

How to become the "go to" expert? - sgerard

Hey guys,<p>I am an artisan entrepreneur, so I am more familiar with my craft than I am with running a business. That said, I&#x27;m good at what I do and I was able to bootstrap a small graphic design and app development firm with the funds I&#x27;ve earned from freelance work. I always am willing to work hard, and have been doing so for a long time. But now I&#x27;m kind of playing it by ear.<p>There is a strong network of friends backing me, including an attorney offering free legal advice (bless his heart) and an accountant who is willing to answer many of my questions.<p>My problem, however, is that in spite of all the work and experience I have accumulated, I am pretty unremarkable, and so is my business. Contract work is exceedingly hard to come by, and my business is always in &quot;starvation mode.&quot;<p>My current goal is to become an established expert in my local community. I have been attending networking events and connecting with good people in hackerspaces. I like people, and they seem to like me well enough.<p>But even so, it is really hard to stand out and be someone people remember. Since I am currently operating my young small business alone, and my personal portfolio is being displayed on my company website, my personal brand is currently mixed with my company brand. My (goofy) face is the only face that will sell the company.<p>So, what would you recommend doing to be remarkable and the &quot;go to&quot; expert on a subject, and how would I best route people&#x27;s interest to my business?<p>Of course, in the event my philosophy to the whole thing seems &quot;off&quot; somehow, tell me. I can take abuse.
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bradnickel
Be the expert.

Call your local chambers and biz groups and offer a free seminar on logo
planning and styling or the best way to do whatever you do best. Find non-
profit groups and do the sane thing. When you are in front of a group, you
become the expert. Give everyone that attends something free to download from
your site and let them optin to your email. Make it so when their friends say
they need someone, you come to mind. Give away ALL your knowledge. Do it
yourselfers will remember and refer and those that need help will ask.

Hold/sponsor a local best business idea contest and give away a logo or biz
card design. Get the local press to publicize and write about it before and
after. Team up with the people that are helping you to help them publicize
themselves and give away an hour of their services. Have local powerful people
that are highly networked and recognized as judges so they remember and talk
about you.

Always be willing to advise and help to the extent it doesn't kill
productivity.

Volunteer at local events doing what you do and get your web address on their
promo materials.

Blog, blog, blog about what you do, local community, new businesses, etc. make
sure to include your community name.

Take successful business people to lunch and ask them for advise and offer to
help them in any way you can. They'll remember you when someone needs a
referral.

Create a network of local creative businesses both competitive and not. Hold a
monthly luncheon to discuss your business and help each other grow. Find the
ones you like best and refer business to them that you can't or don't want to
do.

Write a press release for every new client signing. Send to local paper and
blogs. Post on your site. Make it all about promoting them with mentions of
you.

Talk up and refer every local business you know or meet. Always be about
helping them to connect and grow. The good actions will come back to you.
Constantly be a connector.

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spydum
Isn't clear whether you want to be an expert in your trade or the small
graphic design app biz you started. First question is, is there demand for an
expert in the area? Second question is, is the trade area affected much by
locality? For example, if I need a jquery expert, I might not care if he/she
is in Warsaw, chennai, SF, or London. Most people seek out experts in a field
because they have a difficult problem in that space, and often come across
them in social engagements like hackerspaces, conferences, and probably more
often by word of mouth referrals. Experts build notoriety by solving those
problems, and making well known that they solve those problems (publications,
blogs, presentations at conferences/etc).

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orn
If you are an "expert" on the subject, find a venue to give a talk on that
subject. If the audience hear and feel your confidence on the subject then
your on your way to become the goto expert.

