What You Know Has Real Value.

– Robert Kruger 5 June 2014

If you’ve ever watched reruns of The Honeymooners, you have probably seen Ralph Kramden cooking up a business scheme to get rich. His wife, Alice, provides a voice of reason by pointing out how terrible his ideas are. However, in real life, some business ideas really are worth pursuing.

Is your expertise marketable? Could you take what you do out of the four wall of your business to other businesses like yours? Today’s web and mobile apps are powerful tools – powerful enough to run an entire business. If you can turn your expertise into a service or a training course, your expertise could be a profitable product to add to your current business. It could also stand alone as a business.

Current technology makes it easy to convert expertise into an application that others will gladly pay for. One way is to create a software as a service (SaaS). You have probably heard of (or even used) SaaS solutions. Salesforce is a popular one. So is WebEx. SaaS is software that you don’t buy. You pay a monthly fee to use the system. The reason SaaS solutions are adopted is that subscribing to an SaaS costs less than building a custom solution (there is a cost tipping point, which we discuss in Buy vs. Build).

You might think that building a company the size of WebEx seems out of reach, but don’t dismiss the idea of marketing your expertise based on that example. There are many experts leveraging their knowledge and experience in small, niche markets.

Let me show you an example of a niche SaaS solution. Rural Water Impact started because they had expertise in water district compliance. They built a company around providing websites that cover all the legally required topics. They made it easy and affordable for water districts to get a new website. The service includes a complete website with easy-to-follow content forms, a choice of designs, and hosting, all for one low subscription fee. They now host hundreds of these specialized websites.

Another way to convert expertise into a business is by providing training. If you are good at something, people will pay to learn how to do your thing your way. Take a look at the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. The founder was a successful real estate agent with expertise in luxury homes. She moved from selling homes to training thousands of real estate professionals how to sell homes. The app behind the institute is a portal for members to network, a resource library, and a live training event scheduler.

Another way to market training is by selling subscriptions to online training. That is how Naturally Slim has grown their business. For years, Naturally Slim’s founder, Marcia Upson, leveraged her expertise in nutrition and becoming slim by providing live training to small groups. An online learning management system (LMS) has allowed Naturally Slim to reach tens of thousands of subscribers. Whether you choose live training or LMS training, you could leverage your expertise by teaching others.

If you have experience and knowledge about a specific business, your expertise has value that even Alice Kramden would recognize.

App development has streamlined in recent years. You don’t have to become a software publisher to leverage expertise. You can partner with a company like Dialogs. We can build and maintain your expertise delivery system so you can focus on helping people. Contact us today if you have an idea about how to leverage your expertise.