Your skills are worth ten a penny

When I started freelancing as a web developer I took on a client who refused to pay a deposit. They promised me they'd pay up when the work was done.

Lacking experience and confidence, I agreed. But something seemed... off.

A couple of weeks in I raised the question of payment again.

They said no, again.

And then I upped my request into a demand.

"I can't do any more work without payment"

And guess what? They responded with a barrage of insults and anger.

"Can't you see? Your skills are worth ten a penny! Millions of people do what you do."

As you can imagine, this hurt quite a lot. Not because I had undermined myself and now I clearly wasn't getting paid at all.

But because the client was essentially correct - there are millions of people who do what I do.

What a terrifying thought.

Standing out, and standing up for yourself

I would love to go back in time and tell myself:

1) Your point of difference is you. Do not underestimate the tremendous power of just being yourself in business. This is how you stand out from everybody else.

2) People will treat you how you teach them to treat you. I held this client at arms length and agreed to work on a "promise". Yes, they were probably scumbags, but savvy and empowered businesspeople don't work with scumbags. Matt, stand up for yourself. If you take on crappy clients, you've got to take responsibility for the repercussions of that. Stand up and demand better.

There will always be others doing what you do. It's a good thing. It means the world needs you. But the trick is to work in total and complete alignment with your own standards and expectations. That's the real challenge. And it starts by getting crystal clear on exactly what you want from your business and your life. This is the place you build from.

Because if you don't take ownership of your life, someone else simply will.

If you're ready to give yourself a boost, I have a couple of 1:1 coaching spots available to help you gain clarity and confidence in yourself and your business. We meet every week and the fee is just £400/month (inc VAT). Find out all you need to know here.

Thanks,

Matt Saunders