Self-employment: Differentiating Myself from the Crowd

Differentiating yourself from the crowd as a self-employed individual can be extremely difficult in the Internet age. With the amount of competition out there it can be hard to find a way to stand out and set yourself apart.

When I ventured out on my own into the world of self-employment as a freelance writer, I found the market completely saturated and filled with like-minded people already doing what I wanted to be doing, but this doesn't mean I just gave up. Instead, I turned on the afterburners, pushed myself harder, and found ways to set myself and my abilities apart from those already out there.

Taking a Good Look at Myself

One of the first things I had to do when I entered the self-employment realm as a writer, was to step back, take a good look at myself and consider what I wanted to be and what I could be. I had to consider what I was good at, what I'd like to learn more about (sometimes the process of self-discovery can teach everyone), and look at the things that I had succeeded and failed at in life (people often learn best by example).

Considering these aspect of my life, my personality, and my interests helped me narrow down the areas and subject matter that I wanted to focus on in my writing. It was clear to me that I wanted to explore the areas of money, personal finance, saving, and investing, but in a way that the common person could understand. I always found it frustrating when I read articles that focused on stocks, the markets, and various investments that the majority of regular people cared or knew little about.

Trying Different Things

Just because I had found a niche for myself though, didn't mean that this was where I was going to stay. And there was plenty of competition for this niche. This meant that I had to explore a variety of subjects within the realm of personal finance as well as a variety of modes of communicating my message.

From magazines and blogs, to various writing sites and pay-to-write websites, I explored numerous options until I found a few mediums that worked best for me. While not every option I tried worked out well, this was just part of the trial and error process involved in finding ways to set myself apart and accomplish my writing goals.

At the same time, trying various jobs and work roles supplemented my income, sometimes acting as a necessary evil in getting started in self-employment and to get my name out there and gain some exposure and experience.

Working Harder

Many self-employed people work hard but not hard enough to make it on their own. I've always been a hard worker, and when I put my mind to something, I'll work my tail off to see it through to fruition. In my freelance writing career however, I realized that it wasn't just about working hard, but due to the level of competition involved in the industry, working harder than the vast majority of others out there attempting to do the same thing.

By showing my customers, clients, and writing sites that I was willing to go the extra mile and do as much as I could to conform to their needs and standards, I was able to find more success than many others who were in the same boat. I found out that many writers often felt that their way of writing or style was the only way, and they weren't willing to change to meet the needs of various markets. I therefore used this to my advantage, going out of my way to solicit feedback and try to mold my writing style to meet that of my clients' needs.

Consistency and Reliability

Tied to my work ethic were consistency and reliability. In this day and age, it seems that many people take a "wait and see" or "do it when I can" type attitude. While this works for some, when you're trying to making it in the self-employment world, this kind of attitude can be the kiss of death and probably won't do much to set you apart from the rest of the crowd.

Whenever I was sent a job, I didn't just do it whenever; I did it as soon as I got it or as soon as my customer needed it. And if I had a problem or had other orders to handle first, I let my customer know immediately, and even then, I usually got it to them on time.

I came to find out that this was not commonly experienced among many of the people I worked for, and that they appreciated and remembered it, which helped me in building loyalty among my customers and differentiate myself from competitors.

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Disclaimer:

The author is not a licensed financial professional. The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. For financial advice, readers should consult a licensed financial advisor. Any action taken by the reader due to the information provided in this article is solely at the reader's discretion.