---
# System prepended metadata

title: 'Rise Above the Competition: How to Thrive in a Crowded Marketplace'
tags: [freelancing, personal brand]

---

Feeling drowned in competition?

I hear it all the time:
- it's just hard to compete with designers who accept low-ball offers
- Everyone is a freelancer these days
- the pay is too low for the amount of work that you are required to do.

The market is NOT saturated.

There's literally millions of businesses and clients out there needing help.

This isn't a zero sum game wherein another service business succeeding means you're losing out on work opportunities, so get out of that mindset.

Here's the bitter pill: The reason you're having a hard time "catching fish" is you're spending your time in the shallow end of the water.

That's where all the beginners hang out, along with the weekend hobbyists and everyone who just wants to take a dip. It will always be crowded.

We all know that fishing is best in deeper waters.

If you want to catch more, you need two things: 1) be a good swimmer and 2) a good ship.

1. Be a good swimmer = improve your soft-skills.
This means being personable over a video call and a clear communicator over chat/email. If you're familiar with the "beer rule" then your aim is that every potential client should feel that you'll be fun to have a beer/coffee with. That's who they want to work with.

2. Here's the ship you need to build:
- Be good in 3-4 [essential digital marketing skills](https://rntble.com/quickest-way-to-learn-essential-digital-marketing-skills/).
- Learn how to do effective cold outreach.
- [Build a personal brand](https://rntble.com/why-you-need-to-market-yourself-as-a-brand/) to showcase your expertise.
- Create a system to get referrals and testimonials from clients.
- Raise your rates.

The last one is important. No one expects you to be an expert if you charge a higher rate. But they will expect you to deliver results. The reality is owners will pay you thousands of dollars if you can improve their business. Leave the beginners' rate for actual beginners - they need it.

Is it easy? No. In fact, it will get harder. But the alternative is, those who don't know how to swim or don't have a fishing boat will always be stuck near the shore.