Starting a new business when you’re in your 40s or 50s might feel a little daunting.
Perhaps you feel like entrepreneurship is a young person’s hustle.
Stop right there.
There are many reasons why having dozens – or even decades – of work experience behind you is a huge advantage when you’re launching a new business.
For one thing, you can confidently leverage yourself as an expert in your field.
Even if it’s not your intention to sell yourself as a consultant, branding yourself as a leading expert will help you sell your product or service.
Remember – in business, you are your brand.
People want to do business with people they like, trust, and look up to for advice.
The way that people see you will affect the way they see your company and will determine whether or not they want to do business with you.
When you demonstrate that you have value and proven expertise, you will raise the profile of your business brand.
So, how does an entrepreneur with tons of experience and knowledge provide value for a specific target audience?
Here are 3 ways you can leverage your expertise to elevate your brand…
1. Write a Book
Writing a book can be a soul-searching (and soul-finding) experience for an entrepreneur.
The act of writing a book (or an ebook) sheds light on just how much you know and don’t know about your field of expertise. It is through this process that you will truly discover – if you haven’t already – how you can add value to your target audience.
As a business owner, you might feel like you are unqualified to write a book – because you’re an entrepreneur, not an author.
Do it anyway.
In all likelihood, especially if you are an “older” entrepreneur, you know more than you think you know.
Put it all down in writing. Hire a ghost-writer to help you organize your thoughts, if you need to.
You can publish a hardcopy book or create a digital ebook. You can enlist a publisher or self-publish. The options these days are endless. Anyone can write a book.
And, the benefits to writing a book are endless. You can sell your book or ebook for money and make passive income.
Or, you can give away your ebook for free and raise your profile as an expert. Ebooks are very cheap (even free) to create, so giving them away won’t cost you much financially. And, they make excellent lead magnets, should you want to grow your email list.
2. Give Talks
Again, you can charge for these talks or you can do them for free.
Many organizations look for talented speakers to present and add value to their events. Or, you can look into renting a space and selling tickets on your own.
Just remember, these are not sales talks – you are there to give advice and offer value to the people who need you most. Seek to inspire, motivate, and educate – as if you’re giving your own TEDtalk.
The sales will come as a result of branding yourself as a trusted expert and reputable business professional.
A presentation is a great place to sell or give away your book, if you have one – as it will make your message stick longer with your audience.
It’s also a good idea to record video and/or audio of yourself giving these presentations, to use as marketing material or social media content.
3. Create a course or online course
After you’ve done a few presentations, you might start thinking about expanding your talk and making it available to more people by creating a course.
This could be a course you give in person, in a class-room type of setting, or it could be an online course.
There are many online tools that can help you develop and sell your course, such as: Teachable, Thinkific, and Udemy.
Offering courses will once again help you connect with people who are in your target audience, and who could also benefit from your product or service.
You might offer your course for free, or you can charge a fee and have another stream of income.
Mature, first-time entrepreneurs have a lot to offer in terms of value to their target audience. They just have to think a little out-of-the-box when it comes to leveraging their experience when building a brand. Writing a book or ebook is a great way to help people while positioning yourself as an expert in your industry. Giving presentations or talks will also get you in front of people who might be interested in what you have to offer. And finally, creating a course will enable you to help people on a deeper level, all while growing your reputation among the right audience.