From Know to Tell.How to turn what you know into something you share, teach or sell

Notice what you know

Here’s the trap almost everyone falls into: the things you know best feel obvious to you. You’ve done them so many times that you can’t remember not knowing them. So you assume everyone knows them. Trust us, they don’t. YOU KNOW MORE THAN YOU THINK.

The first step isn’t choosing a business. It’s taking inventory. Think of it as cleaning out the garage of your experience: you’re just getting everything out on the driveway where you can see it. Where the little treasures hidden in the clutter are on full display. Specificity is key.

Make three lists, and don’t edit as you go. First, the questions people ask you, from friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, strangers at the hardware store. Second, the things you’ve done hundreds of times: processes, repairs, recipes, conversations, decisions. Third, the topics you could talk about for an hour without notes, the ones where people’s eyes either glaze over or light up.

Include the strange stuff. A lifetime of fixing old radios counts. So does getting a family through a hard diagnosis, building a business and selling it, raising chickens, managing a difficult boss, or knowing every back road in your county. Expertise isn’t only what you were paid for. Expertise is what people PAID ATTENTION TO YOU FOR.

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FROM THE LIBRARYGlen & Friends Cooking

Glen cooks recipes from old community cookbooks. That’s a niche most people would never think to call “expertise,” and it’s exactly why people watch.

Pick one thing (for now)

You’re not choosing forever. You’re choosing what to try first. The fastest way to stall is to start with “I’ll teach everything I know about business.” The fastest way to start is to pick a corner small enough to own. Again, specificity is key. “Music” is awful big. Kentucky banjo for beginners is better.

Use three filters. First, energy: which topic would you still enjoy talking about on a Tuesday when you’re tired? Second, proof: where have you actually gotten results, for yourself or someone else? Third, demand: which one do people already ask you about without being prompted?

Then make it specific. “Gardening” is a whole section in a library. “Growing vegetables in heavy clay soil without a tiller” is a book someone seeks out on a shelf. “Leadership” is a whole shelf; “how to handle your first year as a new manager of former peers” is a lifeline to someone in a situation. The narrower the corner, the easier it is for the right person to recognize themselves in it. And find you.

A good test: can you finish the sentence “I help ___ do ___ without ___”? “I help new homeowners fix the ten most common plumbing problems without calling a plumber.” If you can say it in one breath, you’ve picked well.

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FROM THE LIBRARYVery Pink Knits

Not “knitting” in general: clear video tutorials for knitters, paired with patterns. A specific promise to a specific person.

Find your people

Before you make anything, talk to the people you want to help. This is the step most people skip, and it’s the one that saves you the most time. You’re not selling yet. You’re listening.

Start close to home. Who has asked you about this before? Who’s a year or two behind where you are? Former coworkers, friends of friends, members of a club or congregation, people in online groups and forums about your topic. Make a list of 20 names or places. Maybe even imagine a single, real person who you’re speaking to.

Then have five real conversations. Not a survey, not a pitch: a coffee or a 20-minute call. Ask what they’re struggling with, what they’ve already tried, what they wish someone would just explain, and where they go for help now. Write down their exact words. Those words become your headlines later.

Pay attention to where your people already gather: a Facebook group, a subreddit, a local club, a trade association, a YouTube comment section, a garden center bulletin board. That’s where you’ll share your first thing.

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FROM THE LIBRARYBob & Brad

Two physical therapists who explain aches and fixes in plain language. They speak to people in pain the way those people actually talk about it.

Choose how you’ll tell it

Here’s the secret: don’t pick the format that seems most impressive. Pick the one that matches how you already explain things. When someone asks you a question, what do you do?

If you grab a pen or open an email, you’re a writer: start with a newsletter, a guide or a blog. If you talk it through and tell stories, you’re a talker: start with a podcast, audio lessons or coaching calls. If you say “here, let me show you,” you’re a shower: start with video. If you light up in a room of people, you’re a teacher: start with live workshops or classes.

Then think about your week. Video takes more time per piece but builds trust fast. Writing is the easiest to fit around life. Live teaching gets you paid soonest and teaches you the most about your audience. Coaching earns the most per hour but has a ceiling—you can only tell a few folks at a time. So you’re really imagining how you most enjoy communicating with people, sharing your ideas. If you don’t know, you may have to try a few ways and see.

You can always add formats later. Most of the people in our Library started with one and grew into three or four. The Know + Tell Business Builder asks exactly these questions and suggests a starting format if you want a second opinion.

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FROM THE LIBRARYHardcore History

Dan Carlin is a talker: long, deeply researched stories told out loud. The format fits the person, not the other way around.

Make your first small thing

Make it small. Smaller than you think. Your first thing is not your masterpiece; it’s your first rep. The goal is to finish something real in the next 30 days and put it in front of people. Here’s the thing: people like people. Let yourself shine through. The Know + Tell library has plenty of examples of folks who started with low production values and worked their way up. So don’t let perfect be the enemy of your great idea. Get started. Learn. Grow.

Good first things look like this: one 60–90 minute workshop, four weekly emails, three short videos on one technique, a 10-page guide, three free coaching sessions, or a single podcast episode interviewing someone you admire. Each one is finishable, and each one teaches you something.

Outline before you make. Write down the one problem it solves, the three to five points that solve it, and the one thing you want people to do afterward. That’s the skeleton of every class, video, chapter and episode you’ll ever make.

Then make it with what you have. A phone on a stack of books is a studio. A kitchen table is a classroom. Tools like Descript make editing video or audio as easy as editing a document, and Riverside records clean interviews and podcasts from anywhere. Done and a little rough beats perfect and imaginary, every time.

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FROM THE LIBRARYDad, How Do I?

Rob Kenney started by filming the simple things a dad would teach, like tying a tie. Small, specific, useful, and it found millions of viewers.

Set up only the tools you need

You need three things to start, and you might already have them. A way for people to find and follow you. A way to deliver what you made. And, when you’re ready, a way to get paid. The last part’s optional, really. That’s it.

Start with email. Of every tool, it’s the one you’ll be gladdest you started early, because the people on it are yours: no algorithm decides who sees what you send. A free newsletter on beehiiv takes an afternoon to set up, and it can grow with you into paid subscriptions later.

Then match a tool to your format. Video and audio: Descript for editing, Riverside for recording interviews. Live workshops and coaching: Zoom to teach and Calendly to book time and collect payment. Selling a guide, coaching or a workshop without a website: Stan Store or Podia. A course and a community in one place: Skool, or Teachable for a polished standalone course. Bigger communities later: Mighty Networks or Circle. Our beginner stack lists one pick for each job. (Know + Tell is free. Some tool links pay us a commission; here’s how we choose.)

And use an AI assistant like Claude as your behind-the-scenes partner for outlines, drafts, emails, descriptions and the hundred small writing tasks that used to stop people cold. It doesn’t replace what you know. It helps you get it out of your head faster. Our guide to the six kinds of tools explains which to start with and why.

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FROM THE LIBRARYAustin Kleon

A weekly email of ten things he found interesting, alongside a blog and small books about creative work. Simple tools, used consistently.

Share it and listen

This is the scary step, so let’s make it smaller. You’re not launching to the world. You’re sharing with the 20 people and places from Step 3. Personally, one at a time, the way you’d tell a friend about something you made.

Lead with them, not you. “A lot of you have asked me about ___, so I put together ___. It’s free, and I’d love your honest take.” Post it where your people gather, send it to the people you interviewed, and ask everyone to sign up for your email if they want more.

Then listen hard. Ask three questions afterward: What was most useful? What was confusing? What do you wish I’d covered? Notice what people ask follow-up questions about. Notice what they share with others. That’s your audience telling you what to make next.

Expect quiet. Most first things get a small response, and that’s normal. Five engaged people who reply are worth more than five hundred who scroll past. You’re building trust one person at a time, and trust compounds.

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FROM THE LIBRARYEssential Craftsman

A veteran contractor who started filming shop lessons with his son. No launch plan, just real knowledge, shared and improved video by video.

Decide how it earns

First, permission: it’s fine to charge for what you know. People pay for shortcuts, for clarity and for someone who’s been there. Charging also makes people take it more seriously, including you. You could do this for free, but you’re worth more than that. You could also donate proceeds to your favorite charity. Now that’s a great idea, too.

Second, a structure that works for almost everyone: keep sharing useful things for free, and offer something deeper for people who want more. Free teaching builds trust; paid offers serve the people ready to go further. You don’t have to choose between generous and paid.

Think of it as a ladder. The first rung is free: emails, videos, posts. The next rung is small and paid: a workshop, a guide, a set of patterns, a single coaching session. Higher rungs are bigger commitments: a full course, a membership, a coaching package, a done-with-you program. Most people start with one free rung and one small paid rung.

To set a price, look at what similar offers cost, consider the value of the problem you solve, and start a little lower than you think you’re worth with a plan to raise it. Then sell your first paid thing to the people who already engaged with your free one. If you want to recommend tools you use, affiliate programs can add income too, as long as you tell people plainly.

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FROM THE LIBRARYPaul Sellers

Free hand-tool woodworking videos built trust for years; a paid masterclass membership grew out of it. Generous first, paid for those who want more.

Make it a real business (lightly)

You don’t need to become a corporation overnight, but a few basics protect you and make life simpler. Think of this as putting a sturdy fence around what you’ve built.

Keep the money separate: open a separate bank account for your business income and expenses, even if it’s just you. Track what comes in and goes out from the start; a simple spreadsheet or bookkeeping app is plenty. Set aside part of every payment for taxes.

Talk to a professional about structure and taxes. Whether you need an LLC, how self-employment taxes work, and how income could affect things like Social Security or a pension all depend on your situation and where you live. An hour with an accountant early is much cheaper than fixing mistakes later.

A few more basics: choose a name you can use (check that the domain and social handles are free, and consider a trademark search), add a simple privacy policy if you collect emails, use a short written agreement for coaching or consulting clients, and if you recommend products through affiliate links, say so clearly. None of this is glamorous, and all of it lets you relax and focus on the work.

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FROM THE LIBRARYMissouri Star Quilt Co.

A quilt shop started for retirement money. YouTube tutorials followed, and they turned a small Missouri town into a quilting destination.

Keep going, and grow at your pace

The people in our Library didn’t get there with a viral moment. They got there by showing up on a steady rhythm for a long time. Pick a pace you can keep for a year, like one email a week or two videos a month, and protect it.

Once a month, look back. What did people respond to most? What did they ask about? What did you enjoy making? Do more of the overlap and quietly drop the rest. Your audience will tell you what to build next; your job is to listen and to choose what you’ll say yes to.

Grow by going deeper before going wider. Add the next rung of your ladder when people ask for it: a course built from your most popular workshop, a community for your most engaged readers, a book from your best newsletters. Each new thing should be built from something that’s already working.

And remember why you started. You know things that took decades to learn. Passing them on is useful, and it’s also a way to stay curious, connected and a little bit famous among the people who matter to you. Enjoy that.

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FROM THE LIBRARYChef Jean-Pierre

After decades in restaurants and a cooking school, he relaunched his YouTube channel in his late sixties, and kept showing up.

QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK

Questions people ask.