Experts are like buses…

I was talking to someone who asked me why I don’t make more of the fact that I have (very nearly) 9 years’ experience in the VA/OBM space. I suppose it never really occurred to me because I have just been going along, focussed on my clients and the service I offer and the time has passed. I’ve never really been fixated on a future plan because I’ve been paying attention to my children and having the flexibility to support them, now that they’re older and don’t need me quite so much (expect as referee and tax driver) it’s allowed me to really look at what I want for the business and to start to make those changes.

So, back to my experience. If I want to grow my business, messages about my years of experience become an important pillar of my communications strategy… and I can say experience with confidence, I can add that I have depth and breadth of knowledge because that feels comfortable (and because I do), I can even add that I have qualifications in business, in social media management (the only UK government recognised standard don’t cha’ know) because, again, all of that is facts.

The bit that trips me up is using language like ‘expert’. It’s like the word hoover, it’s become so overused that it’s synonymous with the product and not the brand anymore. When I started in this industry had to explain what I did all the time, my introduction pitch was a definition of virtual assistants. Now the landscape has changed and there are some amazing women carving out fantastic businesses for themselves with all the flexibility they want, it’s raised the profile of what we all do and elevated the role which I love.

However, with that comes a necessity to stand out, to speak and shine and some people find this easier than others. I love to be on camera, I love speaking and engaging but I still hesitate to shout about my experience and my accomplishments, and I don’t know why. I looked at the definition of an expert:

A person who is very knowledgeable about or skilful in a particular area, a person who has extensive skill or knowledge in a particular field.

Although I would say that I have extensive knowledge and experience, I always think there’s more to learn and more to find out and I’m committed to continuing to develop myself so the idea of calling myself an expert doesn’t fit quite right (and maybe that’s to the detriment of my business but I don’t think so) – therefore, I’m going to call myself an Experiencer, an Understander and a Knowledger… anyone need one of those to support their business?