Yes, I know – you hate that word ‘guru’. It’s sadly overused. Perhaps ‘expert’ would sit better with you (although the dictionary does include ‘mentor’ and ‘acknowledged leader or expert’ in the description under guru).
So how do you move from business owner to expert?
It’s all about sharing
The people who become known as experts are those who stand up and talk about their area of expertise. They write about it, speak about it, create learning for others about it – and the news spreads until their name is associated as an authority on their subject.
If you’re running a business around a specific area – you probably know a huge amount about it and that knowledge is valuable if you choose to share it.
Think about your existing customers – they ask questions and you give them answers. That’s sharing your knowledge.
If you go to networking groups you probably do the occasional business presentation to help others in the group understand what you do. That’s sharing your knowledge too.
You might be asked to speak to a group of people who have an interest in your area of expertise from time-to-time. That’s sharing your knowledge.
So – take it to the next level and transform all that into a book.
One step at a time
The first step to creating a book is to decide to do it.
Then you need a structure to work in to make the gathering the information easy. That means a plan of what people need to know, what order they want that information in, what else will help you to get the message across, etc. This will become your chapter guide.
Ideally, you’ll need another structure for a chapter so each one looks roughly the same (people like familiarity).
Then it’s a case of expanding your headings to provide the information that people want to have.
My advice is to have it professionally edited and proof-read to ensure it maintains your high quality standards.
Writing is only the tip of the iceberg
If you think no publisher will be interested – stop worrying about that. Mainstream publishers may not be, but you don’t need them at this stage.
Self-publishing is now pretty mainstream. There are many self-publishing companies around – just search online.
You could even produce your book as an ebook only and sell it on your website or give it away as a lead magnet.
Success depends on marketing
If you plan to produce your book as a hard copy that you can give to people – you’ll need to market it. This applies even with a mainstream publisher – they don’t do a lot. Putting together a robust marketing plan and following it can make a significant difference to your book’s success.
None of this is difficult – it’s all about planning and then following your plan!
