Contract Worker - Freelancing Experiences

Why Working the Best is the Best

by Rico on March 6th, 2008

Participating in a pick-up game of basketball, I saw a new teammate in action for the first time. He displayed the prowess probably earned as a captain of a college basketball varsity team.

This player was easily one of the best players I’ve ever seen play in person. And you know what else I noticed? As floated in the air while he cradled the ball into the basket, and jumped over the tallest people on court, our playing improved too. Me and my other teammates gave more than what we usually did, if only to keep up with him.

So what does this have to do with freelancing?

I believe that what applies to sports applies to the freelancing world. Working with the best forces us to step up our freelancing game. The most basic reason is because we don’t want to embarrass ourselves. We want to show the best that we are worth their time, and this inevitably leads to extra effort, as we attempt to make the best in ourselves shine.

There’s no doubt that copywriters and social media experts dream of working with Brian Clark, and that web designers would give anything to do business with Rico Sta. Cruz. There’s also no doubt that working with such people, who have proven their ability and competency time and time again, will bring out the best in us.

But it isn’t necessarily based solely on a need to prove ourselves. Those who find themselves in such a lucky situation get to witness the best thought processes and techniques, and have an easier time integrating them into their own approaches.

The real question then is, how do create such an opportunity for ourselves? I believe this has a lot to do with staying visible, and proving our own competency in our field. It is obvious that to be able to stand out from the thousands (or even millions) of competitors out there, we’ll need to think hard and work hard to create things that are truly remarkable. Not just for John Q. Public, but for the luminaries in our respective industries.

In short, working with the best is the best, because it simply makes us better. But more than that, it proves that we are worthy enough of such career-boosting attention.

Less clear to me is how we attract the attention of acclaimed clients, who automatically give the freelancers they work with a reputation-boost. What is your advice on this matter, fellow freelancers?

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POSTED IN: Creativity Drivers, Marketing Your Skills, Productivity Drivers, Ramblings of a Freelancer