Ask HN: 6-figure freelancers of HN, what do you do?

The obvious answer is to specialise. The problem is how?

There seem to be two options:

1. Become an expert in a rare, rising tech stack (see elixir/phoenix)

2. Specialise in a market vertical

On hn and as a dev Option 1) is very appealing. And just a matter of time and keep doing it.

Many (smart) folks, however, tell you that 2) is the better bet long term and financially. Which makes sense because you shift from providing technical solutions to delivering business results. But it is much harder to get into (which long term turns into an advantage because you build barriers)

I would love to go route 2) but never actually went anywhere. But I didn't do 1) either because I'm stuck between those two. It's quite frustrating actually.

Is anyone else in a similar situation?

I guess I'm being deliberately evasive to protect my own interests, but I help them go digital, use ML/AI, use APIs, Blockchain etc