Last updated on April 3rd, 2019

Today, I’m delighted to offer you something special… A gourmet guest post  served up by Cassie Lee. I’m thrilled to share that I’m one of the speakers for Cassie’s upcoming and awesome telesummit, Fearless Trailblazer! There’s a TON of goodness waiting for you there… Check it out but first dig into Cassie’s post to get an idea!

When you think of mobile phones, what is the first name that pops in your mind? Most of you will say Apple or something that starts with an ‘i’.

When you think of fast food, who seems to be the leader? Household names such as McDonalds or KFC is what most will answer.

Granted that the above brands have been around for a while, are large corporations and have in-house expertise to help position their products as leaders of their industry. You are not one of them. You are a small business owner.

Of course it will be nice to be considered an expert in your chosen niche. Wouldn’t it be fancy if you walk into a business event, overheard 2 strangers talking about your industry and your name popped up as one of the top 3 small businesses to follow?

What does it take to establish you as the go to person in your business niche or industry and gain the confidence of your audience?   

Business identity

If a stranger were to pick up your business card from an associate and went over to your website, will it be clear to that person on the type of role that you play in your industry?

Let’s take Social Media Direct  (SMD) as an example. Prerna is doing a very good job of showing everyone that SMD is about helping time-starved with effective social media solutions. Her business presence and content is geared towards efficient uses of social media, time management and productivity tips. [note from Prerna: Thank you Cassie! :-)]

What you can do : Think about what you want to be known for. Check that your business ticks all the boxes when it comes to branding, content, website and blog, social media profiles and your offerings.

Experience and qualifications

Most entrepreneurs started with only an idea and a determination that this idea can be turned into something that others want to pay for. Some of the ideas may be drawn from real life experiences or from formal qualifications (such as through higher learning institutions or other means of formal learning platforms).

What if your idea is outside of your experience and qualifications?

Does it mean that you cannot start a business if you are lacking in the ‘expert’ department?

No.

It all comes down to your love for your idea and the confidence in relaying your message to others.

How often have you come across someone who seems to know all about her industry or niche? You sat down to ask about her background and found out that her past experience and/or formal qualifications are far from what she is doing now. Through her confidence and enthusiasm, she has made you and everyone else think that she is an expert.

What you can do : Don’t let not knowing anything from the start stop you from pursuing an idea that excites you. It is never too late and relatively easy nowadays to learn anything and everything. Believe that you have what it takes to serve others in your niche.

Testimonials and feedback

Some of us have a fear of asking others what they think about our services/products. No one likes to hear negative feedback especially after when we put our heart and soul into our business.

Despite what others say about keeping yourself and your business as 2 separate ‘identities’, it still hurts to know when others do not like what we have done.

It takes time  to learn how to keep our emotions out of the picture.

To be the greatest, we need to know everything –  the good, the bad and the ugly. Testimonials and feedback will give us guidance on what we need to do to move forward. More positive reviews means higher chances that your name will be passed on to potential clients.

What you can do : If you have not started collecting testimonials or feedback about your business, you should. How else are you going to know whether you on track on becoming one of the best if you don’t even know whether you are doing it right or wrong?

Be bold

The only way to be on top of your game is to push yourself out of your comfort zone, step out of the box and take risks.

There are only 2 outcomes in doing that – we will  either be a success and cement our expertise in our niche, or we fall and fail. Both outcomes are good.

Success is quite self-explanatory so I am going to leave that and talk about failure instead.

All of us need to fail in order to know what we are good at. When we fail we learn from it and try a different tactic. If the next move proves to be wrong again, we get up and try something else. Each time we fall, we are getting closer to knowing how to reach to the top. But the only way to reach the summit is to be willing to think bigger and act what is usually outside of your normal rules.

What you can do : Do something that scares you but you know will help establish your worth in your niche. Start with small moves and gradually build up to bigger changes.

Do you have ambitions to be the expert in your niche? What can you do today to help you get there?

 

About Cassie Lee: Cassie Lee  to helps entrepreneurs to be fearless, have fun and to create a rewarding business. Grab a copy of her free Ebook “You are What You Think” as the first step towards developing your ideal mindset for some serious action taking.