Why you should define your offering as a freelancer or consultant

In these challenging times with regard to the state of the economy there are a lot more people without full-time employment who find themselves looking for freelance work and who are seeking to offer one form or another of business consultancy. In my world I meet quite a lot of such people, many of whom are new to the fold of the independent worker, having run a business or been in a settled job for many years.

One of the expressions I do not want to hear when a freelancer introduces himself or herself is “I am a generalist”. Why? Because it is important to take into account what the singular or multiple audience hears, and what they hear is “I am not really good at any one thing”. The corollary of “Jack or Jill of all trades” is “Master of none”.

If someone has been the owner of a business or a senior director or partner or whatever, that person tends to think they know all about business because they think they have seen and done everything. That may be true in terms of having a grasp of a business, but it really will not impress a potential buyer of services, who wants to hear what the freelance consultant can do to satisfy their immediate business need.

Everyone is good at something and can offer a special knowledge. If you have been an owner of a business or an employee, that business specialised in something, whether it was engineering, manufacturing, food processing, importing toys, plastic moulding or accountancy. There must be an area the freelancer is most comfortable in. That is going to be the way to get in to sign a decent contract to help. Once in, you can offer your other skills on the back of your perceived competence in what you have achieved so far. However it is important to get in, so do not ever call yourself a generalist, and concentrate on what makes you happiest and is most financially rewarding.

© Jon Stow 2010