Tell Me: How valuable is the work you do?

As freelance writers, we all want to build a thriving business that provides us with meaningful work and financial stability. However, achieving this goal is easier said than done.

If you’ve ever been through the ringer of less-than-fulfilling work experiences that left you feeling like I you’re not making a difference- you might understand the struggle.

Imagine being employed throughout the year, probably working full-time but equally struggling to keep to secure repeat business with your clients. Two to three months of work here and there but no real result to show.

This realization led me to reflect and ask a critical question:

What separates a thriving writer from those who struggle to keep a client?

If you ask the same question, you'd see a subtle difference between writers who sustain repeat business with their clients and those who stay in motion.

Not because they have better skills. Nor do they enjoy a special privilege. They just provide more value!

Those with a thriving freelance business are valuable partners to their clients, not just service providers.

After all, doing business simply means creating and delivering value.

If you're a service provider, the best you can provide is the writing service. While that's good enough, valuable partners do better than good enough.

As a valuable partner, you offer a set of values that work for you and align them to the client's needs.

Let’s look at the traits of a Valuable Partner and a Service Provider.

VPs measure success by the outcome. SPs measure success by the task completion rate.

The difference here is a Corporate vs Industrial mindset.

As a service provider, your focus is on production, with an industrial mindset, and providing only the writing service. This makes you replaceable, just like a coal miner who can be replaced by anyone who can swing an axe.

A valuable partner, however, has a Corporate Mindset. They focus on creating value through outcomes. They provide more value by understanding the why behind what they are asked to do and aligning their skills and values to their clients' needs.

A VP's values adapt to change. An SP has no clear values. They work for whoever needs their service.

A valuable partner's values are adaptable to change, while a service provider lacks a clear set of values and works for anyone who needs their service.

When ChatGPT began, a valuable partner considered how the tool could help them deliver better value, while a service provider thought about how the tool could help them increase their workload.

A VP believes everyone is responsible for the outcome.

A valuable partner (VP) takes responsibility for the outcome of a project, recognizing that success or failure is not just dependent on completing their assigned tasks but also on how their work contributes to the overall goal.

An SP may view their work as disconnected from the larger goal and less likely to take ownership of the project's outcome.

VPs are inspired by PURPOSE. GOALS inspire SPs.

While both mindsets are essential, a VP's focus on purpose can lead to more meaningful and fulfilling work, while an SP's focus on goals can lead to efficient and effective task completion.

In this case SPs are what organizational theorist, Jamshid Gharajedaghi calls a goal-seeking entity:

So, are you a goal seeking entity or a purposeful one?

VPs are PROBLEM-SOLVERS. SPs are usually ARTISTS.

How to become a valuable partner

There are four recurring stages to becoming a valuable partner for your clients. I discovered this framework while reading this work. Although it was designed for big corporations, I found it resonated with my thinking about value.

Let’s have a look.

I will write a more comprehensive note on this framework. But, for now, think about the framework this way:

1. Value discovery: What values do I stand for?

2. Value proposition: What values do I provide and to whom?

3. Value creation & delivery: How do I deliver these values?

4. Value capture: How do my clients and I make a profit and capture new opportunities from these values

Once you and your client discover new values, you can instantly restart step 1 since you’ve just found a new value for yourself and follow the process again.

If you are still reading, I really appreciate you. These concepts are a bit complex, boring and theoretical. But you’ll see, as we go on, why you should have this knowledge at the back of your mind.

If you discover something new here or learn something valuable, please send me a DM on Twitter or write back to me at [email protected]

Thanks for reading.

Till next week again.