“Angel’s Leap,” by Michael Baum

When teaming with new clients or presenting a workshop, I’m often surprised how many people insist they are not experts, despite their decades of career experience or intense life experience.

It’s as if they look at their feet, kick the dirt, and say, “Gee, I guess I’m pretty good at such-and-such, but I’m not an expert.”

I was raised in the Midwest, and I believe humility is a precious personality trait. However, something odd happens as you create and build a business.

You don’t want to set aside that precious humility, yet you need to embrace – and clarify – your expertise.

If you don’t, it’s virtually impossible to move forward with clear, compelling marketing tools, including your website and speaker one-sheet.

So, are you an expert? Here’s a quick quiz:

• Are you a professional speaker, corporate consultant, business coach, or other solopreneur/infopreneur?
• Do you have many years – or many decades – of experience?
• Have you developed your own, unique approach, philosophy, or system based on your experience? (This could be to solve a problem, improve a situation, address an industry challenge, advise clients, or inspire audiences to take action.)

If you answered “yes,” congratulations! You’re an expert.

“I agree that I’m an expert; now what?”
Now it’s time to clarify your specific area of expertise – your niche – and proclaim it to the world. I encourage you to tightly define your topic and your target market to claim a narrow (but deep) niche. For example, my niche is branding for solopreneurs, because I truly believe I have “cracked the code” for this specific type of business owner.

Claim your niche, and be the best at it.

Here’s a way to visualize your niche
You are standing at the edge of a gorge; it’s quite narrow yet incredibly deep. And it’s YOURS.

Now get your message out there in a big way, and tell the world you have staked your claim.

Your expertise will shine, and you alone will own that specific niche.