Rejecting Specialization

Every independent consultant and freelancer takes a unique path. There's no blueprint to follow. But some of the challenges are shared: how to find clients? how to create your own identity? how to make a sustainable life out of being independent?

I've been an independent consultant for almost 8 years (more about me) and I'm writing this book in public, free online. It's filled with ideas and concepts that helped me, and might help you too.

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”. The indie consultants that do this well seem very busy, well known and respected in their industry. It’s fairly easy to see from the outside what their work looks.

Then there are those who are… weirder, less legible, harder to define. Folks who’s website doesn’t have a tight “I do X for Y”. These people likely project a weird sensibility via their online writing and persona, building a body of work that points to a kind of vibe.

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