First off, if I haven’t caught you yet, Happy New Year.

 

We’re kicking off 2020 with Skills Development Month! This time around, I want to take a look at how we’re deciding which skills to develop.

 

There are just SO many options and so much information out there…you could make a full-time job just taking courses and reading books.

 

But that’s not what builds a healthy freelance business.

 

Your skills development should be a direct reflection of where you want your freelance business to head. That’s why this month, we’re going to go over 4 “clues” that should inform your skills dev choices. That way your work as a freelancer can get you where you want to go in life.

 

 

Clue #1: Employment

This may or may not sound like good news to you, but employment is probably one of the strongest clues to what’s viable and profitable as a freelance skill…and you should listen. Employers have already done all the work!

 

Bigger businesses put tons of time, money, and energy into market research to figure out what their buyers want. As a freelancer, you can skip all that by listening in on what they’re doing in their businesses.  

 

If a company is dedicating an entire position to a need, there’s a good chance that it’s a skill that’s valued by them and their competitors, and maybe even in other niches and industries.

 

What does that mean for you? It means not only to look at your employment history, but also job postings, as well as your community, friends, and family to see what skills the big dogs are willing to fund benefit packages to get their hands on.

 

That’s what I did. While I didn’t stick with my old employed skill, I did poke around to see if content marketing and writing was something employers paid full time salaries for…and it was (bonus: it was also a growing field and my old employed industry was just getting started).

 

So what about you? What skill development clues is employment sending you?

 

 

 

Megan

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