A lot of people find it ridiculous for someone to start a business in an industry in which he has almost no background. Expertise, for instance, pertains to a person’s in-depth knowledge on a certain area or field, enabling him to come up with effective solutions and thoughts on the subject matter and its scope – which would come not only by pure intellect, but with experience as well.
You may have a great idea in mind to start with, but we cannot deny the fact that your startup’s performance within its first few months largely depends upon your team. Their attitude towards work, as well as their abilities, are definitely few of the things that matter most if you want your startup to succeed. However, the question still stands:
Is expertise really a requirement to build successful startups?
The answer is simple. Being an expert in the field that you are planning to conquer will surely help, but having limited knowledge about it or having no knowledge about it at all does not necessarily mean failure. Contrary to what others might have been thinking all along, expertise is not really a requirement but a bonus that can increase your chances of success. Josh Kaufman, one of the world’s bestselling business author, has once said that “Business is not (and has never been) rocket science – it’s simply a process of identifying a problem and finding a way to solve it that benefits both parties.”
You might want to ask yourselves. “How can I possibly give a solution to something that I have no idea about?”
Well, that is exactly the reason why your team exists. The fact that you have to hire someone who is already in the industry you are planning to enter is definitely a given. You have to understand the trends related to your startup, including everything that is new in the business. This would allow you to come up with the right decisions in terms of the companies’ resources, investments and operations.
You can always learn from scratch, provided that you are with the right people. If you are not so much of a master in your industry, then hire people that are. While it is true that you might find yourself struggling with time to learn what you need to learn, the fact that you can learn along the way makes all the difference. Building a mentor-like relationship with those that have already established their names on the business can and will get you through.
Your employees must also be competent enough to possess the skills necessary to help the company grow. The way that your team handles all the pressure to keep up with the latest trends, as well as their determination to maximize and use their abilities to help nurture the company will bring your startup to greater heights.
What matters most is if you are interested, determined, willing, and curious enough to learn about everything that you need to know, you do not have to be an expert to build a startup; you just have to work with the right people that you can learn from. You can always recruit people to help you out – and yes, you can now start posting to job boards.
Remember, expertise isn’t exactly a necessity, but it will always be a plus – a great bonus for that matter.
