Matt James Hersh challenges the traditional notion of expertise. Hersh, a business coach and consultant, helps his clients launch 6-figure businesses in a low-touch, high impact way so they can make money doing what they love and have the freedom to explore the world.

He challenges the traditional notion of expertise by encouraging his clients to own their story, specifically, the challenges and the processes they used to overcome them. What we learned from Hersh is that expertise doesn’t have to equate to decades of experience and isn’t qualified by a certain degree or certification. Expertise is about owning your story and framing it in a way that demonstrates to others why you’re the perfect person to help them with what they need.

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Hersh’s advice on how to own your expertise and how someone can take their life experiences and use them to support their business:

Hersh works with a variety of clients, but most are coaches looking to grow their business in some way. Some are coaches who are just getting started and trying to pinpoint the one unique thing they have to offer to the world. Others are looking to take their programs to the next level and sell high-ticket offers.

Others are looking to pivot their business. Even though his clients are all coming to him at different levels in their business journey, his clients’ fears still remain the same. Hersh explains that “one of the biggest fears I’ve found in coaches is that they think they’re not qualified and don’t have enough experience.”

Hersh challenges this fear with his clients by explaining that if you’re working with someone that’s trying to overcome a problem that you’ve already overcome and you have the steps and methodologies to get them there, that’s all the expertise you need. Hersh explains, “You’re qualified because you’ve overcome the problems that your clients are seeking to overcome.”

Credibility and years of experience and results are of course valuable, but Hersh believes that it’s important not to discount your life experiences and the problems that you’ve overcome.

We appreciated hearing Hersh’s unique perspective on expertise and dispelling the notion that years of experience equate to expertise. His advice to own your own story is inspiring.