Stop trading time for money

Many skilful people find themselves trading time for money. It has been a standard employment model since the industrial revolution. Chances are, this is how you make money right now

The knowledge economy has shown us however, that a better use of our time is to leverage those skills.

The sticking point for most people is that we devote many thousands of hours to learning a skill and zero time learning how to leverage it.

If the idea of leveraging a skill you already have interests you, start by writing a list of all the skills you are already being paid for.

Then step into the shoes of people who might benefit from learning these skills.

Switch your thinking from performing the service yourself, to focusing on groups of people who would benefit from learning your skill.

In marketing speak this is called ‘identifying your niche’.

Your ability to sew might help people who have holes in their clothes, but this requires you to do the task for them, over and over again. What about people who need custom-made clothes? For someone a unique size and shape, they will benefit more from being taught how to make their own clothes rather than having to pay someone to do it on an ongoing basis.

So the answer to the question ‘who can I help with my sewing skills?’ might be: ‘unusually shaped people who can’t wear off-the-rack clothing and need to make their own’