How to Become the Trusted Authority with Your Business: Two Case Studies

One of the things that sets businesses apart in today's fast paced online world is where they stand as the authority in their field. When you’re considering becoming an entrepreneur, one of the first things you should ask yourself is: How can I carve out my own niche and become the authority in my field? Many would-be entrepreneurs leave their dreams on the shelf because they feel like they are not the authority on anything that they can monetize or that someone else holds the position of authority in their desired field of  expertise.  Believe it or not: Your position of authority is not as hard to attain as you may believe. I have listed below 5 key ways to position yourself and your business as the authority in your given market and have also provided two great business case studies. 

• Create a perceived need for your product or service. Just because you believe there is no need for your particular product or service doesn’t mean you can’t make money with it.  Basically what you as the entrepreneur need to do is create the perception of a need for your product or service.  In this case, the only thing holding you back is your creativity in how you create that perception of need in consumers. Remember: Consumers are inundated with ads everyday which create the perception of a need for many useless products.  While we all know your product is not useless, remember that people created a need for products like those little bullet blenders in the infomercials.
• Be the first. Being the first business to offer your particular unique product or service speaks for itself.  When you’re the first, you’re immediately set apart as the authority on the matter.  Being the first to produce your product or service not only makes you the authority in the minds of consumers but it also puts you at a great advantage when it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  Do you already feel like there is another “first” in your field? Think about a particular niche, product or style of delivery that will set you apart from that other authority so you can carve out your own distinct platform in your field.
• Market your experiences. In your particular field of expertise you’ve gathered specific experiences in this field.  Marketing this experience and building your social proof behind this experience set you apart as the authority on any subject matter.
• Attain authority by repetition. If you ever look at politics and in particular political races, you’ll notice that politicians have learned that repetition is more than enough to convince people that what they are saying is truth.  At the height of political seasons, you’ll see plenty of attack advertisements that the fact checkers have said are false yet the public still believes them.  This is because repetition often is enough to convince people that you’re an authority and that your statements are true. Does this mean that you should be running advertisements speaking of your authority? No! But what it does mean is that you should be demonstrating your authority.  Constantly writing blogs, ebooks and speaking engagements in your area of expertise are the repetitive proof that you need to place you as the authority in your area.  Also, utilizing every opportunity to speak of your authority builds your social proof.
• Find a business model and improve it. In business there are times when it feels like the thing you are the authority on has already been capitalized on by someone else.  Don't let this dissuade you from launching your business and positioning yourself as a leader.  Take what has already been done and make it better.  Of course this requires some creativity on your behalf but the reality is any business or subject matter can be made better if you’re willing to bring a fresh perspective.

TWO BUSINESS CASE STUDIES

Here are two business case studies centered around two women that have perfected the art of becoming an authority in their chosen fields:

First Case Study: Kerry Ann Rockquemore, CEO of The National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity

A perfect example of entrepreneurs who have created their own perception of a need for their service are Kerry Ann Rockquemore and her husband William Haupricht of National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity.  This married couple has taken the academic world by storm in just a few years by creating the perception of a need for Mrs. Rockquemore's strategies on how to become a successful faculty member in today’s academic institution. By creatively leveraging the successful elements of other million-dollar online businesses, she has been able to set herself apart in the academic world as the premier faculty professional development authority. As a result, her business, which is in essence an “outsourced” faculty professional development center online, has been able to cross the million-dollar revenue mark and continues to attract faculty and graduate students around the world.

Mrs. Rockquemore, a former tenured professor and the core of the center, believes that American universities do not provide adequate professional development services for their faculty members (especially faculty of color and women) and decided to create a highly profitable online business that primarily capitalizes off of 1) providing a toolset for faculty of color and women to navigate the political landscape of academia, and 2) the desire of faculty of color and women to achieve tenure in academia. The National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity literally wrapped their services within the buzzword of diversity, which makes it far more marketable to institutions across the country.

Let's hone in on this for a second: By zeroing in on the keyword “diversity,” Mrs. Rockquemore has been able to set herself apart as the premier authority on diversity in the academic world. In today’s society, the word “diversity” is an effective marketing tool, in academia and business alike.  The combination of this fact with the stellar selling ability of her husband, William Haupricht, creates an incredibly lucrative online business based out of downtown Detroit, Michigan.

While any tenured professor could easily utilize this business model and attract a following, Mrs. Rockquemore beat them all to the punch with a formula to achieve tenure, a successful sales strategy, and a high-end pricing model that creates scarcity in order to persuade the decision makers at some of the top universities in the nation.  While her formula is not necessarily unique and mimics the strategies that universities already utilize on campuses as a track for achieving tenure, she has been able to creatively repackage these strategies via institutional memberships, individual memberships and “bootcamps” through her company, providing a support system for professors aiming to win tenure at their institutions.  Her success is a perfect model today for how to position yourself as the authority in an arena where there is no actual authority.

Second Case Study: Michelle Phan, Owner of Ipsy and the Michelle Phan YouTube Channel

Michelle Phan is another example of a successful online entrepreneur that has been able to shape herself as an authority in an incredibly competitive field: the beauty industry. She has been able to creatively package existing beauty knowledge and leverage her natural talents and skills in order to create entertaining beauty videos on YouTube.  In addition to creating one of the most popular YouTube channels, she is the first-ever YouTuber to be hired as a premier beauty brand’s video makeup artist (Lancome) and has created an already lucrative competitor to Birchbox: her new company called Ipsy.

Michelle Phan was not the only makeup guru or the only YouTube beauty channel when she created her channel in 2006. In fact, she is a self-taught makeup guru who began her artistic training at the age of 12, teaching herself how to paint with watercolros and oil paints. Initially interested in a career in dermatology, Ms. Phan decided to pursue her love for beauty through “vlogging” on her YouTube channel.  From the inception of her channel, she implemented essential elements of branding and marketing in her videos that made them incredibly entertaining, addictive and most importantly: viral.  

What makes her videos so incredibly enticing? I’ve watched all of her videos and have noticed a consistent theme across all of her videos: A relaxing voice, mellow/hip music, consistent video editing style (all the way down to the fonts and transitions), excellent lighting and high quality video, consistent video publishing, entertaining storylines surrounding her makeup tutorials, a wonderful personality (That makes you feel like she could be your best friend), and excellent instructional content and beauty tips.  To top it off, she isn’t intimidating and she is relatable to her fans.  The consistency of all of these elements across all of her videos provides the unique mélange that launched this YouTube star into her own unique territory of fame and authority in the beauty world.  

She not only made herself an authority in the beauty world on YouTube, but she also created a popular skin care line, IQQU, and now ventured into Birchbox territory with the creation of Ipsy, which is a company that ships out quality beauty products to subscribers on a monthly basis and also supports a growing community for sharing beauty and style products. Capitalizing off of her YouTube fame and authority, she has been able to set herself apart in the “beauty box” monthly subscriber world (where Birchbox was the authority) and build up a loyal following who will subscribe just for access to her favorite products of the month.  Specifically, she took the Birchbox business model and made it better. In essence, Michelle Phan has been able to carve out her own niches in the beauty world, leaving competitors in the dust with a loyal following that will listen to her every word. And it all started with a girl, a camera, and a love for beauty.