Think Of Authority Like Starting A Restaurant

This piece on food trends in Thrillist hits on exactly a point you need to consider in building your authority.

He calls it keeping it simple—I call it picking a niche and digging into it.

The consistent success of “keeping it simple” fast casual restaurants like Five Guys, Jersey Mike’s and Wingstop is due to their “almost contrarian focus” in what they do, which allows them to “double down on the quality of the product at hand”.

Compare that to say Panera Bread or Noodles & Company or even Cheesecake Factory which have overly large menus to appeal to a cross-section of, well, everyone.

You don’t go to any of those places for the food really—you go because it’s convenient or reliable or has a large assortment for your group of picky eaters.

If you were going to start a restaurant today, wouldn’t you create a Jersey Mike’s over a Panera Bread? A charming little Italian spot specializing in Sicilian cuisine over an Olive Garden?

You could see the Sicilian chef becoming a quoted expert on the food traditions of Sicily and perhaps translating that to leading travel groups or teaching.

The restaurant would grow by word of mouth and the chef would have many options on where to take it.

But the Olive Garden cook? Not so much…

The same thinking applies to your consulting expertise. Choose that which matches what you most want to build.