How to Stand Out

Summary

Help Wanted – "How to Stand Out"

Podcast: Help Wanted
Hosts: Jason Feifer (Editor in Chief, Entrepreneur Magazine) & Nicole Lapin (Money Expert)
Episode Date: April 16, 2026
Theme: How to increase your professional value by becoming irreplaceable (singular), not just another face in the crowd.

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on actionable strategies to stand out in your career or business, shifting from being "interchangeable" (one of many) to "singular" (the one and only—a must-hire, a must-book, a must-consult). Jason Feifer shares personal stories and lessons learned in his own career about how cultivating singularity raises your professional value and makes you indispensable.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Interchangeable vs. Singular Dichotomy

[05:07] Jason sets up the main dilemma:

• You may be working hard but not getting the recognition, promotion, or higher pay you want because people see you as replaceable.
• To change this, you must become "singular," someone people specifically seek out, not someone who just fits a general role.

“People see you as interchangeable, but you must become singular.” – Jason Feifer [05:14]

Jason’s Origin Story: Rethinking Career Ownership

[05:40]

• Jason realized, as editor in chief, that his value was tied to a title he didn't own—his position could be taken away at any time.
• He sought to "own" something irremovable: his own ideas, reputation, and distinct value.
• Actions taken: Launched a newsletter, started podcasts, increased social media and keynote speaking.

“I was renting the title of editor in chief.... The title could be taken away from me at any time. I don’t want to rent. I decided I want to own–but own what? I needed something I could carry with me long after my time at Entrepreneur ended.” – Jason Feifer [06:02]

The Book as a Game Changer

[07:00]

• Publishing his book "Build for Tomorrow" was transformative.
• He noticed a direct link between being sought out specifically (because someone read the book) versus being found generically (via Google).
• Speakers found via search are treated as interchangeable, and budgets are low. But when someone is told to get Jason Feifer, budgets are higher and value is clear.

“You don’t pay premium prices for interchangeable people, but you do pay premium prices for... the singular person you want.” – Jason Feifer [07:38]

The Economics of Singularity

[08:10]

• From a supply and demand view:
  • High supply (many who can do generic tasks) = low value.
  • Scarcity (unique abilities, perspectives, results) = high demand and high value.

Real Life Examples of Singularity

[09:01]

• An employee at a big company became "the guy who solves ambiguous problems" (“when people have a problem but they’re not sure what the problem even is”).
• That singular problem-solving capacity makes him indispensable versus peers who are just plain “problem solvers.”

Self-Reflection: Are You Interchangeable?

[10:09]

• Jason invites listeners to examine their roles.
• Examples:
  • Are you "the marketing person" or "the expert in Gen Z marketing"?
  • Are you "a manager" or "the manager who turns around struggling teams"?
  • Are you just “good” at your job, or do you bring unique insight?

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Strategies to Become Singular

[10:38] Jason’s key steps:

1. Develop a Unique Perspective

   • Don’t just do the job; have an opinion.
   • What do you believe about your field that’s unique?

2. Combine Unexpected Elements

   • Synergize different skills.
   • E.g., “the best marketer who deeply understands data analytics.”

3. Own a Specific Problem

   • Be the person for a distinct pain point (e.g., “help SaaS companies reduce churn in their first 90 days”).
   • Specificity creates singularity.

4. Build Your Own Platform

   • Newsletter, podcast, LinkedIn presence, social media.
   • Control your voice; increase your visibility as the expert in your niche.

“You’re not just a person who does something. You’re the person.” – Jason Feifer [11:20]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “When you are interchangeable, you are at the mercy of the market. But when you’re singular, you control your own market. That changes everything about your value, opportunities, and career.” – Jason Feifer [11:39]
• “I’ve spent the last ten years teaching people to say that simple sentence, ‘We should get Jason Feifer.’ And it now feeds my family.” – Jason Feifer [12:09]
• “The more singular you become, the more in demand you become, the more you can charge, the more control you have.” – Jason Feifer [12:18]
• “Stop trying to do what everyone else does. Start being the person who only does what you can do. Be singular.” – Jason Feifer [12:32]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:07] – Jason introduces the value of singularity
• [06:00] – Story: The realization about "owning" your professional value
• [07:00] – The book’s impact on being seen as singular
• [08:10] – Economics of singularity (supply and demand explanation)
• [09:01] – Real-life example: “the ambiguous problem solver”
• [10:38] – Four key strategies to become singular
• [11:39-12:32] – Final motivational push and memorable quotes

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Tone

• Encouraging: The hosts cheer listeners on to claim unique value.
• Practical: Actionable advice, clear examples, and relatable anecdotes.
• Optimistic and Empowering: Emphasis on controlling one’s career destiny through singularity.

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Summary

This episode is a concise, motivational guide to escaping the cycle of being “just another” [fill-in-the-blank]. Jason Feifer emphasizes the professional, financial, and psychological power of being recognized as singular in your industry. He offers concrete strategies—unique perspective, synergistic skills, specificity, and building platforms—to help listeners increase their value and take control of their careers.

Action to Take:
Audit your current role and reputation—are you viewed as singular? Identify how to apply the four strategies to your context, and start building a platform or position around what only you can offer.

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For more actionable career help, listeners are encouraged to email their questions to [e-mail] or follow along on Instagram and TikTok at @MoneyNewsNetwork.

Transcript

[Jason Pfeiffer]

We've had some big wins at my company this year. The kind of wins that mean it's time to expand. Bringing new people onto the team isn't something I take lightly. These people are going to help shape the content that goes out into the world with my brand and my name attached to it. So when I'm hiring, I need to make sure my job listing lands in front of the best possible people. Not just good, but the best. Which means this is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Less stress, less time, more results when you need the right person to cut through the chaos. This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves@ Indeed Indeed.com podcast just go to Indeed.com podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com podcast terms and conditions apply. This isn't your job. This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs.

[Nicole Lapin]

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[Jason Pfeiffer]

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[Nicole Lapin]

see that Chime has added airport lounge access to its travel card. But that's not even the best perk they offer the Chime Travel Concierge to help schedule flights, book hotels and plan

[Jason Pfeiffer]

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[Chime Representative]

Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services for MyPay and ChimeCard provided by Chime's bank partners. Optional products and services may have fees or charges. Stated annual percentage yield and cash back for Chime prime only. No minimum balance required. Checking account ranking based on the J.D. power survey published October 20, 2025. For more information on APY rates, MYP pay, Spot Me and travel Perks, go to Chime.com disclosures.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

This is Help Wanted, the show that makes your work work for you. I'm Jason Pfeiffer, Editor in Chief of

[Nicole Lapin]

Entrepreneur Magazine, and I'm money expert Nicole Lapin. On Tuesdays, Jason and I answer the helpline and help callers solve their work problems.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

And on Thursdays, I give you one way to improve your work and build a career or company you love.

[Nicole Lapin]

And it starts now.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

You want to increase your value and stand out from the crowd. Maybe you're looking for a promotion or you want to charge higher prices or you're Hoping to become more in demand. You're working hard and you're doing good work, but you're not seeing the recognition or compensation that you want. Well, here is what might be missing. People see you as interchangeable, but you must become singular. Today, I'm going to explain the difference between those two ways of being in the world and show you how to move from low value to high value by making yourself irreplaceable. But first, let me tell you the moment in which this concept crystallized for me. When I became editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine in 2016, I started getting invitations and opportunities that I had never had before. It was exciting. I had a fancy title and people respected it. But I quickly realized that this situation was unstable. I was renting the title of editor in Chief. I don't own Entrepreneur Media, and the title could be taken away from me at any time. I don't want to rent. I decided I want to own, but own what? I needed something that I could carry with me long after my time at Entrepreneur ended. And then I realized the best thing to own is me. If I could turn myself into an asset that people wanted all by myself, then I would own something that could never be taken away from me. I wouldn't need someone else's title or position. This meant that I needed to be known for something distinct from just running a media brand. So I started writing a newsletter. I started making podcasts like the one you're listening to. I grew a presence on LinkedIn. I began keynote speaking. But it was when I wrote a book, a book called Build for Tomorrow. That is when the whole vision really snapped into place. And here's why. Everyone told me, when you write a book, your speaking fees will go up. I never really understood why that was until I experienced it firsthand. So here's what happened. Clients would reach out wanting to hire me for a keynote, and then I would ask how they heard about me. And if they said, oh, we googled for a speaker, then their budget was much smaller. But if somebody had read my book, if the person who had called me read the book, or their boss read the book, or their board member read the book, or whatever. Well, interestingly, their budget for me was much higher. After I thought about it, this made a lot of sense. If they're googling for speakers, then they're looking at a wide range of interchangeable options. They're just looking for someone who fits roughly what they want. And if that person is too expensive, no problem. They'll just go find someone else. But if they were instructed to book me, in particular Jason Pfeiffer, then they were willing to spend whatever it took to get me. Success for them came from booking me, not just anyone else. You don't pay premium prices for interchangeable people, but you do pay premium prices for the person you want, the singular person you want. This is when I understood the difference between being interchangeable and being singular. And I became obsessed with with singularness. Now let's understand why this is the case. This is because of the economics of being singular. I mean, look at it from a basic supply and demand standpoint. If you are one of many people who can do the same task, there are a lot of you in the marketplace. The supply is high, price is low. But if you can position yourself as singular, as a distinct person because of your ideas, abilities or positioning, well, now you have created scarcity in the marketplace. There's only one of you, and people are willing to pay more for something that is scarce. This applies everywhere, so let's just think of examples. It's the accountant who specializes in your industry versus just any accountant. It's the designer who has a distinctive style versus someone who can just make things look nice. It is the consultant who has a proven methodology versus someone with general expertise. Or it is the employee who solves problems that others can't versus someone who just does their job. Well, that last one is a real example, by the way. I was just speaking to a team of corporate sales leaders down at a big company and I asked them to identify what makes them unique. One leader said, I specialize in ambiguous problems. I asked him what he meant. He said, I'm the guy who people turn to when they have a problem, but they're not sure what the problem even is. I can figure out where things are going wrong and then craft solutions. So that's what I've become known for. And I love that. That is the very definition of singular. Lots of people at the company are problem solvers, which makes their skills and expertise interchangeable. But this guy is singular. He's the one person who solves the stickiest, most unclear problems. So no matter what happens at his company, his value, I believe, will only rise. So right now, ask yourself, how are you at risk of being interchangeable? Maybe you're the marketing person instead of the person who understands how to market to Gen Z. Maybe you're a good manager instead of the manager who turns around struggling teams. Maybe you're a freelance writer instead of the writer who makes complex topics fun and shareable. Notice what all those examples have in common. They're a combination of skills and insights. You're not just the person who can do something. You're the person who uniquely wants, understands something. So here are some key strategies to getting there. Number one, develop a unique perspective. Don't just rely on your skills or expertise. Have opinions. What do you believe about your field that others don't? What approach do you take that's different? Number two, you can combine unexpected elements. Maybe you're not the best marketer or the best data analyst, but maybe you can be the best marketer who deeply understands data analytics. That combination makes you singular. You can own a specific problem instead of being someone who helps businesses grow. Become the person who helps SaaS companies reduce churn in their first 90 days. Specificity creates singularity. And number four, you can build your own platform, whether that's a newsletter, podcast, social media presence. Having your own voice gives you power. When people are listening to you, you stand out. So you see the pattern here. You're not just a person who does something. You're the person. Please remember this. When you are interchangeable, you are at the mercy of the market. You must compete on price, availability, and basic competence. But when you're singular, you control your own market. That changes everything about your value, your opportunities and your career. Want to know why people pay me, for example, to speak, or to sit on their advisory boards or to consult on their content strategies? It's because someone somewhere said these words out loud. We should get Jason Pfeiffer. I've spent the last 10 years teaching people to say that simple sentence, and it now feeds my family. The more singular you become, the more in demand you become, the more you can charge, the more control you have over your work and your life. So stop trying to do what everyone else does. Start being the person who only does what you can do. Be singular. Help Wanted is a production of Money News Network. Help Wanted is hosted by me, Jason

[Nicole Lapin]

Pfeiffer, and me, Nicole Lapin. Our executive producer is Morgan Lavoy. Do you want some help? Email our [e-mail] for the chance to have some of your questions answered on the show. And follow us on Instagram @MoneyNews and TikTok@MoneyNews Network for exclusive content and to see our beautiful faces. Maybe a little dance?

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Oh, I didn't sign up for that.

[Nicole Lapin]

All right, well, talk to you soon.