Hi Duane,

You make excellent points!

As an illustration of your point, if you specialize in something which is not in high demand, you could specialize yourself right out of an income.

Probably the best example of people like this which I can think of are people who do Ph.D.'s in philosophy. The only way you can get a job with it is to get an academic position teaching philosophy to the next generation of students! As a result, many people with Ph.D.'s in philosophy end up driving taxis, working as bank tellers, etc. - NOTHING to do with their specialization.

On the other hand, here's the opposite example. My notebook computer needed some repairs recently (the screen stopped working), and I found a specialist notebook computer repair place near me to get it fixed.

They specialize in fixing notebook computers - they don't do anything else. No desktop computers, only notebooks. Not only can they charge more, but they get more business too than the business that tries to repair everything.

The reason why I brought my computer to them is because I reasoned, if they specialize in JUST notebook computers, they will be more likely to spot the problem with my notebook and be able to fix it. I wanted RESULTS, and I reasoned a specialist would be more likely to deliver it, and I was willing to pay more for the privilege.

They get a lot of business - they told me that people even come to them from interstate to get their notebook computers repaired. To me, this is an example of a successful specialization.

I see this topic tied to the concept of niche markets. While most computer repair places try to be "do everything" places, the notebook computer repair business focused on the niche market of businesses and people who have notebook computers. The problem with the Ph.D.'s in philosophy is that their niche market is too small, and there are too many people competing for the little available work there is!

However, I agree with a lot of what you say, Duane.... In reality, I like being a bit of a generalist too. How can you get the best of both worlds?

I think you can win all around if you make it so your business targets a "specialist" niche.... It doesn't mean you have to be a specialist yourself, in order for your business to be seen as a "specialist" business by its target market....

Well, those are a few more thoughts, I thought you raised some excellent points, Duane....

- Dien Rice