shop and a lady was upset because it took a very short amount of time and effort to fix her vehicle but the amount she owed them was still a decent chunk. The owner listened to her complaint and empathisized but she was still upset…he paused and said this…
“You are not paying to have a wrench turned 3 inches. You are paying for the work and time it took to know that to fix your car, a wrench needed to be turned 3 inches.”
Don’t undercut the value you can offer people in any field. Here are the main things you need to think about if you want to break down the walls and make money for yourself.
1. What knowledge to I have to offer?
2. How can I package this knowledge to sell?
3. Who needs my knowledge?
4. How do I connect with the people who need my knowledge?
Here is an example, if I woke up and had a lot of musical talent out of the blue I would try to find an angle from that talent. Everyone has a band or knows somebody in a band and everyone wants to be heard. I would help bands record. You could offer this service on a lot of different levels. It could be as simple as listening and consulting to doing the heavy lifting by actually doing the recording for a group. The more you can do to offer different packages to appeal to more people the better off you will be. There are a lot of ways to meet bands through the local music scene and you could start a website showing the quality of work you can produce for a price that is reasonable.
The 4 points are addressed. You are helping a person out while doing something you love and getting financial gain from it. That is a great feeling.
It is almost 2009. There is absolutely no reason to be doing something you hate. Get out there, meet people, show them what you offer has value, and make it happen.








