how to establish yourself as a leader in your niche (and why you must!)

what are your goals for your little biz? where do you see your biz in a year? 5 years?

from the simplest goals (raise your rates, gain more clients, sell ad space on your site…) to the more complex ones (get your product onto the shelves of a major retailer, set up franchises in other cities, publish a book…) there is one thing you will need to do: establish yourself as a leader.

by leader i do not necessarily mean “you lead, they follow”. (though in regards to dealing with your competition, that is an awesome goal!) i mean that you need to stand out in front, head and shoulders above the rest, as someone who is credible, reliable, successful and an expert in your field.

it is not enough to set up shop with a website, put something on it to sell and hope that the customers will take care of the rest. depending on your goals, there are actions you should start taking right now to ensure that you can achieve them.

what establishes someone as a leader?

• qualifications
• skill set
• experience
• portfolio
• awards
• achievements
• traffic/sats/numbers
• testimonials/social proof
• recognition by others
• influence on others
• exposure & reach

get out a pen and paper to do some brainstorming. consider:

what do you have right now? 

make a list of anything and everything that you already have under your belt. this can be from areas outside your biz too (say from previous jobs/careers/training, from interests/hobbies you have, from activities you participate in with your family/kids/on own such as committees, volunteering.) take your list and jot down how each of these things relates to what you do in your biz.

(for instance i am a teacher. though i do not have a job in that profession anymore i know the qualifications, skills, experience, awards etc i achieved as a teacher are a huge asset to what i am doing now.)

where do you need to be?

make a list of what you would need to have in place to reach the goals you have set for yourself. what would you need to show that you have accomplished? what would establish YOU as the leader?

(for instance if your goal is to raise your rates to be on par with the best in your niche, what would you need to demonstrate in order to show that you are in the same league as those leaders in your field?)

what do you need to do?

between where you are right now and where you need to be, how will you fill that gap? what are specific actions you can take that will work towards reaching your goals. how will you begin to build up your standing?

• applying for awards
• submitting articles to blogs & publications
• increasing traffic to your website & tracking analytics/stats
• collecting testimonials
• expanding your portfolio
• doing courses/ training programs
• being mentored by leaders in your niche
• mentoring/teaching/assisting others
• finding speaking engagements
• creating your own products
• holding webinars/seminars
• supporting charities or non-profit organizations
• joining committees
• volunteering
• sponsorship of other sites, groups, organizations
• expanding social media presence/following
• connecting with leaders in niche, getting link backs, reviews, accolades

as you gain standing in your niche share your accomplishments! display awards, share ‘as seen in’ links, state the number of subscribers, post the most powerful testimonials, share your qualifications, describe your skill set and how it makes you stand out.

you are your own boss, so if you are waiting for someone else to come a long and pat you on the back, you might be waiting awhile! start building yourself up now.

what do you think establishes someone as a leader? what are ways that you could build up your own standing? i would love to hear your suggestions!

you need to put yourself out there!

one of the best parts about having your own little home biz is that you get to do it from home! you can stay in your pj’s and run your biz from your kitchen table, your little home office, or as i am right now, from your bed! but that is also one of the downsides. it can be isolating doing everything on your own from your kitchen table.

back when i was a teacher i used to go to a number of conferences each year. i used to share my expertise by teaching other teachers. i won awards and was recognized for excellence in teaching. now i can go days where i don’t get out of my pj’s and my main source of growth and information comes from a three year old!

as you may have read, i have just returned from the ausmumpreneur conference in sydney, australia. over the last 2  weeks i have been reminded of the importance of putting yourself out there, in a number of ways.

1. apply for awards, competitions or grants

winning an award, a competition or a grant in your niche or area of expertise can be a great way to demonstrate your competency & skill. but even more than that, the process of applying in and of itself is so valuable.

writing the application forces you to put into words why your work is excellent; you have to identify your brand message, the benefits of your product, the ideal customers you target, your expertise and much more. these are things that you should know about your biz, but that rarely get well defined.

so put yourself out there and apply for some sort of recognition in your field. even if you do not win, you won’t regret going through the process.

2. ask people for something

if you do apply to win an award or competition you may need to ask people to vote for you, which as i discovered is not an easy thing to do! we seem to find it hard to ask our fans, customers, readers for things, the very worst being asking for the sale! all the more reason to get better at asking!

ask people to vote for you, share your link, sign up for your newsletter, help you promote your product launch, leave a comment on your page… put yourself out there and ask!

it is often easier to ask for something that your really believe in or are passionate about. so try finding something like that, and ask people to support you in it. if you ask them, they just might come! (but if you don’t, you can’t be disappointed when no one shows up to help you. just sayin’!)

3. go to a meet-up, networking event, conference or session

is it scary going to something like this, especially on your own if you don’t know anyone. hell yes! (i did not know a single person when i showed up at the ausmumpreneur conference. i was terrified!) but it is so valuable, for so many reasons.

as great as it is meeting fellow biz builders online, it is even better meeting up in real life. you feel supported, inspired, injected with energy & excitement for your biz, full of new ideas and not so alone in your little biz world. it is a very good experience for anyone in biz to get out of their comfort zone and grow with the help of others.

so put yourself out there and respond to the next ‘in person’ biz event that comes your way. and if there don’t seem to be any in your area, start something! here are some ideas that might inspire you:

• purdie barr of mango ink has started bizy chicks, a local group which has both informal meet-ups as well as info sessions with guest speakers in a variety of topics.

• cindy luken of luk has started the table of fabulousness where ladies in biz get together for a lunch, networking and support

• i am working with nic jones from market me to hold a one-day conference in adelaide for biz builders, and have plans to hold smaller meet-ups and information sessions next year

4. demonstrate that you are a leader in your field

winning an award is just one way that you can establish your expertise and gain recognition for your work. there are many other ways as well: volunteer to speak at a local event, contact blogs related to your niche and ask if you can submit a guest post, organize a session/meet-up where you share your knowledge with other biz builders in your field, respond to a journalist call out for expertise in your area.

you might not feel like you are ‘expert’ enough or well known enough or as influential as the ‘big guns’ in your field, but trust me when i tell you that there are a lot of people who are looking at you as the big guns (just as you look at others).

so put yourself out there and be the leader, the trendsetter, the one providing the helpful information… doing so not only adds to your credibility with your customers but it also is a good reminder to yourself that you have expertise and talent to offer this world, and yes you are a professional business owner! (sometimes we need that reminder, especially if we work in our pj’s all day!)

i am talking from experience...

in the past few weeks i have done all of the things that i suggested above, and as i may have mentioned it was scary as hell, and yes sometimes i wondered if maybe i should have just stayed in my little work-from-bed bubble. but it was so worth it to do every one of those things. as a presenter at the conference, a nominee for two awards, and an attendee of all of the sessions i was in some pretty spectacular company. not only did i come home brimming with ideas, but i was reminded of my own expertise and professionalism. and you know what, we all really need that.

so please…. put yourself out there. go pick one of these things right now and get started right now. (don’t just say “yah, yah… i will get around to it. actually take the steps right away to do it now.)

you won’t be sorry =)