The 2 Skills That Actually Get You Paid
Here’s a lesson I learned embarrassingly late in my freelancing career (that, in all fairness, is very applicable to any work context; self employed or otherwise):
You don’t get paid for what you think you get paid for.
At least not fully, or even primarily.
Allow me to dissect this a little for you.
The Technical Skills
We, as people in the world of business, have skills (in some cases, a particular set of skills) that pay the bills. Literally. Mine pertained to photography and video (as evidenced by this site).
I thought, for sure, that the better I got at those creative skills, the more money I’d make and the happier I’d be.
I mean, in the back of my head I knew that wasn’t true, but it doesn’t mean that, even indirectly, I didn’t act like that.
Quitting Freelancing
When my time as a freelancer was coming to a close, I worked hard to find a fellow freelancer with a similar set of skills as mine that I could transfer my clients over to (I had built great relationships / friendships with my freelancing clients by the end, and I wanted to make sure they were going to be left in good hands if I could help it).
Through the process of trying to secure a suitable replacement for me, it became obvious that the photography I performed for them every month was not the biggest benefit I posed to them. It wasn’t until they told me this to my face that I actually began to realize it.
What You Actually Get Paid For
Ready for it?
Here are what I believe are the 2 things that are most likely to get you paid in the real world. They’re probably not what you think.
Diverse skills
People skills
It’s that simple. And that disappointing if you (like most people) are obsessed with the craft of what you do as opposed to the business of what you do. But if you can wrap your head around mastering one of these two skills (or, better yet, if you can put the two together), I think you’re going to finally succeed at making money and (at least being closer to) being happy.
1. Diverse Skills
Yep—I believe this is actually a big one. Being really adept at a singular skill is fantastic (and, if you’re being honest with yourself as a creative person, probably something we all pursue too much on some subconscious level). But unless you’re really lucky, there’s something way more important that I believe to be true with all my heart.
Having a multitude of adequate, connected skills is going to set you considerably farther ahead than having only a handful of depthy, individualistic skills.
For my small business clients (by the end), they didn’t pay me well because I was great at photography. That might’ve been how I got the job, but it certainly wasn’t how I kept it. My freelance clients paid me because I could:
Build them a sleek, modern, responsive website
Help them film professional video content
Brainstorm unique marketing angles and campaigns
Copywrite for them, be that:
Video scripts
Website blurbs
Social media captions
Legal contracts
Identifying key sales differentiators
Responding to customer service issues
Schedule all their social media
Graphic design content, be that:
Logo & branding
Printable materials
Social media graphics
Signage
Advise them on narrowing their focus as a business
Share educational content like this blog
…all in addition to the original photography services I provided them.
I’m not trying to make this a big brag session because—rest assured—I was far from great at any of these things, but I hope you get the point I’m making.
My single photography skill was dwarfed by all the other ways I could help my clients.
Jack of all trades, master of none; but better than a master of one.
The Best Way to Diversify Your Skills
Should you rush out right now and learn 17 new skills so that your clients (or workplace) find you more valuable? No. Not at all. Well, not necessarily. You can if you want to, and it still might do you some good.
But see if you can pick up 1 or 2 new skills in the next six months. We often overestimate what we can do in a day, but underestimate what we do in a year (or half a year).
What’s the actual best way to diversify your skills?
Say yes to more things. Even when it’s outside of your comfort zone, and just outside of your skillset.
If you’re upfront with your client (or workplace) that this is a new skill, and you’re going to be learning as you do it (and that’s why you’re only charging them what’s considered a sweet deal), expectations ought to be set low enough that imperfection isn’t an obstacle: it’s expected.
2. People Skills
This one has become even more apparent to me since stepping into my job at Boshart. I’m in the privileged (earned?) position to say that I have technical skills which are certainly part of the reason I got hired, but my boss routinely tells me that it’s not the reason he keeps me around.
Because we had a history of working together, he already had confidence in my people skills as a foundation for my success at the company.
Being able to work with lots of different people—and sort out personal and professional issues as they arise—is the easiest way to guarantee a long career anywhere.
In my short tenure as Marketing Manager, I’ve already come up against some conflict with a few of my coworkers. Know what I did about it? I went out and dealt with it.
I didn’t go crying to my manager to fix it (I did, however, occasionally vent to him and allowed him to coach me through it). But at the end of the day, I put on my big boy pants and got to the bottom of it like I knew I could.
Has it been easy? Heck no. Did it stretch me and frustrate me and humble me? Yes! Did I have to sometimes address repeat offender situations? You bet I did! But have I gotten somewhere as a result of it? Yes.
My manager was able to recognize that I persevered through working relationships with notoriously difficult-to-work-with coworkers of mine, and he’s been clear to me that this skill is incredibly valuable, and arguably the bigger reason he wanted me in this role.
In a practical sense, what are People Skills?
It’ll vary from situation to situation (both that of your workplace or freelance business, and who you are as a person), but in general, I think these are some of the most helpful people skills everyone should work hard to develop:
Clear communication and articulation of thought
A humble submission to feedback and critique
Assuming of responsibility where not always necessary
A comfort with rational, respectful confrontation
An even-keeled nature in stressful situations
An unrelenting desire to continue learning
A positive, optimistic mindset that the boundary-pushing can be accomplished
Being willing to be of service to your coworkers / clients outside of job description or project scope
A sense of trust and belief in others
These are just some of the most practical ones that I personally have come across and believe are most foundational to success. Again: your list may look different than mine.
How do I acquire any People Skills I don’t possess?
Try.
lol. There is no trick to it; no secret technique.
Share with people that you’re actively working on yourself in whatever way you’ve targeted, and make a genuine effort to pursue it. If you like my list of skills and want to adopt many of them, start with the one you deem most important, and work your way down once you’ve begun mastering that one.
In the beginning, everything feels unnatural and awkward. It takes our full consciousness in order to even take a stab at it. But in time, the conscious gradually becomes the subconscious, and that’s how you know you’re making progress.
However, don’t be quick to let your guard down. Statistics show that American drivers who rent a car in the UK (who drive on the opposite side of the road) tend to get into accidents on days 3-5 of their car rental. Why not day 1 or 2? Because you’re conscious of what you’re doing. It’s when you’ve built up some (over)confidence that you let your guard down and get caught in a bad situation. Eventually you can learn to overcome your impulses and natural reactions, but it takes longer than you think.
In Summary
This disconnect between your passion (the craft of what you do) and your paycheque (the business of what you do) can be disheartening at first. But, as I’ve spoken about many times, your job likely won’t ever fulfill you creatively anyways, so adopt a new hobby and find your sense of creative or personal fulfillment outside of work, because it likely isn’t going to happen.
If you can diversify the skills you already possess, and build up your personal skills as it comes to dealing with people, I firmly believe you’re going to be a force to be reckoned with.
