To be successful at remote work, identify your value proposition
What is your single greatest professional strength?
Hey reader,
This week’s essay aims to help you identify your greatest professional strength — the one aspect of you that separates you from others. I hope this inspires you to do some brainstorming or, if you already know your value proposition, to jot down some ideas to hone it further.
Before we dive in — a warm welcome to the new subscribers that signed up over the past week. Most of you came from this article I wrote about Tim Ferriss for Cool Material, and I’d like to say, “thanks!” for giving Mountain Remote a shot. Going it alone as a remote knowledge worker — whether you’re a contractor, an entrepreneur, or an employee — can be lonely, and my goal here is to offer inspiration and community on a weekly basis.
The past two weeks have seen the biggest jump in subscribers since Mountain Remote launched in January, so I thought the best way to start this week is with a quick introduction of myself.
Who am I?
My name is Tim Wenger. I live with my wife and 1-year-old daughter in the beautiful little town of Palisade, at the foot of the Rockies on Colorado’s western slope. I’m a freelance journalist — my two primary contracts are editing with Matador Network and Static Media — and a dedicated snowboarder and splitboarder who enjoys traversing the globe in search of fresh lines.
I also cohost a podcast called “No Blackout Dates” that features commentary from adventure travelers, many of whom are fellow writers, discussing current events and the state of travel (last year, my cohost and I sold the rights of the show to Matador, though we still plan, execute, and host each episode).
I absolutely despise “how to become a digital nomad” blogs. Mountain Remote focuses each week on either remote work or outdoor adventure in the high country, sometimes both, and often with a heavy dose of futurism (because this lifestyle is setting the tone for the future). The only promise I make here is that you will never receive a newsletter selling you a lifestyle as a product. This newsletter is for those already pursuing their desired lifestyle.
With that, let’s move on (for more about me, see here).
Community shout-outs
As noted above, welcome to the 37 new subscribers over the past week! Apparently, the conversion rate on that bit of self-promotion in the CM article was quite high.
A few of you responded to last week’s photo essay with stories of your own river trips. I enjoyed hearing about them, and I’d love to hear what you think about this week’s essay. Hit reply and let me know.
Now, I propose we find our value propositions.
To be successful at remote work, identify your value proposition
Properly conveying humor and emotion via Slack messages is no easy task. Smiley face emojis and exclamation points are so frequently used in digital communication that their meaning has been reduced to nothing more than “this message is not intended to be hostile.”
Likewise, getting to know the personality of those you work with remotely takes time. It takes time for you to convey yours, as well.
Without daily face-to-face interactions, remote workers must identify other ways to build relationships and prove their value to clients and colleagues. In the grand scheme, this is good — because it levels the playing field for introverts and the socially awkward. To take advantage of this somewhat equal opportunity, though, one must identify their value proposition and hone it to near perfection.
In order to not bury the lede, my value proposition is consistency. I’ll explain shortly.
Find what you’re better at than most, and put it front and center
I can name several instances over my working life, stretching back to high school, where a person who sucks up or otherwise engages with superiors or clients in just the right way gets the contract, promotion, raise, or special placement on a project, while the introvert or socially awkward person remains stagnant.
The same goes for people who fail to do what they say they’re going to do. This is noticed, no matter how small the commitment, and amplified in a remote setting.
I’m rather extroverted myself, but tens of thousands of hours spent listening to punk rock songs have eliminated any ability I may have once had to be a kiss-ass. First impressions aren’t always my strong point. I struggle to properly dress for social occasions that don’t involve a trail, a beer, a band, or a combination of the above.
Still, I’ve progressed through my career with increasingly better titles, contracts, and paydays. In the remote world, no one cares how you dress or whether you’re the first one to greet your boss in the morning. Rather, they care only about what you have to offer.
Here’s what I have to offer: consistency.
I will meet every deadline, every single time, and my work will be consistent without fail. I say with pride that in 12 years of words for a living, I have never once been late on a story or assignment only of my own accord. Ever. As an editor, I’ve developed a way to convey a voice through other people’s words that seamlessly represents the publications and companies I work with.
This is true even though I’m no Hemingway. My writing style isn’t changing the game. My work isn’t perfect. And in an effort to optimize my financial return, I tend to take on almost more than I can handle, and thus get in a hurry sometimes. But every editor and executive I’ve worked with knows that they can count on me to deliver publishable content when it needs to be delivered.
This was brought to my attention several years ago. A client said this to me: “At least you’re consistent. You’ve never not shown up.”
That sounds like a diss. Maybe it was. But it’s stuck with me ever since, and I’ve learned to optimize it and lean on my ability to be consistent in order to maintain long-term contracts.
Similarly, the mutual trust birthed from consistency has helped me to build close relationships with remote teammates and clients who live thousands of miles away.
Your value proposition must be multi-dimensional
Zooming out, your value proposition is this: what others would say is your strongest trait, if asked by someone else when you’re not around.
No matter what is happening in your life or where you are, your value proposition serves as your muse. It keeps you going, keeps you motivated, and generates results even when some ideas fail.
In return, you can lean on your value proposition for a boost of self-esteem when a project or contract doesn’t end as planned, or when FOMO sets in over a peer’s success.
This multi-dimensional return plays into an ethos that I preach regularly (consistently?) here at Mountain Remote — long-term thinking. By remaining focused on what I can control, it doesn’t matter if an acquaintance landed a byline in Nat Geo after I’ve had half a dozen pitches rejected, or if my buddy from Bali successfully acquired a Eurozone residency card and moved to Mallorca.
Consistency will land me both of those accomplishments if I want them. Likewise, your value proposition is your ticket to progress, no matter how long it takes.
How to identify your value proposition
Of course, you must understand your value proposition in order to harness it. Fortunately, this isn’t hard to do.
Think back to times in your life when you’ve received critical feedback. This can be at work, in personal relationships, in hobbies, whatever. Try to remember as much of that feedback as you can — it may help to open a blank doc or page in a notebook and write down as much of it as possible.
Once you’ve done this, peruse the feedback and pick out consistencies that came from different angles and different people. Remember to include feedback from friends, former partners, and relatives here.
Now, compare those consistencies with what you feel you bring to the table. As a client/employee/boss/partner/friend/relative. Likely, there will be alignment here.
You’ve entered the “proposition zone.”
The proposition zone is awesome because it means you can now hone in on what you offer that most people don’t. This doesn’t mean you have to enact changes in your work or personal life — it just means you now have the clarity to understand what other people see in you.
Hold true to your value proposition, and employers, clients, and staff will stick with you.
Often, it’s as simple as doing what you say you’re going to do.
Mountain Remote news and further reading
Remote work is driving a massive surge in US homeprices, per Business Insider.
I visited Israel earlier this summer and was inspired by the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit on the kibbutzes of the Galilee region.
We close this week with a cool newsletter resource for remote workers, Nomadico. It’s put out by Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired, whom I was fortunate enough to interview this week for the podcast (ep coming soon).
Thanks for reading! See you next week.