Should You Call Yourself an Expert?
It’s okay to put that title on your bio, what’s not okay is, if you lie to people, and pretend to be an expert while you are still new on your journey.
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Humility is very important when you try to build a business. However, you can’t earn people’s trust if you lack the confidence to show off your work and tell people that you are an expert.
I remember when I’m posting my works on social media, nobody knows about my expertise, and what I’ve been going through.
People didn’t know my experiences, probably they’re thinking that I’m posting my creation just for fun, without aiming to get clients.
Or maybe they know that I’m looking for clients, but I’ve never told anyone confidently that I’m quite good in this category.
It’s okay if you are a self-taught person in your subject, but you should tell them that you are an expert, and expertise mostly comes from experiences.
I’m a graphic designer, and I’ve never paid for online courses or formal education on this subject.
I’m learning mostly everything from youtube, friends, Facebook groups, etc. However, I spent more time thinking and experimenting.
If you never try to be different, to think out of the box, even though the result might be weird, you’ll never know.
Because formal education or courses from someone on the internet are mostly based on their own research, and I believe that you have your own version if you want to do your own research.
That’s why experience is important, you know the process, experimenting, research, and doing everything on your own.
Advice from somebody may be highly valuable, I know, but most people know themselves better than anyone, you know your choice.
You can learn from Youtube, blogs, and some professionals on social media.
And then you can do your own research, show your work, collect feedback, and repeat the same pattern for one up to three years, after that you can tell people that you are an expert.
Why telling people that you are an expert is important?
Some customers just want it done
If the customers want to do something they don’t really know, in most cases, they will find the experts, simply by looking at your portfolio and who have a clear description that says you are an expert.
Some people can’t see the difference between the expert and non-expert if they look only at the portfolios, they must know how you execute the projects, how long have you been doing that, and also confidently describe yourself as an expert.
Tell them that you’ve been doing that for years, plus many of them do not care about your formal education these days.
So, Instead of showing off your educational certificate, just tell them that you are an expert with so many satisfied clients, you’ve had a long journey, and more importantly, you love your job.
If you just start your business, you can build your portfolio and experience from freelancing platforms such as UpWork and Fiverr.
You may have a lash to improve your work
If you’re not afraid to tell people that you are an expert, you may have a lash to improve your work, because you don’t want to lie, you always want to provide the best results.
You have to work harder to keep the badge, you’ll become more consistent, and you can grow faster than before.
Everybody cares about their work, they want to be seen as professionals, and so do I.
To earn this label, you may sacrifice so many things, but as long as you do the right things, I believe you can become a pro, or at least above the average.
Above the average is actually enough, do not expect to be the best, instead, you must hope for improvement.
Help with the SEO
SEO is very important because the internet is overloaded, doesn’t matter how good is your content or services, if people can’t find you, you can’t get clients and an audience.
You know people use Google and Youtube every single time, because they’re search engines, and if you want to be seen, you should know the basics of SEO.
Knowing the basics is enough, for example:
- People love numbers and data.
- Unique and fresh content.
- And more importantly, most people follow the experts.
Just put the word “expert” on your website or social media accounts, and your name or your brand may appear in the most search results because many customers and audiences search for the word “expert”.
You can learn while going with the flow, you may have a role model, your favourite individuals, sometimes you need to know their equipment, like what they have, you might need the same equipment, even though in a cheaper price.
Most experts always pay attention to every small detail, but non-expert usually do something that they think it’s good enough.
It’s okay to say expert, but it’s not okay if you charge people overpriced, especially if your customer really needs your help.
I think, one thing that you can sell at a crazy price is collectables, other than that, better to be normal.
Of course, if you just start on your journey, you can’t put that word on your bio, you have to wait for a couple of months, maybe years to have the confidence.
And remember, you don’t have to become a super expert, above the average is actually enough.
