You Don't Need to Be an Expert to Launch a Business. Here's Why.Sinking time and money into a college education doesn't necessarily set you up for entrepreneurial success. Here's why waiting until after you've started your business to pursue the right skills is the smartest route to take.

"But I'm not an expert. I have no degree or credentials. How can I start abusiness? No one will take me seriously, let alone pay me."

I hear thisallthe time from my students. I patiently remind them that I'm ahigh school dropout, and on paper, my only qualification to manage Facebook and Google ads is the fact that I run a seven-figure agency that manages Facebook and Google ads.

它通常不会下沉,所以我把他们一个recentWall Street Journalarticlethat tells the all-too-familiar story about a group of graduates who can't secure a high-paying job. This particular story, however, shares the struggles of students enrolled in the MFA filmmaking program at Columbia University, the prestigiousIvy Leagueschool in New York. These students took on six figures of debt to obtain an MFA degree, only to find out that not all of the students could be Scorsese right out the gate. An Ivy League education couldn't save them from the same low-paying entry-level film jobs as someone who didn'ttake out a condo-sized loan.

We're facing an epidemic ofover-educatedand underpaid wage chasers in this country because we have the success equation entirely backward。

What I'm about to share with you not only applies to starting a business but also to people who just want a lucrative and fulfilling job. I will describe how most people approachskillsacquisition, and then I will tell you how successfulpeople approach skills acquisition.

If I do my job well, you'll be convinced that you don't need to be an expert to start a business.In fact, if you aren't an expert right now, you're better off.

Related:8 Keys to Coming Off as the Expert in Whatever You Sell

How mostpeople acquire skills

"Go to college! Get an advanced degree! That's how you succeed."

It's amazing how people refuse to believe what's right in front of their eyes. The Columbia filmmakers are not unique.According to a survey by PayScale, 46% of American workers reported being "underemployed." Meanwhile, 76% of those respondents said it was because they weren't using their degrees in their careers.

But people still blindly follow the same old routine, which goes something like this:

1. Sink time and money into education to acquire skills.
2. Go to the marketplace with newly-aquired skills.
3. ???
4. Profit?

Let's discuss two things about this approach. First of all, it frontloads all therisk。You're sinking tonsof time and money acquiring skills that you hopethe market will reward you for. In reality, so many graduates enter the market only to discover that the market doesn't need their skills. Worse, many find that their advanced education makes themoverqualified。They have priced themselves out of the market.

Related:5 Steps to Establish Yourself as an Industry Expert

How entrepreneursacquire skills

Entrepreneurs, and otherwise savvy people, take a backward approach to what I outlined above. Here's what it looks like:

1. Go to the marketplace and ask them what problems they have.
2. Find out how much they would be willing to pay to solve that problem.
3. When you find a problem that the market will pay handsomely to solve, go out and acquire the skills you need to solve that problem.
4. Acquire your first clients.
5. Refine your offer, using your first clients as hands-on training.
6. Present your offer to the market.

An entrepreneur startswith the market — listening to what they want, and only thenacquires the necessary skills.

There's also much less risk upfront. Yes, it may take time and money to acquire the skills you need to solve the market's problem. Maybe it will require a degree? Perhaps it won't? But it probably won't. You can work wonders with books andonline courses。

But however much time and money you invest, you're investing it knowing there is a payday waiting on the other side. Why? Because you areresponding to the market。

You are the solution to a problem。And, at the end of the day, that's what people pay money for. Columbia filmmakers learned the hard way that there was no bigger problem to solve — and that didn't change just because they had anexpensive degree。

Related:7 Ways to Position Yourself So People See You As An Expert

Next steps

Here are the reasons why you should start your business beforeyou have the skills to deliver. Once you start doing yourmarket research, you're in business.

Here's how to start:

1. Pick a niche, any niche. Don't be tempted to follow the money — everyoneis pitching to consulting services, doctors, lawyers and so on. Often, the more obscure and esoteric the niche, the better.
2. Talk to people in the niche. Find out what their biggest day-to-day problems are.
3. Ask them how much they would pay to solve the problem. If they say anything less than $2,000, you might not have a viable business. It needs to be worth your time.
4. Want extra bonus points? If you're feeling ambitious, ask them to pull out their credit card and pay you for the solution before you even know how to deliver! It's a bold move, but that's how you knowthat people are willing to pay for the solution. It's the ultimate validation of product-market fit.
5. Now — and onlynow — go out and acquire the skills you need to solve the problem.

You don't need to become a 10,000-hours master. You just need to know a) more than the client and b) enough to solve the problem.

Solving the problem is everything. Thread that needle, and you're as good as paid.