Yesterday afternoon I attended a short workshop on gaining more Freelance business.  They had two freelance leaders who talked for 20 minutes each, and both of them told the same story – to gain more business you have to be #1 in your sector.

In a lot of small business and freelance books, I have read the same thing;   Be number one, be the industry expert, be the go-to company, be the market leader.    Really?!?   I mean…. Really?!?!?

That idea may work for big companies in niche areas – where you can throw more money, more staff, more advertising and more service to be number one.   I suspect for the VAST majority of small businesses (including consultants, contractors and freelancers), you have tens of thousands of people up and down the country who do the same as you – how can you ever hope to be number one?

And if you can’t, why are the ‘experts’ telling you to try?   It’s a hopeless, thankless, impossible task.

Which is why I am happy to be number two, or number 10, or number 501.   I really don’t care what number I am.

What I care about is being real, being approachable, having a clear message, having clear and reasonable prices, and being there when somebody is looking for me (or a company like me).

So you be number One if that works for you.  Me, I am too busy being what my customers need.