185: How to Clearly See What Makes You Unique
If you can’t clearly see what makes you unique, others can’t recognize your value. Learn how to spot the patterns that set you apart so you can communicate your strengths, attract better opportunities, and grow a more profitable side hustle.
If someone asked you what makes you unique, could you answer immediately?
Many capable professionals struggle with that question because the very things that set them apart, often come so naturally they overlook them.
Today, Kyle Elliott shares how to recognize your “fabulousness” - the qualities that make you distinct, valuable, and memorable in the marketplace.
Kyle started his side hustle on Fiverr, charging $5 to review resumes and write LinkedIn profile summaries. Today he’s a tech career coach, & trusted confidant to Silicon Valley’s top talent.
You’ll also learn a practical exercise for uncovering patterns in what others consistently see in you, along with a simple tool you can create for yourself, to keep real reminders of your value close at hand.
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Need a little (and sometimes big) push to start and stay focused to grow your side hustle? Dive into my online Masterclass: How To Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things.
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Why Many Professionals Struggle to Define What Makes Them Unique
Many professionals struggle to clearly articulate what makes them stand out.
Not because they lack strengths, but because the qualities that truly differentiate them often feel ordinary. Common skills are easy to describe ... translating technical concepts into simple language, managing projects efficiently, communicating well across teams. These are valuable abilities, but they are rarely what makes someone distinctive.
Common Skills vs. Unique Impact
What sets someone apart is often something more specific. It is the impact they consistently create.
For example, someone working in an operations role may perform tasks similar to others in the same position. Yet colleagues might repeatedly notice that when this person trains new team members, onboarding happens dramatically faster. What used to take weeks may take days.
That ability may not appear in a job description or resume, but it is often the most meaningful contribution they make.
How to Recognize Your Distinctive Strengths
Reflection
One way to identify patterns is through reflection. Think about what came easily before external pressures shaped your career choices. Early interests often point to underlying strengths.
Feedback
Another way is through feedback. When a small group of trusted people are asked individually what they see as your strengths, recurring themes often emerge. The same qualities surface across different perspectives. Those consistencies are signals.
Past Reviews and Testimonials
Past performance reviews, testimonials, or recommendations can serve the same purpose. Over time, they form a record of how others experience your work. Reviewing them can highlight trends that may not be obvious day to day.
How These Patterns Lead to New Opportunities
These patterns frequently become the foundation for new opportunities. Side projects and secondary roles often grow from strengths that others recognize first; consulting requests, advisory work, invitations to train or mentor. These opportunities arise not from entirely new skills, but from existing ones applied in a different context.
Why People Pursue Work on the Side
Sometimes the motivation is financial. In other cases, it is creative expression or security. Having another outlet can create flexibility and reduce dependence on a single role.
How Opportunities Actually Begin
They rarely start with a grand plan. Importantly, these opportunities rarely begin with a detailed plan. They often start with one request, or a small engagement. Someone notices a strength and asks for help, then growth follows that recognition.
Start Small and Pay Attention
Starting does not require building something large, as it can often begin with offering expertise to one person. From there, paying attention to patterns becomes essential. Repeated feedback, recurring requests, and consistent outcomes are often where real differentiation lies.
Discovering your "fabulousness" could be the very key that unlocks your side hustle success.
Connect with Kyle:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylecromerelliott/
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