Thanks Dien,

I know what you mean about the PHD's in philosophy. I know some Doctors that are washing dishes at a 5 star hotel.

I'm glad you liked my points. I must admit after writing for a while, I started to confuse myself :->

Duane

> 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