Choosing Your Own Path and Finding Your Own Voice

All through school, we are taught about the jobs where we can go work for others. Aptitude tests and various courses prepare you for life as an employee where you work to meet the expectations of others.

Photo by Alexander Milo / Unsplash.com

But what if you want to build your own path?

For those with the entrepreneurial spirit, you may thrive for a while under someone else’s rules. However, once you find your own way, it’s so much more fulfilling…and scary.

One of the secrets to success is to find the right words to express what you’re doing and building that is different from anyone else. While companies invest in branding, you start off alone (unless branding IS your business).

Just like other services, like bookkeeping, you can ask for help. There are several layers and channels to getting the word out about what you offer. As you focus on initial clients and your specialized skills, you may realize that you have to connect more dots than you first thought.

What makes you stand out?

Start with asking yourself how you differ from the company where you trained. Scratch down some ideas and look for the words that keep popping up. Those may be the same marketing words you use with customers.

• How do you express how much further you go than your competitors?

• What part of your business gives you the most pride?

• What do you want your legacy to be in the future when you sell or gift your company to your successor?

These are all vital things to consider as you position yourself in the marketplace.

Don’t shy away from new opportunities

Rather than blend in or stick with your network of friends and former clients, live boldly with a logo that tells your story in a nanosecond. Then supplement it with regular doses of advice and support for those who rely on your experience or insights.

Even if you offer a new way to look at the world, it’s a great way to reinforce your value.

You could point people to the same brochure or website post over and over again. Or you could develop a robust strategy that makes you impossible to ignore. Which do you think matches your dynamic personality?

You’re living your dream so don’t hold back. If you have the passion to work for yourself, then go all in.

If you don’t have time to do everything you want, you’re smart enough to outsource. The best advice from the sharpest business minds is to automate or hand off the tasks that eat up your time and don’t reflect your unique talents.

Forget what you learned in school about having to pass every type of course with flying colours. Focus on what you do best. Then go soar!