Many people who embark on the independent professional path think they should define their services broadly so they will look like a good fit for many projects. The exact opposite is true.

My company represents self-employed professionals across the country, and over the last ten years I have interviewed, coached, or worked with more than 200 independent management consultants. Thanks to all these interviews and projects, I am convinced that the people who always seem to have work are those who “own” a particular consulting niche or service area.

Let’s look at some examples.

I know a highly talented professional with over 20 years of experience with several Fortune 500 companies. Several years ago, my company agreed to represent her. She believed in the jack-of-all-trades myth: she would get more work if she described her expertise in a variety of ways. Here is a verbatim snippet from her résumé at the time: