Comments on: Which is Better for the Freelancer: Specialization or Diversification?

By: On Choosing a Niche | Florida Freelancer

On Choosing a Niche | Florida Freelancer — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 19:12:51 +0000

[...] order to broaden my work venues, I opted to expand my specialization. Rather than focusing solely on local history (limited to my home county), I chose to expand my [...]

By: Working With Other Freelancers to Expand Your Business « Jeremy Bryant

Working With Other Freelancers to Expand Your Business « Jeremy Bryant — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:19:33 +0000

[...] your clientele or services, while still staying a one-person business. While I believing that niching yourself into a certain type of client, industry or service can greatly improve your clientele and revenue; it’s also important to make use of those [...]

By: Working Well With Other Freelancers To Expand Your Business :: Freelance XHTML, CSS and WordPress Developer Amber Weinberg :: Nashville, TN

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:02:24 +0000

[...] your clientele or services, while still staying a one person business. While I believing that niching yourself into a certain type of client, industry or service can greatly improve your clientele and revenue; it’s also important to make use of those [...]

By: Specialization OR Diversification? The right choice for you… « The best of the Tech News

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:25:18 +0000

[...] Source: http://freelancefolder.com/which-is-better-for-the-freelancer-specialization-or-diversification/ [...]

By: Brian

Brian — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:08:45 +0000

The basic business model is that all businesses grow over time and die over time. The best way to be ready and keep ahead of the curve is diversification. The market over time is getting smarter about what the job rolls we play are but when we’re highered by a company they expect a full product delivered in 99% of the cases. This translates to be more deversified or having a good network of people you can call to do tasks for you in the project. I think the choice really comes down to what type of business you want. Do you want a small business where you stay creative and make enough to live the life at the level you like. Or do you want to run the various projects, bring in the money and do less of the day-to-day creative work.

I think a good question I’d love to see would be “What style is your freelance business”. I see some people who do freelance work and they supliment with selling stock and other creative items. Others tend to do the freelance and create websites to match a need of something they hope will be a hit. And others tend to be all about the business and the hunt for the next project. It would be interesting to see what model people find themselves doing.

By: jook

jook — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:36:55 +0000

i think the adage “know something about everything, and everything about something” sums it all up. may i also suggest u can diversify by networking… i.e. have a few close freelance “partners” whom u can collaborate with, on each of your own areas of expertise. it’s a great opportunity to learn as well.

By: Vjekoslav Ratkajec

Vjekoslav Ratkajec — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:41:39 +0000

Interesting topic Laura.

I believe in specialization. When you are specialized in something, there could be fewer setbacks rather than having few skills knowing them good. I think web has offered lots of work for one area, so that deals with economy in one country. And also you can outsource work you don’t do to other freelancer. That creates better product faster, when everyone does something that they specialize in.
One plus for having diversity is that there is always Google to find solution for your problem if you are not skilled enough to deal with problem immediately. But as I learned, that could be very stressful, finding solution to area that you are not master of.

By: Ryan Bickett

Ryan Bickett — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:27:46 +0000

@Yolander – I also like your idea of diversification within a specialty. I think that, as others have mentioned, you don’t necessarily want to cut off opportunity by over specializing. However, at the same time, you need to focus your efforts on a similar or fairly closely related area in order to have the time to improve your skills and continue learning.

I am trying to do this now by focusing on two of my passions. One passion I am focusing on is web design and development. However, I would also like to continue working on more general graphic design skills. Additionally, I am trying to figure out how I can tie in another passion of mine (playing the guitar) as a side project utilizing my professional skills.

I think one truly important aspect to this is that you find what it is you truly love to do and are passionate about. I think it is really a balance that each individual needs to find within themselves.

By: Dmitry

Dmitry — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:46:50 +0000

Specialization or Diversification. Why not have both?
The ability to diversify and attract numerous potential clients, while at the same time offer a very specialized and nuanced service to each client, would be the ultimate goal for success.
As Laura mentioned, both have their benefits and costs. Although I agree that it is best to be good at one thing than be mediocre at many things, it seems the appropriate application of this question might depend on the proper context. In some jobs you need to be extremely specialized, while in other situations you are able to float between the kind of services you can provide. It seems that finding the balance between specialization and diversification is key, rather than figuring out which is best.

http:///www.freelancecamp.org

By: New segment: SpecialtyBuzz! » The Life and Times of a Freelance Writer

New segment: SpecialtyBuzz! » The Life and Times of a Freelance Writer — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:15:24 +0000

[...] Which is Better for the Freelancer: Specialization or Diversification? By Laura Spencer (Freelance Folder) [...]