How Do I Know If I’m Really an Expert (and How to Scale It)

Do you ever wonder if you’re really an expert? If clients are paying you for your skills or seeking your advice, you already have an expertise. The real question is: how do you step into that authority and scale it beyond trading hours for dollars?

In this episode, Tara unpacks the shift from simply “doing the work” to packaging your unique approach into a proprietary framework. You’ll learn how to recognize the patterns in how you help clients, turn that into a repeatable path, and make the leap from service provider to Scalable Expert.

👉 Key takeaways:

• Why you already are an expert (even if you don’t feel like one)
• The danger of staying stuck in the hours-for-dollars trap
• How to identify your fastest path from client problem to client result
• The role of a proprietary framework in scaling your business
• What it means to truly become a Scalable Expert

⏱️ Episode Chapters

00:00 – Introduction: Why “Am I really an expert?” is the wrong question

01:10 – The truth: if people pay you, you have expertise

01:44 – The hours-for-dollars trap and burnout cycle

02:11 – Making the shift: from service provider to Scalable Expert

03:07 – Packaging your proprietary framework

04:05 – Defining the path from Point A to Point B for clients

04:49 – Story: moving from freelancer → agency owner → framework creator

05:14 – Extending impact: helping others use your methodology

06:26 – Declaring and owning your expertise

07:55 – Why scalability matters for income, impact, and freedom

08:28 – Final thoughts + next steps

📌 Resources & Next Steps: Struggling to pin down what your Scalable Expertise is? Let's hop on a quick strategy call! Schedule your FREE strategy call here!

Mentioned in this episode:

https://taralbryan.com/step/15-learn-to-scale-call

Episode Transcript

Tara Bryan (00:00):
Hey everybody.

(00:00):
Welcome to season three of theScalable Expert Podcast, the show for
established expert business ownerswho are maxed out on time and ready to
find the scalable impact of their work.
I'm your host, Tara Bryan, founderof the scalable expert and creator
of the Infinite Scale Method.
If you built a business aroundyour expertise, but feel stuck

(00:22):
in the time for Money Trap, thispodcast is your path forward.
Each week, I'll share stories andstrategies and shifts to help you
step into a new scalable businessmodel by declaring your authority,
packaging your expert framework, andstreamlining your offers and systems
to ultimately become a scalable expert.

(00:42):
Because it's not about workingharder, it's about building smarter.
All you need is onesignature expert framework.
And you can deliver an infinite amount ofways to be able to scale your business.
Alright, let's get started.
Hey, welcome to today's episodeof the podcast, i'm thrilled

(01:03):
that you're here today.
Hey, today I wanna talk about, one ofthe things that I hear a lot about,
when I talk about the scalable expertis people say, well, I'm not an expert.
Like, who am I to claim my expertise and,and become an expert at what I'm doing?
And here's what's interesting is,you may not call yourself an expert,
however, if you are a coach, aconsultant, a service provider, a

(01:26):
business owner, whoever you are, right...
you have an expertise because peopleare paying you or people are seeking you
out for what you know how to do, or yourknowledge, your framework, whatever it is
that people are reaching out to work withyou on, that is really your expertise.

(01:49):
And, what's fascinating is when youare when you're a service provider
and you're working hours for dollars,a lot of times it's true, you don't,
you're like, yeah, I'm kind of anexpert at a lot of things, right?
Like, I, I know how to do a lot of things.
I am known for this in my industry,but I, I just, I don't feel comfortable
claiming that I'm an expert.

(02:10):
And so my friends, I'm gonna tellyou that if you have something that
people want, you have an expertise.
So your job actually is then to packagethat expertise into something that goes
beyond your time and attention, right?
So if you're a service provider, forexample, people may hire you as a

(02:31):
freelancer or a contractor, and theywant you to come in and do, do a project
or do some work because they know thatyou're gonna do a good job, right?
Or you've told them that you're gonnado a good job and, and you do it.
What happens is eventually you eitherget so busy that you can't handle any
more clients and you get a little burntout, or you're just constantly trying

(02:56):
to position yourself so that you canget more and more projects, right?
And so, either, either way, it'sa difficult path, to maintain.
And I've tried, as you know,if you've listened to my story.
And so the sweet spot becomes when youcan say, I own my expertise, right?

(03:17):
And you package your expertise intoyour own proprietary methodology
or your signature framework,whatever you wanna call it.
But you're going from like just doing thework and, and billing as many hours as
possible to saying, here's my approach.
Here's how I go and do this work.
And you own the methodology, you ownthe experience that customer is having

(03:43):
as they go through and work with you.
So it, it changes thedynamic of the relationship.
It changes how you show up as anexpert and authority in the space,
and it allows you to packagewhat you're doing differently.
So instead of just clocking hours, youare saying this is what it takes to
do the step-by-step path or framework.

(04:06):
And so that's the first transition isthat where you're able to move from just
doing hours for dollars to packaging yourframework into something that you can
follow as you're helping your customers,to really looking at, okay, so how do
you take that framework and package itin a way that you can deliver that same

(04:30):
result without the hours for dollars work.
And that is this the moment you moveinto becoming a scalable expert.
And so that's the shift that you'resort of making as you go through this.
You won't ever be able to control yourtime and your attention, and honestly,
your income until you make this shift.

(04:52):
And so once you make the shift intoa scalable expert, you're able to
take your expertise, package it,and make it into something that
lives beyond you and your time.
So if you are like, well, I don'teven know if I'm an expert yet, right?
Like, so keep helping people, keepfiguring out what the path is, right?

(05:12):
What is the fastest path that youtake people to go from the problem
that they have to the resultthat they're looking for, right?
The transformation or the result.
What is that path in between?
That bridge, that path in betweenpoint A and point B is where
your proprietary framework lives.
That's how you deliver an amazingexperience, a fast experience, a

(05:36):
quality experience, whatever it isthat you promise to your customer is
happening inside of point A to point B.
Then you start to package that,then you deliver it consistently.
When we had the agency, I went from thatcontracting to freelance to owning my
proprietary methodology where I couldsay with like 85% confidence, this is

(05:58):
exactly how much time it's gonna take,this is how much it's gonna cost, and this
is exactly the process that we're gonnago through, we were able to proactively
manage every single step of theprocess because we had that proprietary
methodology that I had developed.
And then the next step in that washow do I help other people adopt

(06:19):
that same methodology so that theycan also experience the same level
of success that we have experienced?
That's the progression.
And you know, when I first started,did I think I was an expert at that?
No, absolutely not.
I had to, had to get some experienceso that I could start testing that,

(06:39):
that model, testing that methodologythat I had and then move it forward.
So if you are not yet there whereyou're like, I'm an expert and, and
that's what I'm gonna lead with in theindustry, great, keep working on helping
customers until you start to see thepattern of how you're helping people.
You have a zone of genius.

(07:00):
You have a way, and a unique way,of helping people that is totally
different than the person next to youwho's doing exactly the same thing.
Your job is to find that, and onceyou do, then you can say, yep, I'm
an expert, i'm gonna go out withmy expertise and help other people.
Whether it's you're deliveringsomething or you are helping other

(07:21):
people deliver that same thing, thatis that shift that you're making.
So declare yourself as an expert.
I promise you, you have an expertise.
Figure out the pattern.
Find that step-by-step path, then go outand, and claim that expertise as your own.
And then from there, you're ableto step into a place of becoming a

(07:43):
scalable expert, meaning you're ableto deliver your expertise without it
taking all of your time and attention.
There are many, many ways to do that,which is not the point of today's
episode, it's really about like, ifyou're questioning whether or not you're
an expert, if you pick up the becominga scalable expert book and you're like,
well, I don't know if I'm an expert,so I'm not gonna read this book.

(08:06):
Everyone has an expertise.
It's your ability to scale yourexpertise that will allow you to
get to the next level of income andimpact and freedom in your business,
which is why I'm so passionate abouthelping people become scalable experts

(08:27):
and not just getting trapped in hoursfor dollars, or not even getting
trapped in just owning your expertise.
But it's how do you own your expertise andhelp, not one, not 10, not even 20 people,
but how do you go out and help hundreds?
Or thousands of people with yourexpertise with the gift that you were
meant to give and help other people with.

(08:50):
So there you go, my friends.
That is the essence ofthe scalable expert.
So if you're asking yourself if you'rean expert, I highly recommend that
you keep listening to the podcast,check out the book when it comes out,
and start to just notice the patternswhen you're helping your customers.
What are those patterns?
How are you getting themfrom point A to point B?

(09:11):
What is working?
What is consistent acrossall of your customers?
And then start to focus on how you'rehelping people and the fastest path
that you can help them get from wherethey are today to where they wanna go.
Alright, there you go.
That is today's episode.
I hope that you enjoyed this small tipand start to transition yourself into

(09:36):
becoming an expert and then eventuallyinto becoming a scalable expert.
If you love this podcast, I would lovefor you to give us a rating on wherever
it is you're listening to your podcastand share it with a friend, somebody who
you think would benefit from this content.
Alright, in until next time.