Everyone has a marketable Expertise. Here’s how to find yours.

In a world of product creation and enterprise, one question gets asked more often than any other I know.

"Will my idea work?"

Have you ever asked that question? If you have, you're not alone. I hear that question a lot. It’s the thing that stumps most people when they talk about their new venture.

Here’s my frustration with that question when it comes to ideation and personal passion. I know why people ask that question so often. It’s because the answers fail people so often. Why is that?

Many now succumb to shrink back and maintain that an enterprise capable of revenue and income source out of what they love to do or believe in is a ‘fluke’ thing, a golden ticket in a chocolate wrapper, an almost impossible dream – an enviable privilege reserved only for coveted musicians, writers, inventors, artists, bloggers, gurus, and freelancers out there. That belief is so far-fetched that from a distance it resembles a suburban myth! 

Yes, granted that these DIY entrepreneurs I mentioned above have quietly found their own kind of marketable Expertise. But you have one too. I firmly believe every person can find a commercially viable Expertise and develop it into a revenue-generating enterprise. 

So instead of gritting my enamel over this, I have decided to write this article. Against all generic one-size-fits-all googled answers out there, I want to say something different. I want to share an idea called ‘marketable Expertise.’

Two years ago I experimented with a number of clarity-triggering questions. One question turned out quite profound for my clients and for me,

“Which business idea can provide the most satisfaction and success that fits with someone like me, with my unique passion and personality traits?”

That longish question became the foundation of my research with people and their Expertise. I hope these typed up words of mine can, in some way, shine a light on your path to help you find your marketable Expertise – an idea - based on something you already know and are passionate about, something in which you can quickly excel and go on to build up a sustainable revenue or income from. And that’s the mission of this article.

For our purpose, an Expertise is something in which you do well AND are highly passionate about. I’ll touch on the ‘marketable’ part later in this article under the headings, ‘Channel’ and ‘Evidence of Marketability.’

A marketable Expertise is not an Internet hype nor a temperamental trend. A marketable Expertise is a knowledge, interest, specialty, or skill that you already have. Many of you already use what you know to drive your businesses, consultancies, projects, and organisations to help the markets you serve. Your Expertise solves someone’s pain or problem point, or it fills an existing need or want.

With so many online platform options and a plethora of communication tools available to connect us from across the world - many free to start with - whether its New York, or Kandy, or Sydney, or Estonia - the Expertise industry is alive and thriving and becoming one of the fastest growing micro sectors today. This creative and transportable industry enables people like you to turn what you know or what you are passionate about into micro global brands from anywhere you so choose.

Like art and music, if it’s driven by your passion or interest, your Expertise becomes an intimate extension of your desire to inspire the audience you serve using something in which you excel or know how to do. People have always been empowered by inspiration and passion. Hard facts and cold milestones alone could never birth possibilities.

You and I know that enterprise, mainly SME and microenterprise, is the bedrock of most economies around the world. Behind each enterprise, there was first someone with a skill, a know-how - an Expertise. Michael Gerber refers to it as the "Technician."

Expertise and enterprise should be synonymous. A pocket of knowledge, interest, specialty, or skill when given opportunity can generate unexpected human value, uncover unimaginable innovation, offer new life source, and even convert kitchen-bench unknowns into brand-endorsing marvels. 

Right now, you have an Expertise. Consider it. Give it light. Angle your view. See it as a catalyst. Disrupt it. With pure tenacity and process, it could empower a people in need and serve a marketplace in want.

Everyone has a marketable Expertise. You have one… maybe even two! If you’re an aspiring writer, teacher, medical professional, artist, blogger, podcaster, freelancer, CEO, micropreneur, product creator, digital adventurer, barista, or someone who dreams to build a specialist brand out of what you know or what you do, you have a marketable Expertise.

You will find the exercise below stir the entrepreneurial inkling in you and could be just the thing you need to create your location-free enterprise anywhere in the world.

Let me take you through, step by step, the process by which you can find your marketable Expertise idea. It’s super easy to do. There are only five essential elements you require:

Essential Element 1: Your True North

Your search for the ‘perfect’ marketable idea must be based on something that:

• Sits well with who you are
• Matches who YOU want to be
• Suits your personality
• Fits with what you like or love to do, and is
• Something out of what you know that is a passion or at least a high interest

In other words, when people see you do your Expertise, they know you're merely being who you are!

Essential Element 2: Framework

The framework you will use to achieve the above is called The K.I.S.S. Combo: 

1. Knowledge
2. Interest
3. Specialty
4. Skill
5. Or a combination of one or more of the above

It merely means that your potential Expertise idea is based on:

• A piece of Knowledge you know a lot about, or
• An Interest like a study or hobby or talent, or
• A Specialty you have a lot of experience in, or
• A Skillset you’ve picked up over the years or trained in, or
• A combination of one or more of the above

Using your Knowledge, Interest, Specialty, or Skill (hence the K.I.S.S. Combo) to find your marketable Expertise is perhaps one of the most robust methods I know for idea clarity and development. Best of all, it’s a darn simple tool to follow!

So let’s reiterate this before you take the next step. Your Expertise is a particular:

• Knowledge you've accumulated or studied, or an
• Interest you have, or a
• Specialty you’ve gained extensive experience or training in, or a 
• Skill you’ve acquired over time, or
• A combination of one or more of the above

Essential Element 3: Channel

There are no rules as to how and where you use your K.I.S.S. Expertise.

• Think of your Expertise as a product or service you Deliver or Do - something you can provide online or offline to your market.
• It can be something you Talk about like you would in person or on a podcast or in an audio recording or within a seminar or webinar setting.
• Or something you Write about that people buy or subscribe to, like a blog, an e-book, an e-newsletter, or membership program.
• Or something you Teach (coach) live in a classroom or in a seminar or via video or a webinar or any Social Media platform that suits your offer, or one on one in person.
• Or your Expertise is a service or product that combines one or more of the above.

If you fit into any of the above, you potentially have an environment in which to transact business where people can seamlessly pay to learn from you or to be served by you.

Essential Element 4: Experience

It is critical you get this. How you acquire your Knowledge or Interest or Specialty or Skill is irrelevant here. It can be acquired through formal or informal education or training. It can also be developed through your own initiative or self-research.

NOTE: 

We don’t care about how you've gained your Expertise. That is irrelevant here. BUT what we do care about is that your Expertise is something you are passionate about or at the very least, highly interested in.

Essential Element 5: Evidence of Marketability 

Now that you’ve come this far and have a good working idea of what your Expertise might be, I want you to take one more final step to be 100% sure about your idea. I want you to look for confirming data to verify if your Expertise has market-potential.

There are two evidence indicators I want you to look at that will confirm the potential of your marketable Expertise. 

Evidence Indicator #1 to look for is: "Perception."

Look for people’s perception of your expertise. The people whom you've helped or advised using your expertise, do they recognise or associate you with this Expertise? 

To put it another way, people who come to you or contact you to get help or advice on your particular field of Knowledge or Interest or Specialty or Skill, do they recognise you or acknowledge you as their 'go-to’ person when it comes to this particular Expertise? Do they see it as "your thing?"

In other words, when they see you, they naturally associate you with your Expertise. If they do, you have a strong signal your Expertise is going to be marketable.

For those who are not yet at this stage, that's completely fine. I wrote this article knowing many of you may not be at this juncture as yet. Here’s what you can do:

1. Start using your Expertise as a means to help or advise people
2. Make sure what you do is something in which you are genuinely passionate 
3. Help at least 10 to 20 people or more who need your particular Knowledge, or Interest, or Specialty, or Skill, and grow from there
4. Do it until people begin to associate you with your Expertise
5. Offer it freely to build public awareness of what you can do

Evidence Indicator #2 is: "Buzz Factor."

Check to see if your marketable Expertise is a genuine passion or high interest that you have, i.e. do you get a real sense of satisfaction - some people call it a thrill - every time you operate your Expertise to help or advise people who seek you out?

If your Expertise feels like a chore or a tedious job to you, it’s not the right marketable Expertise for you. If it is something that energises you each time you use your Expertise to help those who seek you out, it’s an excellent indicator your Expertise has dominant ‘marketability’ factor.

NOTE: 

Your market will always gravitate towards you IF they can see your ‘buzz,’ i.e. they sense your passion when you use your Expertise to help them. 

So there you have it. Five quick essential elements to help you identify and develop your marketable Expertise. But before I go, it's important that I say this:

The people you serve want to see the energy and passion in you. If you’re going to empower and enable people with your Expertise, nothing draws people more than infectious passion, attitude, and drive.

When you combine that with the five essential elements into your Expertise, you have a truly highly valuable marketable asset. It will assure you long-term success and countless satisfied clients!

My name is Byrt Mallanyk. Let me know how you go.

Who is Byrt Mallanyk?

I'm a husband and father. My wife and I live in the leafy Hills Shire of Sydney. I am a Brand Stylist, Founder of the Expertise Manifesto Coaching, and recognised for my 25 years of consultancy service in business advice and training. My clients are CEOs, Business owners, Startup Entrepreneurs, and Educators.

Let me know if I can serve you in any way. Who knows, our connection might lead to something entrepreneurially fruitful and amazing :) 

Reach me at LinkedIn or email: [email protected]

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