Rejecting Specialization

The problem with a carefully crafted positioning is that it typically makes the wrong part efficient - it makes it easier for clients to hire you for well defined work. It allows greater legibility, trust and expertise around work which is well defined.

There are two types of indie consultants. There are those that have created a very clear specialization, you can look at their website and see something like “I help B2B SaaS companies with their content strategy” or “I help brands build audience via email”...Then there are those who are… weirder, less legible, harder to define. Folks who’s website... See more

..strong opinions are what distribution is made of. Every independent consultant should be working in public in some form - it’s how you generate awareness, clients and visibility.

The Hidden Price Ceiling of Specializing Good specializing is hard, because if you don’t do it well, you can end up trapping yourself. By creating a narrow positioning or specialization you make yourself more legible and understandable - you’re essentially optimizing for well-defined work. And well-defined work is less senior, less well paid and le... See more

Building vibes is a different kind of work from specializing. You’re not just demonstrating expertise and competence but compatibility.

You can separate most work into two buckets: well-defined and ambiguous .

• Well defined work is the kind of recognizable work where the client has clarity around both the problem and solution.


• Ambiguous work on the other hand is where either the problem or solution are not fully formed. 

The biggest fear of independent consultants when specializing is not just that it will narrow your options - but that will take you down a path you already know.

So in this post I’m going to reject the commonly accepted wisdom and look at why specializing is hard, why it fails and what an alternative path looks like. The answer lies in developing strong opinions and a distinctive vibe.

The problem with a carefully crafted positioning is that it typically makes the wrong part efficient - it makes it easier for clients to hire you for well defined work. It allows greater legibility, trust and expertise around work which is well defined.

Part 2: How to cultivate a point of view