The Shoal: Moving into a new niche, finding freelance work, AI skills, ageism, and +++

Every other week, a small group of Salmon Crew members and I get together to discuss what’s pressing on our minds right now. I call it an AMA (Ask Members Anything). But really I call it the Shoal, because I can’t get enough of fish-related puns.

Here’s what we discussed in the last one (May 29th, 2026). Anonymised to preserve the realness of future contributions.

Q: How do you move from a freelancer who fills gaps to a brand that attracts clients who want what you offer?

• Get precise on what you do and who for. Define your expertise area and the categories you serve, plus the specific inflection moments when clients need you (e.g., when they're ready to scale but need both speed and rigor) 

• Map who's hiring you. It's not always the CMO. Could be heads of science, fundraising, impact, behaviour change, strategy, or founders of smaller businesses. Once you know what you do and who for, it becomes easier to determine who actually pays the bill to bring someone like you in.

• Use Venn diagrams. Overlap which sectors do that work, which are growing, and where the biggest problems/threats exist (like vaccine hesitancy as a global health threat). This helps you narrow down your ICP instead of just assuming your thing is for everyone. Which technically, sure, but also that’s not a very effective go-to-market strategy friends.

• Out-niche your niche. Go deeper into specialisation, consider specific verticals or even specific deliverables within your field. There’s always one row you can go deeper to become known as the best person for that particular thing.

• Build a collective. Partner with other specialists who focus on complementary areas. You’ll always be stronger together than trying to do everything, plus this allows you to have a precise positioning for yourself while still being able to tap into complementary experts for other types of projects.

• Focus on precision over breadth. Being memorable for one specific thing (e.g., "thorny healthcare problems requiring behavioural thinking") makes you more referable than being able to do everything. Your positioning isn’t meant to capture everything you do, just the most memorable thing you do. Everything else can be an in-market conversation after.

Q: How do you move into a new niche (like B2B/tech) without burning bridges with existing niche (like food)?

• Comment strategically on LinkedIn. Find 10-15 target people in the new sector and comment thoughtfully on their posts. Comments have better reach than posts and help you find your people, plus you won’t alienate current followers.

• Find the overlap. Look for sectors that bridge both worlds, like food tech, catering B2B, or companies like Soylent that span consumer and B2B. There’s always an interesting niche waiting for you when you cross two unexpected things.

• Interview people in the space. Use conversations as content, either by featuring specific people or synthesising learnings from multiple conversations into posts. This is how you get around the “I have nothing to write about” slump, just write about stuff you’re already discussing with experts.

• Focus on what you care about. Talk about what genuinely interests you (e.g., making complex things simple, adding personality to boring industries) rather than just the subject matter. People in that world will recognise shared values.

• Appear on niche podcasts. Example of Dale Harrison doing statistics/science-backed marketing on LinkedIn but getting B2B pharma work from podcast appearances. It might make sense to find folks who have a bit of a platform in your desired space but not too much of a platform yet, which means they’re more eager to meet new guests (like you!).

Q: How do you find freelance projects outside of your current location (UK)?

• Post about going freelance. One simple Friday afternoon LinkedIn post about going freelance led to both a freelance project and eventual full-time job offer from New York agency. This may not always work for everyone of course, but don’t ask don’t get! (Just don’t ask too desperately.)

• It's a numbers game. Spend time talking to people in target markets to increase surface area. Most time on LinkedIn should be DMing people, not just posting, because organic reach is consistently getting crapper. DMs are not a guarantee of response but 10% of them might yield a response, and then 10% of those conversations might yield an actual gig. Now you just gotta do the maths…

• Ask for introductions. People like being seen as good connectors. Always ask "Who else should I be speaking to?" 

• Be strategic about markets. Choose based on both budget availability and cultural fit (e.g., US for bigger budgets and faster pace vs UK's oversaturated and low growth market).

• Target independent agencies. Indies are more open to freelance help, faster at onboarding, and easier to work with than big networks that are contracting and mostly trying to stay afloat with the people they already have.

• Consider "big fish, small pond". If bilingual or from elsewhere, less mature markets may value London experience highly (though rates may need adjustment).

• Pivot to adjacent skills. Explore ethnographic research projects or other aspects of the work you enjoy beyond core brand strategy, so that people have more specific entry points and specific use cases they can link you to.

Q: How do you manage building something while working full time?

• Use waitlists. Some people discreetly announce upcoming availability and let interested parties join a waitlist for first dibs (though effectiveness varies).

• Tap friends and family network. Former bosses and colleagues who know your work may have projects ready. Though many won't materialise, some will. Worth a shot.

• Expect some overtime. You may need to absorb consulting time while still employed, leading to 3 very tiresome months during notice period until you’re on your way.

• Reality check. On the other hand this may create weird tension, because the freelance client knows you're juggling, your availability will be unpredictable around pitches at main job, and it's really funky when you can’t attend a meeting because you, checks notes, oh yeah still have a full time job.

• Build cash reserves. Have enough runway for slow months, especially month 1-2, because even if you get lucky with the first gig then you need to have enough reserves to keep going. As they say (who’s “they”?), cash breeds confidence.

• Use LinkedIn for relationship building. Even while employed, use it to build relationships, play matchmaker, and stay open to possibilities without knowing exactly what will work. TL;DR: Build future demand before you need it.

Q: What do strategy directors look for in their team’s AI skills?

• Assume everyone knows the basics. Standard platform familiarity is expected, focus on differentiation instead.

• Show thought partnership. Demonstrate how you use different LLMs for different purposes and why.

• Build practical tools. Can you build an agent? A brief builder? Tools that democratise work and make things easier for everyone? How can you show your work, working?

• Show when NOT to use it. Demonstrate you know AI should never be the final output. Use it as sparring partner but find your own voice. Show when you’ve chosen not to use it at all.

• Share experiments. Show unique applications you've discovered, not just obvious use cases like analysing 4,000 PDFs of award cases. Find the biggest bottlenecks of the job and proactively build tools that can help alleviate that.

Q: Is ageism still a thing?

• Yes, universally: Especially in agencies, which are meant to be the more progressive of the lot and yet here we are.

• K-shaped ageism. That said, there’s a nuance here that affects both more junior and more senior people. Healthcare agencies now say "we only hire senior people", creating bias against younger strategists, but then question if senior people will "roll their sleeves up". Basically you can’t win, unless you find ways to carve your own autonomy out there. 

What next?

Come to the next Shoal! It’s reserved for Salmon Crew members, so you’ve not already join 300 others and hope to see you there.