How to Stop Being a Jack-of-all-trades
Do you ever feel like you could use a blank sheet of paper, plus a good cup of whatever you like most, and just start over?
Well, I decided to do just that! I took my original social media marketing business, Anchor Business Strategies, and started from square one to create what’s now: selah creative co.. Before my rebrand, I was performing a lot of services for a lot of different people without a clearly defined offering or client type.
If you are trying to be all things for all people, this blog is for you 👇🏼
How I went from jack of all trades to master of one
When I first started my business, I tried to be everyone’s Girl Friday. (Major #notetoself moment—never go back to that day.) But here's a little recap:
When people asked me, "What do you do?" I used to respond, "Well, it depends…what do you need?” I held various titles including:
Digital marketing strategist
Facebook Ads expert
Social media manager
Lead content creator
Copywriter & editor
Graphic designer
Web designer & developer
The list goes on…I had not specialized in my skillsets or chosen a niche, let alone a finite set of services!
Plus, I was doing-it-all for rock bottom prices because I thought that was the only way to compete as the new girl on the block. I branded myself as a one-stop-shop, hoping that would make me more desirable.
In other words: a jack-of-all-trades.
But you know what they say, "Jack of all trades, master of none."
That *was* me: a burnt-out jack that was ready to fold.
Fast forward: Now, I'm an expert Squarespace web designer and brand strategist for conscious businesses and creative entrepreneurs. How’d that happen? I honed in my services, skillsets, and client base.
And guess what? Now that I'm positioned as a pro, I can command higher prices because of my expertise and specializations in Squarespace and brand strategy.
No more $300 logos!
No more roundabout answers concerning my business model, pricing, or services.
I took said blank piece of paper and rebuilt my business from my website to my workflows. I decided to pause, rethink, and refocus my mission-in-business, identify my primary skill sets, and GET ORGANIZED.
“I combined my technical experience in the corporate marketing realm with my passion for good design to build a design studio where strategy and creativity collide.”
Today, I design brands for businesses that make +$100k per year run by boss babe female business owners who respect the work I do for them.
What are you providing as a service that you need to drop? It's time to focus, friend!
My answer now to, "What do you do?" is “I'm the founder and creator of selah creative co. – a creative design studio for conscious businesses and creative entrepreneurs that offers strategic branding and custom Squarespace website design.”
What do you do?
3 simple steps to STOP being a jack-of-all trades
reevaluate your services
You should be passionate (and wildly proficient) about the services you provide to clients. Ask yourself these questions to objectively evaluate your current services:
What are you currently offering that drains you?
What do you feel least confident in providing as a service?
What services you provide “just for the money”?
What services give you life during the workday?
What service(s) do you feel that you can position yourself as an expert in?
Establish clear processes
I cannot stress this enough. If you don’t have a clear process for a service or multiple services, don’t offer them yet! You need to give clients a stellar experience, not just a deliverable. It’s all in the details.
What does your onboarding process look like?
How do you guide clients through a project?
What tools are you using? Are you using them to their fullest potential?
Are clients clear on next steps every time something is complete?
identify your ideal clients
After you evaluate your services and establish clear processes, it’s time to identify your ideal clients. The people who are the PB to your J, the Beyonce to your JZ, the sun to your moon (you get the point.) You are not for everyone and that’s okay!
Take a step back and think about clients you’ve had in the past who were an absolute joy to work with:
What were some of their personality traits and qualities?
What did you both value that sparked a connection?
How did they treat you as a service provider?
What was their demographic profile? (Age, gender, income level, etc).
Mapping out both demographic (what) and psychographic (why) details about your ideal clients will help you determine who is the best fit for you.
