Jealousy is a a tricky beast; it’s funny to think how happy you can be for someone else’s successes but still find a way to say something that cuts them down.

When you see talented people, you wish you were as good as them. But rather than improving yourself or focusing on your skills, you may say something that’s dismissive of what they’re doing and can create a resentment towards them that’s really ill focused.

I know even I’ve done it in the past and most of the time I don’t even really mean to do it. I’m typically amazed by how talented people are and I try to be supportive and cheer people on when given the opportunity. But every once in awhile I can be snarky and a mean comment just sort of happens and slips out.

Recently I had someone cut me and the work I do down. I knew when it happened and was sort of taken back but I just laughed it off. Inside I was thinking, so this is how you really feel about what I’m doing… I’ve come to the conclusion that if someone really wants to be jealous and make a snarky comment towards me than I have a feeling I’m doing something right. Haters Gonna Hate.

So you lost a project to a competitor? Why? What made the potential client pick them over you? Was it just price, time it took you to answer emails, or does your competitor offer something you don’t?

I’ve missed out on a few projects but I typically know why and most of the time I’m alright with that but sometimes it really baffles me and I have to stop and think about what made that client pick the other guy for the job.

The best way to think about this is to take the time and write down the services you offer and then write down what the competitor offers. A venn diagram works out nicely for this. It will help so you can clearly see the differences and the overlaps as well. By breaking down what you and the competitors are doing you can see what your strengths are and learn what you could improve or focus on so the next time you’ll win the job over them.

It may be crystal clear to you how your company is different, but I’ve learned that you need to spell it out. When you’re able to highlight your strengths, it’s going to help you stand out and this new client is going to see your value.

When you have a good understanding of what you offer that’s unique to your competitors you then have some key talking points that you can focus on to help new customers understand your value which will help them make a better decision.

If you were advising a friend, in what situations would you recommend your competitor over you? Is this an area you should improve on so you’re not missing out on that work? Maybe it’s not the work you want to focus on and that’s fine. But when you understand where you overlap with your competitors and how you differ it will help you answer why a new client should choose your service over the others.

Athletes and musicians practice playing for a reason, it’s silly to think that you shouldn’t practice and learn your own craft to better keep up your skills.  Even if you’re number one now, you need to find time to keep learning to stay on top. You have to continue to challenge yourself and figure out what’s new and how you can stay ahead of the curve. When you keep learning and growing you stay hooked on your craft, it never get’s old. If you love what you do you’re going to get better at it. Learn every aspect of your business, if it’s the book keeping, sales, coding or customer service. If you understand the entire business you’ll know your craft better, you’ll know the issues that can come up before the other guy and you can call bullshit when someone is trying to tell you how it should be done. Keep finding ways to grow and challenge yourself because as soon as you stop growing, your passion for your craft could fade away.

Everyday you should be pushing yourself to create better and better work. It’s a good sign if you happen to look back on the work you created last year or even last week and you don’t think it’s good. It shows that you’ve gotten better and your skills are improving. But why look back at all? Just to pat yourself on the back and say look at that, you’re way better now. Why waste your time looking back at all? Why not just keep pushing forward and know you’re getting better. The Minnesota hiphop collective Doomtree has a great line. “We don’t watch the reply ‘cause we too busy playin”. It’s such a prefect line, focus on what you’re doing now and when it’s done, move onto the next thing. Don’t worry about how it turned out or what people are saying about it in a year from now. Do you really care if someone in a year or two from now likes or dislikes what you created? Don’t be that high school football star remembering that one touchdown he made at the homecoming game. Live in the present and push yourself now because what you did before is just a small footnote in what you’re moving towards. Everyday look forward and push yourself to create great work and don’t waste your time worrying about what you created in the past.

Just like you make time to keep your home clean, you need to make time to keep your portfolio clean and updated. Think of yourself as your own client and plan time to update your site with new work; keep your portfolio fresh. Keeping your portfolio current and up to date is important because you never know what could happen. You may unexpectedly get fired or that dream client might visit your site out of no where. Your portfolio is a reflection of yourself and your skills, if you have grown as a designer you should share that.

Not only should you keep your site updated but you need to keep your exposure up also. Keeping your exposure up goes further than just updating your own portfolio on your website. You should also submit your websites to galleries, post videos on YouTube or Vimeo and post your work on behance and deviantArt. The more opportunities people have to see your work the more likely you are to get noticed and land the dream job or client.