In the world of tech, there’s a persistent myth: specialists, the rare birds with razor-sharp focus always command the highest value. Here is a fresh, lived-in perspective from three WordPress veterans: Zach Stepek, Carl Alexander, and Jason Cosper. Their consensus? Don’t sleep on the generalists.
Wearing Many Hats: Why Generalists Matter
As Carl points out, “For me, I’ve always had this expert generalist mindset. It’s more what’s your problem? And sometimes I’m not the right person to fix it, but half the time it’s just like you need somebody, right?” In an industry where technology, platforms, and processes shift at lightning speed, this flexibility isn’t just valuable, it’s essential.
Zach echoes this, sharing that even at executive levels (“I am helping agencies pick the right infrastructure and the right hosting…but…you wear numerous hats no matter where you are. Right?”), adaptability remains a central part of the role.
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Range Beats Rigidity
Jason brings in the book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, reflecting how a broader skillset isn’t just a consolation prize, it’s an asset companies pay for. “My generalist skill set is actually much more of a commodity than I think it is,” he says, showing that the ability to connect dots, offer diverse solutions, and adapt to project needs is genuinely marketable.
Pricing Yourself As a Generalist
Talking money, the team dives into real talk about consulting rates. Too often, WordPress and “general” web work is undervalued (“I consider WordPress work to be not worth that much money…But actually it’s not necessarily right,” says Carl). Jason recounts how clients were happy to pay a premium for a problem solved quickly—after wasting thousands on cheaper, narrowly focused developers.
A key insight: The best price is the one someone is actually willing to pay. And in many cases, clients will pay more for the experience, insight, and broad capability a generalist brings, especially when the alternative is long, expensive troubleshooting with no resolution.
Communication and Confidence: The Generalist’s Secret Weapons
There’s an important distinction made: if you’re charging more, over-communicate. Keep clients informed. Don’t just be the jack-of-all-trades. Instead be the professional who prevents surprises and headaches.
Carl summarizes it: “You charge more, communicate more, be more on top of, like, what’s happening. Because that…it’s a sign of professionalism.”
Final Thoughts
For consultants, freelancers, and even agency owners in the WordPress world (and tech more broadly), this episode is a powerful reminder: you don’t need to narrow yourself to a niche to be valuable. Embrace your range, keep solving problems, know your worth and communicate that worth unapologetically.
The demand for skilled, broad-thinking professionals isn’t going anywhere. If anything, as tech stacks get more complex and businesses need agility, the future belongs to those who can wear all the hats and do it well.
Watch the full episode.
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