For most people, their job is sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day and essentially trading their time for money.

Ask most people what they earn and they respond in terms of how much they make per hour. Having a full-time job seems to be the goal of most people who ultimately want to be assured of a steady income in return for showing up on a regular basis to complete tasks assigned by their employer.

Take a closer look at the changing world of work, and you’ll see an evolving trend toward DOING versus having a job. Understanding this difference is the key to your future success, regardless of your chosen profession.

A simple analogy to understand this shift in the job market is thinking of yourself as either a hunter or a farmer. To survive in today’s employment market, you need to become a hunter AND a farmer.
Since the Internet now offers most of us the opportunity to have customers almost anywhere, we can control our income by increasing the number of people we help and by offering a valuable product or service.

Notice that the focus is on having “customers” (many employers) not just “renting” your time (one employer). Think about this. Your income will always be in direct proportion to the number of people you serve. It’s that simple. Decide on what you can offer that is in demand and spilt your time between finding new customers and delivering a great product or service.

Change your thinking to DOING versus HAVING a job and you will become more marketable AND employable.

Today there are fewer opportunities to be employed, so focus on developing yourself as a “brand” and market what makes you remarkable. Then ask yourself, “How you can serve more people?” The more people you help get what they want, the more you’ll get what you want.

If you’re currently unemployed, consider spending 50% of your time job hunting. Use the other 50% to create a job for yourself. Explore what you can do that is marketable, can be delivered digitally and is in demand by a large number of people.

Becoming a hunter AND a farmer is the key to becoming financially stable in the new economy. Get good at finding customers and offering something that is remarkable, and you will always have work and a stable income.

I have a framed statement on my desk that reads: .
It reminds me every day that we all are essentially self-employed. Focus on marketability instead of employability and the results may surprise you!