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Comment by cosmorocket | Hacker News Reader

Hey Patrick, Thanks for your hints. These are really useful for me. The one thing I want to note is that I am going to compete using my skills, not using my financial situation because I agree it's not interesting for my potential clients. Other than that, I agree I should be a problem solver in eyes of my clients. I am going to work more on my objectives and tools using your thesis. Thanks!

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I'm worried you may have missed Patrick's point. He's stipulating that you're using your skills. He's not accusing you of trying to sell sympathy. He's saying, the way you're positioning yourself professionally is going to damage your income.

If you are going to write a blog denominated in 92 days, anything other than "92 days of riveting new success stories from my clients" is a waste of your energy.

In particular, do not tell the rags-to-riches story. Prospective clients, like it or not, will see the "rags" and discount your bill rate 35%.

Having read all the comments I think I should shift my focus from creating such a blog to developing my personal professional brand in another way. I see now I should rethink my strategy. Thanks for all your thoughts, I really appreciate it!

Don't worry about "developing your personal professional brand" - just work. Stop trying to be strategic, and instead spend your time actually doing freelance work for money, which you need right now. Then, later, you won't have to develop a brand, because it will have happened by itself ("I'm the guy who did this great work for this long list of clients").

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