I spent three years trying to be everything to everyone. I was the guy who said yes to every project, every consultation, every “quick favor” from friends and strangers alike. And you know what happened? I made exactly zero dollars in profit, burned out completely, and ended up working in a coffee shop wondering where it all went wrong.
Here is what nobody tells you about being a solopreneur: the temptation to be generalist is deadly. We look at the successful entrepreneurs around us and think “I could do that too if I just work hard enough.” But the truth is, the opposite is true. The ones who actually succeed are the ones who found their narrow, specific corner of the market and became absolutely undeniable in that space.
Let me share my journey because I think it might save you some years of wandering like I did.
When I first started out, I called myself a “business consultant.” Wow, that was helpful wasn’t it? Like telling someone you are a “doctor” but not specifying whether you do heart surgery or treat acne. Nobody understood what I actually did, and more importantly, nobody felt compelled to pay me for it. Why would they? There were thousands of “business consultants” offering the same vague value proposition.
The turning point came when I made a decision that felt terrifying at the time: I picked one specific thing and committed to it completely. Instead of helping businesses with “growth” in general, I focused exclusively on helping B2B SaaS companies reduce their customer churn. That was it. That was my entire business.
Sounds limiting, right? Here’s what actually happened:
First, my conversion rate exploded. When someone booked a call with me, they already knew exactly what I did. No explaining, no educating, no convincing. They came because they had a churn problem and they heard I was the person who solved churn problems for B2B SaaS companies. The sales process became almost automatic.
Second, I could charge premium prices. General business consultants might charge $500 for a strategy session. I charged $2,500 for a single consultation and had a waiting list. Why? Because I wasn’t a generalist anymore. I was the specialist who understood their specific pain points, their specific industry, their specific challenges. Expertise has a price tag, and it’s higher than you think.
Third, the work became genuinely enjoyable. This surprised me the most. I thought narrowing my focus would make the job boring. Instead, it was the opposite. By diving deep into one specific area, I discovered nuances, patterns, and insights that I never would have found as a generalist. Every day I was learning something new about churn, about customer behavior, about what makes B2B SaaS companies succeed or fail. I became genuinely passionate about my work.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth about finding your positioning: it requires you to say no to opportunities that seem attractive in the moment. Every time someone asked me to help with their marketing strategy or their sales process or their product roadmap, I had to decline. And it hurt. Every single time. But I realized that saying yes to everything was saying no to becoming exceptional at anything.
The market doesn’t reward generalists anymore. With the internet, every niche is saturated with options. When someone has a problem, they don’t search for “someone who can help with business.” They search for “how to fix specific problem X.” And they find the person who specifically solves problem X.
So here’s my challenge to you: what is your specific corner? What is the one thing you could become absolutely brilliant at? It might feel scary to narrow your focus. It might feel like you are leaving money on the table. But I am telling you from experience: the money is actually in the narrow lane.
Start by asking yourself this: “Who specifically would pay me money, and for what specific outcome?” If your answer involves the word “anyone” or “business owners” or “people who want to grow,” you are still too broad. Keep narrowing until you can see exactly who you serve and exactly what transformation you provide.
The solopreneurs who make it are not the smartest or the hardest working. They are the ones who found their specific market and became the obvious choice. Be the obvious choice.
