Being a Newbie

byDeniseMarina

212 followers

7 years ago

For a lot of people amateur is a dirty, dirty word.

In locker rooms and boardrooms around the globe, you can almost hear the seething in their voice:

“You see the new guy in our class? What an amateur! Barely squeaked out 3 pull ups and his bur pees look like he’s humping the floor. Does he even crossfit?”

“She’s pretty good at pulling off those triple flip pikes on the trampoline… for an amateur.”

My perfectionist aunt would cringe at the sound of the word “amateur”. Probably why she forced my cousin to take violin lessons until she was 18.

(And why my cousin smashed that instrument against the side of the garage in glee the day she left for college. True story.)

And that when it comes to starting an online business being a “newbie” can be a HUGE advantage.

I want to show you how you can turn this relative lack of experience in your favor so the game is always rigged to your benefit.

Before we begin, let’s take a moment to RE-define (and add some shine to) the word amateur.

AMATEUR:

My Definition: Someone who brings a fresh perspective to solving problems other people desperately need help with…and often arrives at innovative or breakthrough solutions.

Here’s how this new definition applies to you.

One reason people hesitate taking on new challenges is they feel they need to be an expert before they even begin… which seems like the right thing to do at first glance.

After all, you wouldn’t want to “wing it” as a brain surgeon without years of training…

Or get a 14 year old to stick his hands on your transmission if he’s never opened a car hood before…would you?

Yet this type of thinking can actually hurt you when it comes to starting an online information business. What I am saying is that you shouldn’t let “the curse of expertise” stop you — or wait for others to crown you an expert — before you take the knowledge already in your head…

And turn it into a product that solves a problem other people will pay to have “fixed”.

Way too many of us have this idea in their head there needs to be a HUGE expertise gulf between ourselves and the people we want to help.

When, in reality, the opposite is true.

Here’s what I mean.

Let’s say that you’re decent at Yoga. You’ve mastered it to the point where your “first time Yoga” friends are asking you for tips.

They love your engaging teaching style… and the funny names you give to the Yoga poses – like the “human pretzel”, “tangled headphone cords”, and “the rotisserie chicken.”

In fact, you make Yoga so fun and accessible, they start sending their friends to learn from you.

You’ve only got so much time, so to “scale yourself” you take some pictures of a few instructional poses with your iPhone and send to your friends.

Now even though you know you’re not “the best” instructor on the planet… you quickly realize they would rather learn from someone like you who is unique, reliable and just a few steps ahead of them…

Someone who isn’t super “woo woo”…

Which goes to show you that even if there is a small gap between what you know and what your students need to learn – being a beginner is NOT a disadvantage at all.

In short, here’s what I’ve shared with you:

• You actually don’t have to be a “pro” to be uber successful in life.
• Not being “the best” at something can often be an asset.
• The bigger the “skill gap” between you and the people who want your help, the less likely they’ll be able to relate to you (or even want to pay you).

In other words, being an amateur gives you some unique advantages.