Kevin Krejci / Foter / CC BY

It’s safe to say that one point in your life you’ve asked yourself “Where do I fit in?” This question can pertain to a sports team, group project, or the business strategy you put in place before acquiring clients. It might also be safe to say that you’ve tried mirroring either a peer or other business to try fitting in and replicating what they do because they’re successful in that particular area. Usually the results weren’t what you had hoped, and that’s because you weren’t utilizing your own strengths, skills, or that one intangible asset your friend or business across town didn’t have.

By not using your strengths, you’re not only hurting yourself, but others around you who could have benefitted from your skills and specialty. Your strengths are what creates value for your clients, co-workers, and friends around you.

Having been in the sports journalism industry, it can be very hard to outshine other writers and get noticed by a wide range of viewers. By trying to be like other writers, posting the same type of content, writing a post-game article that fans could read from a number of different writers, and not putting your own informative input out on the web, will surely make your content invisible. You must find your specialty or niche that not many, if any are writing about, but you know there is a target audience that will benefit and enjoy reading your unique content that they can’t get anywhere else. Whether it’s discussing player performance, what different sets of plays a team runs throughout the game, what worked or didn’t work for the team, are just a few ways to enter into what appears as a saturated sports journalism market.

In business, you’ll find yourself dealing with the same scenario. What can you do that gets you noticed, acquire clients, and provide value to your customers? Is there a market in the industry that your business is a part of that rival companies aren’t serving to a target group that you can be successful in? With laptops and iPads making home computers and desktops obsolete, there are still many small businesses that use desktop computers in the office. If you have a computer repair business, you have a niche market that still needs servicing but is slowly being forgotten about. Or, if your a software and technology consultant, you have a market where your can help these small businesses move to a more efficient way of getting work done.

Your specialty is what brings value, and that can’t be emphasized enough. Don’t ever feel that you’re inferior, or question your skills because no one else is doing what you’re trying to do. The truth is, businesses need people who can provide value in some way, shape, or form. If your skills can save businesses time, money, and resources, go out there and market your business and the services you provide. Thinking outside the box is sometimes frowned upon throughout our lives, but the reality is, the world we see around us was created by those who didn’t think like everyone else.

This can be applied in every aspect of life, whether it’s school, starting a blog or business, to even friendships and relationships. Providing value through your skills, experience, and knowledge is how you’ll become successful in anything you attempt to do. Don’t be conventional when there is a more efficient way of doing things. By being an individual and honing your skills, you’ll outshine everyone and they’ll see just how much you’re worth.