Shift 2: From Generalist for Hire to Expert with an Opinion
Hey there, and welcome back to the Six-Figure Freelancer Recipe. I’m Jaz—your pricing queen—and in this episode, I’m sharing one of the most game-changing shifts you can make as a creative freelancer. If you’ve ever felt the pressure to be a “one-stop shop,” doing everything from social media management to SEO and web design, you’re definitely not alone. I’ve been there myself, juggling a laundry list of skills and services, worrying that I needed to say yes to every client or every project in order to succeed. But let’s be real: that approach can leave you feeling generic, unmemorable, and constantly undercutting your rates just to compete.
In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my own transformation—from being a generalist who tried to please everyone, to building a reputation as an expert who solves meaningful problems for clients. And don’t worry, we’re ditching the pressure to “niche down” in the old-school sense! Instead, we’ll talk about how to get clear on the problems you solve best, so you can communicate your magic in a way that actually attracts dream clients and higher rates.
I’ll walk you through practical prompts and questions pulled right from my free guide (which you can grab at creativebusinesskitchen.com/6figures), so you can start identifying what sets you apart and craft a client-attracting pitch that focuses on outcomes, not just a list of skills. We’ll even cover how to handle pricing conversations so you can stop competing on price and start being valued for your expertise.
If you’ve ever wished clients saw you as indispensable, or if you crave that confidence to speak up as an expert in your field, this episode is your invitation to make that real shift. Get ready to discover how to move from overlooked generalist to sought-after solution provider—and trust me, your freelance business will thank you!
Transcript
Hey there. It's Jaz, your pricing queen. And welcome to episode three of the 6 figure freelancer recipe, a bite sized podcast series for creatives who are ready to build that freelance business they actually left their nine to five for. Today, we're gonna be shifting from being a generalist for hire into an expert with an opinion. And before you shake your fist at me and tell me I refuse to niche, don't worry. The word niche isn't uttered in this episode from now on. Personally, I do not believe in it, but there is a big difference between that five letter word and what I'm helping shift today. So tell me if this sounds like you.
Jaz [:Okay. So I can do social media management. I can do content writing. I can do email marketing. I'd love to build your website, and I can also do a bit of SEO too. I'm kind of like a one stop shop. Please tell me that doesn't sound like your pitch. When you're trying to be everything for everyone, you end up being forgettable to all of them.
Jaz [:And as someone who has definitely regarded themselves as a jazz of all trades, This is something that I've been guilty of in the past, but I've definitely gotten better at it. When this is your norm, you find yourself competing with every other generalist freelancer. And BT dubs, there are thousands of them. And you end up fighting for scraps and racing to the bottom on pricing because that's all they can compare you on. The real problem here is that being a generalist doesn't just hurt your marketing. It damages your confidence. Because when you're always adapting to whatever the client wants, you never actually develop the deep expertise that commands premium rates. And worse, you don't develop the confidence to speak up when a client's approach is going to fail.
Jaz [:They drive the ship, and they're probably going to drive it into an iceberg. When you're a generalist, you attract price shoppers who see you as interchangeable with your competition, and you spend more time explaining what you do than actually doing it. You're constantly questioning your rates because you're comparing yourself to everyone else, and you never become known for anything specific that makes you referable. You need to have a reputation that's spreadable so that those who experience success with you can tell others and send them your way. You may have tried solving this by adding more services to your menu, making yourself the Swiss army knife for freelancing. It's making you more generic and more forgettable amongst other options. And maybe you've started claiming that you can work with any industry, which means none specifically. You might have gone to the extreme of creating separate websites or brands for your different services, further diluting your focus and spreading your spend to be able to be out there.
Jaz [:Or and this is the one I see the most in other freelancers, listing all of your skills and capabilities, which the clients don't actually care about. Sorry. So here's the hard truth. Skills don't sell. Solutions do. And if anything, skills build employees, not freelancers. Clients don't actually care what you can do. They care what you can solve.
Jaz [:When you position yourself as the answer to a specific problem, you become invaluable instead of interchangeable. And more often than not, the more that you try to explain all the skills that you have, the more confusing it is on how to work with you. Further to that, when you solve problems rather than selling your skills, the clients don't fixate on the dollars as much. One of my favorite lines to use on a discovery call is asking this question when it comes to budget. So is this a five k, 10 k, or 15 k problem we're solving today? You'd obviously put your three numbers in there, making the center number the one that you're trying to get them to realize is what the value is of the solution that you're serving to them. Refocusing the client on the value of the problem solved and the positioning of yourself as the solution will always sell better than a laundry list of skills. So here's how we're going to make this second shift together. Just like last time, I want you to think about the freelancer that you were before you picked up this episode and then the future freelance you that we're working towards.
Jaz [:Old you used to sell a list of skills and services, would say, I'm a graphic designer who does logos and websites and branding and this and that. And you would talk at length about your capabilities and process to convince the client that you're worth hiring because you're putting so much effort, energy, and skills to use, and you'd be trying to match what your competitors offer. But future freelance you, they are all about selling solutions to specific high value problems. They are targeted when they tell people who they are and what they do. For example, I help start ups solve their conversion problem by strategic design that turns visitors into paying customers. They talk about their clients' problems as part of their content and the outcomes that they have delivered, and they create a signature approach to solving a specific problem because people pay for problems to go away. Now with the questions part of the free guide, and if you don't have the free guide in your hot little hands, grab yours by heading to creativebusinesskitchen.com/6figures. I'll pop the link in the show notes for you.
Jaz [:I'm going to ask them here. Take your time. Think it through. Answer for yourself. And if you need to pause me, go for it. What's the thing that I do that makes clients go, holy that happened? Look for what comes easily but blows their mind. Am I selling skills or solving problems, and which pays more? Logos versus conversions, copy versus clarity. One sounds good, the other one sells.
Jaz [:What do I want to be known for even if I'm scared to commit to it? That one project that you wish every client asked for. Let's double down on that and choose it so we can be chosen. If I couldn't list my services, how would I explain my magic? Use the framework of I help, and then who you help, solve what you solve so that they can result. Fill in the blanks. You can also take this to a whole new level if you were wanting to start playing with language, but you need a base verse of who, what, and the result that you deliver. Who do I actually want to help, and what's keeping me from saying it louder? Afraid you'll lose leads if you narrow your niche? Spoiler alert. You'll gain the right ones instead. I'll finish today with your action step.
Jaz [:I want you to identify the top three painful problems that you solve for your clients, then write that one liner that makes your solution clear. So, again, using that framework of I help, specifically who, solve that specific problem so that they can transformative result. Having a few of these in your back pocket variations on the same idea will help you when you're networking or communicating with what could be your next client. Next episode, we're going to be shifting from swapping time for dollars into pricing for value. This is a big shift I had to make on my own with my own freelancing, and it broke that tether between time and value so I could start charging clients for the outcomes and value that I was serving to them on the daily. See you in the next episode.
