My Unique Set of Skills Were Holding Me Back, How I Took Control
Conventional wisdom states employees should make themselves irreplaceable, but for the exceptionally skilled, it could be holding them back.
If I was going to sum up all of the reasons I decided to start my own business building custom neon signs in a single sentence, it would go something like this…
“I was stuck.”
By some estimates, the number of working neon sign benders in the US is in the low to mid-hundreds. Personally, I believe the number to be higher than that but either way, I was starting to realize that my (possibly literally) one-in-a-million status was getting in the way of my personal growth and the financial well-being of my family.
I wasn’t being promoted because I was irreplaceable in my current position.
I couldn’t leave to work somewhere else because it would mean walking away from a skill I’d spent well over a decade building.
Ultimately, starting my own neon business seemed like the only way to get unstuck.
There was a time that I’d thought that my story was an anomaly given the nature of my skill set, but as we continue into this “employee’s job market” and its critical shortage of skilled workers, I’m beginning to realize the problem is much more widespread than I could have ever imagined.
So how is it that the very workers whose skills would seem to be so coveted could find themselves without much of a hand to play?
A Century of Simplification
I believe there are a number of forces at play here, but as you might imagine, if you dig deep enough it all comes down to saving money.
More specifically, I’m referring to over 100 years of businesses having the option to organize production in such a way that they can choose between low wages and high skill — and low wages generally coming out ahead.
This production organization, whether you call it systemization or simplification, allowed companies to reduce the amount of training required to complete complex tasks by breaking them down to smaller and simpler activities.
Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand and respect the individual decisions to systematize production to improve consistency and reduce labor costs — both as a business owner and consumer.
Collectively though, and over time, the knowledge gap between the less experienced worker and that of the more experienced worker has been growing at the same time that opportunities for new entrants to expand their knowledge through comprehensive on-the-job experience or worker training have been dwindling.
Add in automation and advancing technology and products that once required master craftsmen can, in some cases, be built by entry-level employees.
Again, I want to stress that it’s not an inherently bad thing that there are fewer people with that breadth of skill in the workforce.
In fact, it’s probably for the best that there isn’t for reasons that I’ll get to in a moment.
The Making of a Maker
I want to shift gears for a bit to provide some insight into the craftsmen, makers, and artisans who are the subject of this article — and really for whom this article has been written.
For the craftsman who has come of age anytime since the early 80s, the odds are that they didn’t gain their wide breadth of skills in whatever industry or industries they claim from a single source — be it on the job, trade school, etc.
Yesterday’s craftsman might have been able to start out sweeping a shop floor and have a path to mastery laid out for them from the getgo, but for today’s makers, it is much more of a self-guided journey.
Self-study, exploring various hobbies, working multiple jobs, finding mentors, and lots of practice outside of work. It takes all this and more to become a true craftsman.
My point to all of this is to point out the fact that it takes a special kind of person to achieve the breadth of skill we are discussing here. The work environment doesn’t just create these craftsmen anymore. They need to create themselves, and they are incredibly valuable.
They have the ability to operate and even thrive outside of today’s simplified production environment.
In many cases, their presence and uncommon skill give the businesses they work for an edge that could make a big difference in a competitive market.
Unfortunately, they also spend most of their time completing tasks in an environment that has been structured to be staffed by people with a fraction of their skills.
The Craftsman’s Dilemma
Regardless of whether they earned their skill through decades on the job or their own self-guided journey, the sad reality is that in today’s production environment, the craftsman’s value is more easily recognized than it is quantified.
To put this another way, if most of the craftsman’s time is spent working on tasks that don’t require their level of expertise, the value they provide to the company will appear to be comparable to those workers who have only received specific training in those specific facets of production.
To make it worse, in extreme cases the exceptionally skilled worker may even be making the same or potentially even less than an entry-level worker due to the current competitive jobs market.
This is where we get to what I refer to as ‘the craftsman’s dilemma:’
The craftsman is unlikely to be fairly compensated for the unique value they bring to the organization due to the nature of the work they primarily asked to perform.
They are also unlikely to be considered seriously for internal promotion because it would mean losing that employee in production, as well as the special skills they bring to the table.
They are in some cases quietly viewed as a potential source of business risk to be mitigated.
Yes, you read that last one right.
In a lot of cases, the employer could restructure their offerings to better leverage craftsman’s skills, allowing for their quantifiable value to better match their perceived value to the business.
Unfortunately, actually relying on those skills would mean having to accept the risk that comes with fully utilizing someone who is truly irreplaceable — if they were to leave the entire business could suffer.
Making it Work
Fortunately, there is an upside to all this.
The modern craftsman may not fit into the typical production environment without conflict anymore, but they do make excellent candidates for creative solopreneurship.
A creative solopreneur needs to wear ‘all the hats,’ as they say. This means they can handle production, sales, and even drive the overall vision for their business.
Solopreneurship allows the craftsman to fully leverage their skillset in a way that most employers would be wary to do, and in doing so set the stage a pretty solid competitive advantage within their niche.
Doing this will not only drive more sales but also provide opportunities for continued personal growth — and for the exceptionally skilled craftsman, growth is everything.
The Rest of My Story
For me, growth meant taking business classes at the local college, starting a neon sign business, and a stint in software product management.
It took me two years before I’d built up the courage to leave the software industry to pursue my niche sign company specializing in legacy inspired signage full time.
The experience has been absolutely amazing — allowing me to not only expand my current skills but also to seek out and develop new ones.
And while it hasn’t always been easy, it has been interesting to realize just how much opportunity is out there even within this region that would have gone completely overlooked if I hadn’t had the courage to go solo.
I guess sometimes you need to shake things up a bit to really understand your potential.
Are You Considering Going Solo?
Starting your own business is a scary, risky, and sometimes lonely endeavor which certainly isn’t for everyone — but if you are ready to experience the personal and professional growth that always seems just out of reach, it warrants consideration!
For support along the way, this blog is a great resource, as well as SCORE, the Small Business Administration, and your local Small Business Development Center.
Originally published at https://growingsolo.com on January 20, 2020.
