Entrepreneurs often strike out on their own because we possess a certain level of expertise in our field and we know others can benefit from that expertise. No matter the industry, we all have a specialty that we know sets us apart from everybody else. We prove our success time and again because we have the skill to back up our claims as we deliver high quality work and concrete results.
However, it seems more and more, expertise is viewed as suspect. After all, there's no one that we trust more than ourselves, right? Only we have our own best interests at heart. Why should we form opinions or make decisions based on what someone else says?
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Epistemic Trust Epistemic trust is a person's ability to absorb new information as pertinent and reliable so as to incorporate it into their own mentality and daily living. We are trained to base this trust on whether we find the original source competent, reliable, and having good intentions. If any of these qualifying factors seem off to our own way of thinking, our instinct is to doubt the expertise itself. Every day, we as entrepreneurs have the opportunity to prove our trustworthiness and our expertise to clients and potential clients. Keeping our standards high for our quality of produced work, maintaining positive relationships with clients and colleagues, and always striving to expand our knowledge and improve our skills are all methods entrepreneurs should be utilizing to make sure their title of "expert" is deserved. After all, once that trust is broken, it is nearly impossible to earn it back.
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Epistemic Mistrust Check any comment section and you'll find armchair experts with credentials from the University of Life, and while the value of life experience cannot be overstated, we can't all be experienced or educated on every topic under the sun. That's why we need people who specialize on a single focus who can then share their expertise with the rest of us. By fostering mistrust in expertise, we only deprive ourselves from reaping the benefits of said expertise. Of course, asking questions is never a bad thing. That's how we grow in our own knowledge. However, we have to consider the source when we research unfamiliar topics. The internet, though housing all of human knowledge, can also double as a minefield of false information, sometimes shared through simple ignorance and sometimes shared with more malicious intent. The same can be said of scammers. Sometimes they genuinely believe they are qualified experts to perform a certain job, and other times they are just out to make a quick buck. We must be more discerning in our judgment.
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If we have certifications, licenses, or degrees in our specialized fields, years of experience, and highly regarded reputations amongst our colleagues, most of us can claim a certain level of expertise. A proven track record of success is indisputable and priceless. At Noteworthy Communications, we strive to prove our trustworthiness every day. When other entrepreneurs trust us with crafting and sharing their business's message, we don't take that responsibility lightly. We use our education and years of experience to benefit the clients who have hired us because this is our specialty. By trusting us, they now have the freedom to focus on theirs.