The “U” Curve Strategy That Changed How I Pick Clients Forever
When I started out in consulting more than 20 years ago, I didn’t have a mentor. I wasn’t part of McKinsey, BCG, or any other name you’d see on a top-tier resume. Mine was a “learning-by-doing” journey—with all the bruises and blind spots that come with it.
But if there’s one insight I wish I’d learned sooner, it’s this: most of your career problems as a freelancer or consultant come from being stuck in the middle.
A Mental Model That Saved My Practice
I call it The “U” Curve. Picture the letter U. On the left side, you have mass-market, high-volume, low-margin work—think Zara or H&M. These are the commodity plays. Fast, cheap, and built to scale. On the right? You have rare, high-margin, bespoke work—LVMH territory. Think strategy firms, high-end advisors, niche specialists. Low volume, high price, high value. And the bottom of the U? That’s where most freelancers live… and die. That’s where I spent too many years.
The Dangerous Middle
I used to take on “decent” projects for “reasonable” clients at “fair” rates. Sounds responsible, right? It’s not.
This middle ground is where you:
• Compete on price
• Get little respect
• Burn out trying to prove your worth
And worse? You don’t scale like a commodity and you don’t earn like a specialist.
Where Freelancers Should Be
Consultants and freelancers are, by nature, unsuited to the mass-market end. You can’t productise yourself like a Shopify store.
Even with AI and automation, you can’t clone your brain at scale. So where should you be? On the premium side. The expensive pole.
Even if you’re not there yet, that’s the direction to aim. Every decision you make—what projects to take, what skills to develop, what clients to pursue—should point you toward that LVMH-like end of the U. That’s where the money is. That’s where the appreciation of your work is.
And most importantly, that’s where the work is aligned with your long-term career health. In the next post, I’ll talk about how to get to that premium pole.
But for now, here’s what I’ll leave you with: Don’t waste your best years in the middle of the U. It’s the most expensive place to be—because it costs you time, energy, and potential.