Specialization vs. Generalization: “Should I be really good at one thing or pretty good at a lot?”

One of the most common questions beginning freelancers ask themselves is, “Should I be really good at one thing or pretty good at a lot of things?” The answer is, you guessed it, it depends. There are advantages and disadvantages to both specializing in one area and having more general knowledge in several areas. These are the main arguments for and against.

Advantages of specialization

  1. best payment — Assuming there is sufficient demand for a specific area of ​​knowledge or skills, companies will gladly pay a premium for expert help. If you have a great deal of knowledge and skill in a field, you are an extremely valuable resource for those companies seeking your expertise.
  2. less competition — In general, the more focused your knowledge and skills are (ie, the smaller your niche), the fewer competitors you will have. Due to the large number of niches, each one will have fewer independent workers than the more general supergroup that contains it.
  3. Better to work with larger companies. — Unlike small businesses, large businesses are more likely to be able to afford many specialists in a variety of areas; For example, a corporation may hire all of the following freelancers: a business consultant, accountant, web writer, print writer, graphic designer, frontend web developer, backend web developer, PR teacher, SEO specialist, social media expert , legal advisor, and a marketing guru. If you prefer to work with larger corporations, being more specialized will likely increase your value as a freelancer to larger companies.

Disadvantages of specialization

  1. Limited ability to adapt to economic changes. — Changes in the demand and supply of specialized freelance services. If demand decreases due to technological advances or a change in trends, or if supply increases due to others entering your field of expertise, you may lose business and income. For example, if you are the top Facebook marketer but people migrate to Google+, you stand to lose a significant amount of business and need to reinvent yourself as a Google+ marketing guru (you would lose money and time during this learning process).
  2. Smaller target market (fewer potential customers) — The more specialized you are, the smaller the market for your particular specialty. For example, if you specialize in producing documentary short films for non-profit organizations, you will have fewer potential clients than if you are a more adaptable independent video producer who can produce a wide variety of films.
  3. boredom — You may get bored of doing the same thing, or something similar, over and over again. Hopefully you love your major (that’s why you chose it, right?), but that may not be the case 5 years from now.

Advantages of Generalization

  1. Superior ability to adapt to economic changes. — By not delving too deeply into a particular area, you can quickly adapt to trends in technology, business, and design so you don’t lose business or revenue due to movements in supply and demand for specific freelance services (at least, not to the same extent as a specialist would). And since you’re not trying to learn everything in a particular field, you save learning time. After all, you probably don’t need to know everything (see #3 below).
  2. Better “big picture” idea — By having a diverse knowledge base, you will be able to more easily understand the broader and more abstract goals and concepts of a particular company and therefore be better able to adapt to the needs of that company. Understanding the context of the work you are doing is crucial to going above and beyond a client’s expectations.
  3. Help most people most of the time — Most people aren’t looking for something extremely specific. Customers usually have a “fuzzy” idea of ​​what they’re looking for (whether they admit it or not), and they’re likely to search for your address. This is often the case because if a customer knows exactly what she wants, she is more likely to do it herself than to pay someone else to do it for her (assuming she has the necessary skills).
  4. Best for working with small businesses. — Most small businesses can’t afford to hire numerous specialized freelancers, like everyone listed in #3 of the benefits of specializing. I’ve done a lot of work with small businesses and usually what they’re looking for is someone who’s not too specialized, but someone who has a broad knowledge base, is very resourceful (ie can find answers/solutions quickly) and be a creative problem solver.

Disadvantages of generalization

  1. Lack of concentration — If you’re not particularly helpful in one area, companies may not hire you because your services don’t provide enough value to accomplish their goals. If you only know a little more than your client does, your client will probably find someone more specialized or maybe learn to do the job themselves.
  2. more competition — There are a seemingly infinite number of “mainstream” freelance writers, graphic designers, web developers, etc. The more “noise” there is in the market, the more difficult it will be for you to stand out as a leader. Most novice and intermediate freelancers will take just about any job they can get, so they end up becoming mainstream freelancers, increasing their competition.

My personal experience being generalized

I have personally acquired a more general knowledge base and skill set. This strategy has worked very well for me (so far). I enjoy doing a variety of jobs; I rarely get bored of a particular task, so that’s a big plus for me. I enjoy working with other small businesses; I am often a very valuable asset to them in terms of developing technology solutions for business operations and in terms of their company’s web presence and internet marketing strategy.

If I find myself in a situation where I don’t know something (i.e. an area I’m not specialized enough in), I do some research and find the answer or learn how to do something (just googling often does the job). If there is a lot involved or a big learning curve, I will hire someone else to do a particular task (ie subcontract/outsource the work) to save myself time and frustration.

Do what makes sense to you

Deciding whether to be specialized or generalized is often a personal preference. You should do what makes sense to you based on the pros and cons that matter most to you.

Looking for more tips for freelancers?

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