I used to think a Certification program would be great, as my cartesian mind could know exactly in which quadrant or category I belonged, and could easily sell myself as such, and prove my worth based on this Certification I possessed.

In a previous life, I've also had a 15-year run in Corporate / Large enterprise, and certifications were sought after and if you had them, you were "da bomb".

But now that I'm a business owner, with a few years' experience, I'm not so sure anymore...

One-man armies and small agencies have to draw upon so many skills and types of expertise that pigeon-holing oneself into a single area would most likely 'downgrade' them into specialists of some kind, whereas they may possess way more to offer than what the Cert says...