This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Welcome to Sajos Old School. Welcome to episode 2,387. It is in fact the Ides of July, July 15th. Beware, I guess you don't have to specifically look out for anything on the Ides of July, but just thought it was notable. So we kick off the episode today.
We're gonna hear from Lily from Dallas. Lily is a freelance graphic designer. She has done an impressive job kick-starting her side hustle. Way to go, Lily, way to go listeners. I'm always excited when people are starting a new project or making progress, growing their business, scaling their business, whatever it is.
But like many of us starting out, Lily is facing some competition from the more established larger design firms in her area. So what can she do? How can she stand out and make her mark? I often say that competition is not something to worry about too much, but it is good to be aware of what other people are doing. And especially when we have a situation where she feels, I think her word is daunting.
We're gonna hear from Lily in a moment. What do you do? How do you respond or position yourself in that way so that you can succeed on your own terms? I want you to be able to succeed on your own terms, not anybody else's terms. So let's see what we can do to help Lily.
Got a detailed question from her and a quick answer from me. All 10 minutes or less designed to help inspire and kind of just nudge you along as well. And that's all coming up after this quick message from our sponsor. [Music]
Hey there, I'm Lily from Dallas. I've started a side hustle as a freelance designer and developer and your podcast has been a great resource.
I especially appreciated your episodes on positioning oneself in a saturated market. While I've had some success, I find it daunting to compete with established design businesses. They seem to have so much more resources and a broader client base. How do I position myself against these larger competitors? Any advice on how I can stand out?
[Music]
All right, Lily, let's see what we can do here. And the position I'm gonna take and what's gonna inform my answer here is that as a freelancer, as a solopreneur, you actually have a unique advantage over larger companies. And I understand it may feel intimidating or daunting to compete with these established design businesses, but the thing is established design businesses, at least firms, they're expensive. They're expensive and they're not that flexible. Like they have built their business according to a model that works for them.
They tend to have larger clients. So it's like a larger design firm, but they tend to work with clients with bigger budgets. So you are flexible, you are independent. And while I believe in charging a good rate for your work, most likely you can offer a lot less than those design firms and still be profitable yourself. So I see this as an advantage, like a strength, not a weakness.
You can also offer just a more personalized one-on-one service to your clients. So use that to your advantage, pitch that. And as part of that, of course, you do want to specialize. You definitely wanna find a niche, like the broader the market, the more the competition. So narrow down your service to a specific niche, a specific area.
I always think about the designer for dogs, like the graphic designer, we featured a couple of times on the podcast who focuses on dog businesses. So all sorts of pet businesses, that's what she does. And she makes a good six-figure income by focusing entirely on that. So she's got the dog market, but there's probably even room for more than one graphic designer for dogs, who knows? And then thirdly, leverage your unique selling proposition.
I'm sure you've heard that phrase at some point, USP. What is it about you or your work that sets you apart? Is it your unique design style? Is it an ability to work quickly and efficiently to solve problems, whatever it is, make sure it's front and center in your marketing efforts. Again, I think this is a strength and advantage for you, not a weakness.
So Lily, I hope you embrace it, and I wish you every success. Let us know how things go. Listeners, I'm cheering you on every day. If you have a question, sidehustleschool.com/questions. Let me know how we can better serve you as we go into this second half of the year.
I'm excited to be out on the road next month at my book tour. I'll have more to say about that soon, but for now, I hope you do something today to get closer to a goal you believe in. I'll be back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
