How to Build Expertise in Any Domain

It takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert. 

It’s a common rule of thumb, popularized by Malcom Gladwell in his bestseller Outliers: The Story of Success.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and even the expert was once a rookie.

Before going into the concepts of building expertise, do you know why you need to become an expert?

When you believe someone to be an expert, you will listen and trust their words. Same way, for people to trust you, you need to build expertise in your industry.

An expert is not about showoff or promoting oneself but helping others with the knowledge.

Now let me share the seven concepts to build expertise in any domain.

Identify Your Prime Niche

To become an expert, you need to know the exact micro-niche in the industry. The more in-depth and precise your niche, the easier for you to target your audience. 

My Mentor always says riches are in the niches. 

If you target everyone, then no one is your ideal customer, and you will never be able to sell or provide service.

I have created a simple exercise to find your micro-niche. Click here to read that article and find your niche.

Practice, Practice, Practice

As per Malcom Gladwell, author of ‘Outliers: The Story of Success’, it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in any field.

Don’t worry; you don’t need to spend 10,000 hours on becoming an expert, but you need to practice a lot to learn to hook and corner in your industry. 

Have you felt, when you talk to an expert, how do they know everything about it? 

It is all because of practice and learning. They spend more time practicing what they learn new and trying to improvise themself in their existing work patterns.

To become an expert, you need to practice a lot more.

Redefine Your Network

In the words of motivational speaker Jim Rohn “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

When you spend time with millionaires, you will start to think like millionaires without your knowledge. If you spend more time with people who whine and do hate talk, you tend to develop the same habit.

Now take a look at the people you spend the most time with, are they adding more value to you or not?

Identify people who could add value to you, build a relationship with them, add value to them by sharing your knowledge and grow together.

Share Your Knowledge

Think about it, when do you consider someone as an expert only after you consume their content online. The content like blogs or articles or videos or podcasts, or social posts establishes their authority in the industry, making you believe them as an expert.

Same way, when you start sharing your knowledge online, you will be noticed by the industry people and valued for your voice and opinion on the topics.

Don’t overthink what if I am wrong. You learn from your mistakes, start sharing your knowledge, ask for other existing expert opinions, and learn from their views.

Rigorously Follow Trends

Yes, you need to follow your industry trends and voice your opinion on social media or blogs, even engage in other experts’ content by leaving your two cents in the comments.

Dissecting any trending topic (related to your industry) by sharing your views, encouraging other experts to engage with your content, and showing your knowledge in your industry. 

Even if your opinion is different, you could learn from other experts’ perceptions.

Don’t Bluff

To showcase yourself as an expert, you might think you need to know everything about the industry and talk about it.  

As the saying goes, ‘Known is a drop, unknown is an Ocean’ Even the industry experts don’t know everything in the industry. They accept what they don’t know and learn every day to keep themself updated.

Never Stop Learning

“Once you stop learning, you start dying” – Albert Einstein.

To survive in this competitive world, you need to stay updated and express your knowledge.

Follow every expert in your industry and learn from their content. If they share any new information, learn more about it, implement the same and then share your views and learning in your own words.

Do not copy-paste the same content, understand the concept, and then share it in your own words.

You can only fake it till someone breaks your facade.

Conclusion

These seven concepts can help you build expertise in any domain. 

If you are interested in building your own brand, I have a step-by-step video course where I teach how to build a personal brand for yourself. Click here to know more details about the course & process.