An Independent Life: Brokering Niche Expertise as a Self-Employment Profession

Mrs. Denmarkguy and I were having one of our afternoon coffee conversations and got onto the topic of what it really is we DO as self-employed and independent individuals.

It's easy to assign names like "plumber" or "writer" or "artist," but there are always deeper layers beneath the surface. 

Then again, it's entirely possible I simply "think too much" for a living!

A Single Core Premise

It didn't take me that long to realize that much of my life as a self-employed person (about 20 years, now) has revolved around a very simple premise:

Finding something overlooked, uncovering the deeper truths about it and re-marketing it to a niche audience as what it truly is.

I realized-- as we were talking-- that most of my life has been dedicated to finding "nothing" and turning it into "something," mostly using expertise learned when I was young. Or, at least. learned from my parents... the thing they taught me was to be very observant and truly look at what was around me.

They were art and antique collectors... but I have come to appreciate that the same "awareness" that allows someone to "find treasure in a junk heap" can be applied to many different things. Sometimes, the same principles can even be applied to ideas and concepts.

Finding Something, and Repurposing it... People Get CRITICAL!

It's an interesting set of responses my "professions" over the years have garnered. 

As a simple example, it could be as simple as taking a product someone is offering as "just an old chair" for $5 to the masses; finding its history and then re-marketing it to niche collectors as a specialty item for $100.

Some people get envious of my ability to do this, while I also get comments "from the masses" that I'm a being pretentious and hoity toity by "upmarketing" an inexpensive item to an upmarket audience. 

But am I really?

Ultimately, I am just brokering my expertise, learned through a childhood filled with art, antiques and learning. I am simply taking something and lifting it to its highest possible potential.

Any negative reactions seem to be a reflection of that fact that-- in life-- many people tend to push things DOWN towards a lower common denominator... and I tend to focus on lifting things to a higher common denominator.

This doesn't just apply to "products," it also can apply to "ideas" and "information."

From where I am sitting, part of the fallacy of "the masses" telling me I am pretentious (getting back to expertise, for a moment) is that I am actually brokering knowledge and experience, while to many people, finding something at goodwill and making a profit is "a lottery." I "got lucky," when I found and sold that $5 chair for $100. In their minds, it has "nothing to do with" skill. 

But... ACTUALLY...

No, I didn't "get lucky," I applied a lifetime of memories, learned information and trained observation skills to examine little details everywhere I turn.

Of course, there's way more to this than finding a few old chairs at a junk shop. Over the years, some of the things that have kept us in housing, electricity and food have included:

Old collectible postage stamps-- I was a stamp collector as a kid; I can look at a stamp collection at an estate sale and tell in a minute or less whether it's junk, or has the potential for treasure. In fact... it was my *part time* self-employment gig since 1987.

Old junk at garage sales and flea markets-- I have certain areas of expertise here; old art pottery, European silver, glass (especially decorative), certain furniture, paintings and more. More than any other area, this is one place where you might think of me as a "shameless opportunist."

Beach glass-- Yes! I actually "Beach Combed for a Living" for several years. When I first moved to our small seaside town, I started doing walking meditations on the beach. In time, I discovered there was quite a lot of beach glass... and I also knew many artists and jewelers used it... in time, I built a business selling colorful beach glass to artisans who worked with "found objects" but did not live near a beach.

Old Fountain Pens-- Yes, people still do use old fashioned fountain pens to write with... and I discovered there was a whole collector market out there, with some pens trading for $100's... IF you know what you're looking at.

Vintage Postcards-- this is really more Mrs. Denmarkguy's gig; she always loved old postcards and then inherited a box of 100's from a cousin. As her knowledge grew, she understood "what to look for" at garage sales and flea markets, and it became a sideline business.

Over the years, we have dabbled in other things, as well.

What About Information? And Ideas?

One of the things that's interesting about life-- especially since the Internet-- is that even though it seems like you can "Google your way to ANYthing," there are actually big gaps in "niche information" in certain areas.

Some years back, I started researching Sensory-Processing Sensitivity (and "Highly Sensitive People") because of a personal situation... and discovered almost NO information.

Since it was a topic I was passionate about, I decided to contribute my own research... and gradually built a measure of expertise, even though I am not a degreed professional.

In time, I also managed to build a small business around providing information, and connecting people with the information and professionals they were looking for.

Again... it is merely a question of "brokering expertise," or... in a sense... taking something overlooked or forgotten, and lifting it to a higher common denominator.

In short, if you're looking to become self-employed, opportunities are everywhere... you just have to be prepared to look outside the standard "lists of professions," and be willing (sometimes) to create your own profession!

And there's a tremendous amount of FREEDOM in that, because you are no longer dependent on "a job" to earn for the bills and food.

How about YOU? Are you self-employed? Have you ever wanted to be? Is your profession easily described or defined? Or is it more like a mixture of things you've put together, yourself? Leave a comment-- share your experiences and feedback-- be part of the conversation!

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Published 20170810 17:59 PDT