Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) June/July 2018 Aspire Mag Full Issue | Page 85

You see, expertise is based on experience—
but expert status is all about perception and
mindset.
As I mentioned above, you should always
be learning and growing, both as a business
owner and as a person. Expanding your
knowledge in your field should be part of your
daily to-do list. e more excited you are about
accumulating knowledge, the faster you will
move toward actually becoming an expert.
When I started my real estate business, I
didn’t just follow my mentor’s instructions. I
read everything about real estate investing
and personal growth that I could get my
hands on. I listened to audio books at the
gym, in the shower, and in my car. I compared
methodologies and opinions. I added new
tips and tricks to my personal tool box. I still
followed my mentor’s method to the letter
(because once you tweak a proven method,
it’s no longer proven), but the more I learned,
the more I understood the why of what I
was doing, and saw how all of the pieces t
together. Soon, I was able to navigate the
world of real estate with far greater ease
and confidence. I was walking the walk, not
just talking the talk—and the more versed in
my field I became, the more my clients’ and
peers’ perceptions of me changed. I wasn’t
an “expert” yet, but the people who I wanted
to serve regarded me as one, and my
wealth and success expanded accordingly.
You see, expertise
is based on
experience—but
expert status is all
about perception
and mindset.
If you are a new business owner (or even
if you’ve been working in your business for
a while), you might feel that, if you have to
wait until you reach that magical 10,000-
hour mark to call yourself an expert, you
may as well throw in the towel right now. I’m
here to tell you, don’t give up! True mastery
does, in fact, come from experience, but
there’s no reason why you can’t make
yourself a trusted resource for your clients
and community long before you reach that
tipping point.
Attaining expert status in your field means
becoming the go-to resource for your ideal
clients, and achieving name recognition
and brand association in your field. There
are many ways to do that—but in order to
really be successful with them, you have
to walk your talk, speak to your niche, and
continually grow your knowledge base.
Otherwise, any gains you make will quickly
be outpaced by changing markets.
Here are some simple things to
consider as you begin to cultivate
your expert status:
‣ 
Find your niche. Some people are afraid
to niche because they think that they
won’t be able to find enough clients.
But when you really narrow down your
eld of expertise, you can rise to the
top more quickly. More, you can tailor
your offerings to your ideal client, which
results in greater success and results
for everyone.
‣ 
Educate your audience. Share your
knowledge through blogs, newsletters,
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