What do you own?
What are you really good at?
What do you enjoy?
Engaging with the marketplace requires creating value for people who have a choice.
And deciding what to offer your customers is your choice.
If you own something (a patent, a building, a process, a set of relationships) you can create more value than if you simply start over with new work each time.
If you are really good at something, having amassed skills and a reputation, it’s more likely that you will earn the benefit of the doubt and more easily create value.
And if you focus on being on the hook for work you actually enjoy, your days are better and it’s easier to do great work.
The freelancer’s dilemma is to figure out what to say instead of, “you can pick anyone and I’m anyone.”
And the entrepreneur’s job is to build enough assets that each transaction gets easier and more profitable.
It begins by being clear about what you own, what you’re good at it and what gives you satisfaction.