Do you need to be the best?

Sam Leader My last newsletter addressing would-be soloists generated some lively conversation, which is always a pleasure to see.

This time I thought I’d discuss a topic close to the heart of many who are wondering about joining the solo community and no doubt some old timers, too.

There can be a lot of anxiety around the question of “Am I good enough?”

Statistics of failure (though often exaggerated by scaremongers), natural insecurity and our tendency to compare ourselves can really stymie progress in our solo businesses.

I ummed and ahhed for ages before starting out as a copywriter, holding myself back by constantly comparing myself to ‘better’ writers.

At the time, a little birdie in the shape of Robert Gerrish told me that to progress, I needed to get more confidence and for this, I needed to get more clarity.

Once you have clarity, i.e. know what you want to offer and for whom, your confidence can gain a foothold.

I found every time I read a website and thought “I can do better than that” my confidence - in both my ability to deliver and what I wanted to offer - flourished. I spent the next few years happily writing web copy for soloists.

I think soloists get sidetracked by concerns over their ability. I don’t know where I got the idea people wanted to hire Dostoyevsky to write their websites.

My view, actually my experience, is if you find a niche and get good at it, the existence of more talented professionals need not hinder your progress one bit.

But without clarity in your offering, doubts about your ability are likely to linger.

So what do you think? Is clarity as important as ability? Or is saying so championing mediocrity?

Add a comment below and let me know.

Until next week.

Love your work,

Sam Leader is a director of Flying Solo and its editor. She is the co-author of Flying Solo - How to go it alone in business.

20 comments | Add your own 1 2 3 4 | Next» View all»

I'm a huge fan of Sean D'Souza - 70% is near enough to begin with. Denise Maffey from Kumeu NZ
Yes I do have doubts. I have doubts that I am not going to know the answer in a training room with 10 people there trying to trip me up, or in a one on one client situation. With my ability tested and me years of experience I have learnt that most people want you to succeed. There may be more than one correct answer. You can throw the question back and discuss it to resolve the issue. Clarity is understanding the question they asked, may not actually be the one they want the answer too. If I look back at any long term project I have taken on - the signed off scope always seems to change drastically along the way, suggesting they were not really sure what the issue was in the first place. The only certainty is that there was a problem. I do not doubt this. Heather Smith from Brisbane
Great topic. And yes, clarity is really important as along with it will come self-belief. Years ago I had this pent up feeling that I needed to write but didn't know how to get that so important break. Well, I decided to see myself as a writer and not a wanna-be writer. Then things started to change when I sat down in front of my typwriter (remember those things?) with a clean sheet of paper and began to type. Well, from there the momentum began to gather and so far to date I have written (and had published) 22 books with sales globally of over a million copies.
I am real clear on who I am and what I am trying to achieve. You see, I sell words. Grant McDuling from Brisbane
Clarity is far more important than ability. Ability can be learned and most abilities (to get to good enough) can be learned quite quickly.
There are always (and always will be) people better than us - fortunately, we have lots to learn from them.
Mediocrity is a comparison. By definition most of what is produced in any field is mediocre. People don't want the worlds best (with the sky high price tag attached) they want good work that will deliver what they want at a reasonable price (well, actually, they usually hope for a bargain).
If you doubt your ability start small. Look at what's around and have a go. Show the results to some people you trust to tell you the truth. Small steps can lead to very quick progress. Evan Hadkins from Sydney, Australia
Clarity and Responsiveness
Many soloists have a dying passion for their work, only to wake up one morning to realise that few others do. Set a goal and then allow the market to tell you if the goal will be a commercial success. David Linke from Melbourne
In my opinion, the key problem is that old Aussie cringe problem - if I think I'm good, everyone else will think I'm a cretin. If you do it well, be LOUD and PROUD about it, I say! Also, continuing on from David Linke's comment.......... RESONANCE is the word I continuously promote when training salespeople - if your offering/s don't resonante with your target audience, reconsider your target audience! Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles

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