Why You Don’t Need More Certifications

Ready for some tough love? I hope so!

But first, let me tell you about this conversation I had with a friend who's brilliant at what she does and has over 10 years experience in her field. She wants to start her own business sharing her knowledge which seems totally reasonable, right? She knows her sh*t so she could literally start helping people with her services right now.

But know what my friend is doing instead? She's getting "just one more" certification before she launches her venture *please picture me in a silent scream at this point*

That nonsense got me rill fired up and I need to talk to you about it:

If you're collecting certifications and trainings before you're "ready" to go full-on in your business I have something to tell you:

You'll never really be ready.

And those certifications? They're not helping you. Well, they're helping you procrastinate and maybe burn a small pile of cash but that's about it.

This isn't the first time I've talked to a talented AF human who's 1000% convinced they need more trainings, more letters behind their name, to make them legit. Ugh. Please miss me with that garbage.

Know what I say? Just do the damn thing already.

Spoiler alert: I don't have an MBA (ha! I have a BA in Sociology and an MA in Writing so there's that) but here I am, helping people successfully start and grow their business.

Why am I qualified even though I've never taken a biz course in my life? Because I've walked the walk. I've started, sold, and closed businesses and was self-taught all the way.

Which brings me to my next point: if you're waiting to have the perfect set of certifications or trainings under your belt before you seriously pursue your biz, it's because you're scared. You're scared you don't know enough or aren't smart enough or good enough to do your thang.

But the truth is: no one cares about your certifications. They care if you can help them or not (again, that's why I'm here, right?). And I know you're damn good at what you do and! you only need to be a couple steps ahead on the path to really help people.

Don't get me wrong...if I need a quadruple bypass I sure as hell want an M.D. after that name. And I bet Robert Durst is happy to have a J.D. on his side (anyone else wishing for a sequel to The Jinx??).

But unless you're rep'ing a profession that requires licensing (like a massage therapist, acupuncturist, etc.) most of us in service-based businesses can just...you know...get to work.

One more thing: I'll argue you don't need another certification, you need help understanding how to effectively market your badass services and skills. But that's a convo for another day...

Anyhow. I've planted a (controversial) flag! Feel free to prove me wrong and tell me about a training or cert that absolutely upped your game. I don't mind some humble pie once in a while ;)