While spending the day in Philadelphia yesterday, my
husband and I dropped in on our nephew who just opened a small retail store
selling eco-friendly baby gear. When I first heard this idea, I was skeptical,
knowing he doesn’t have much experience with either babies or retail.

But after visiting the store and speaking with him,
I’m realizing that that’s precisely why he just might succeed. Because he
doesn’t have tons of experience and expertise in this area, he can’t fall into
the trap of “I know better than my market.” In fact, he and his
business partner had first set out to open a clothing store for adults, but
when they saw this space right across the street from a popular daycare and in
a neighborhood filled with families and already saturated with adult clothing
establishments, they adjusted their plan.

Don’t get me wrong, hundreds of things still have to
go right for this idea to take off, but I was heartened to see that their
priorities are in the right place, which is being ultra focused on their marketing
– what’s going to get the store’s name out there, what’s going to bring the
customers in, and what’s going to get them to buy and keep buying?

Unfortunately, so many entrepreneurs I’ve come across have not prioritized their marketing to the level they really should. Sure,
there’s a great deal of *wanting* their marketing to be more effective in
bringing in more clients, but I don’t see enough of the right action
steps needed to make it happen.

It’s almost as if they’re relying on their mastery of
their subject to win over their market, but for many, it’s just not enough.

I’m not saying you should get away with being a hack.
Not at all. I’d love to see you getting the rewards you richly deserve by
being a master of your craft and truly knowing your stuff. It’s
tremendously satisfying to be paid well to do what you love and are good at.

But that means you need to master marketing and
relationship building too. The money can’t flow in if the clients don’t. Without
marketing and relationships, not everyone who should know about you and can
benefit from what you have to offer will get that chance.

What do you think? Can experience and expertise be a double-edged
sword that can get in the way of attracting more clients?