Saying goodbye to "traditional" work, and why I'm building a portfolio career instead.
The Portfolio Career Explained, Part 1
I’m the queen of the career pivot. I’ve gone from attempting to become a spy, to launching global retail brands in new markets, to creating an award-winning business podcast, to working with some of the most exciting startups across Australia and the US.
I’ve been a full time employee, a part time side hustler, a full time founder and now a solo operator with a portfolio of projects, clients and income streams. I’ve had big salaries at times and zero income at others. I’ve been intensely creatively fulfilled and in roles completely devoid of meaning.
Somehow at age 35, I’ve landed in the middle of the money, creativity, freedom and purpose Venn diagram. It’s a pleasant surprise for everyone involved (especially me) and all it took was saying goodbye to corporate overlords and founder stress, and hello to a portfolio career that enables me to tap into my many passions. Writing. Sharing hard won lessons. Teaching people new skills. Advising on strategy. And helping people launch and build great stuff.
I certainly didn’t invent this type of work structure. Freelancers and solopreneurs have been around forever, but it feels like something’s shifting. Every second person I speak to is on a similar path; ditching full time to consult here or contract there, or launch a digital course, write a newsletter, start a podcast, build a product, or play around with an idea. Portfolio careers are on the rise and to me this makes perfect sense, because they’re more reflective of the way humans are built. We’re multi-dimensional, multi-faceted, multi-passionate beings, so surely our work should be multi-dimensional, multi-faceted and speak to our multiple passions.
Many of us are realising that we don’t want “traditional” anymore. We want unique.
We want something that’s ours.
When I left corporate life it was because I wanted a career on my own terms. And when I didn’t necessarily find what I was looking for as a founder, I moved on from that too. I desperately wanted to design my work around my time, my time around my life, and my life around my values and passions and dreams. Instead of being a slave to career commitments, I wanted the freedom to choose who I work with and what I work on. Instead of feeling stressed in every waking moment, I dreamed of being able to switch off and relax. Instead of back to back meetings, I lusted after blank space in the calendar. Instead of having just money or creative fulfilment, I aspired to have both. And instead of devoting all my energy to one thing - a full time job or a full time business - I wanted variety and vested interest across many.
So I made a decision to make it happen. To take action relentlessly. And now I’m here in a new life that’s constructed as a sum of many parts. It’s a life that’s forced me to back myself in a way that I haven’t before. It’s a life that’s taught me how to relax during chaos. It’s a life that continues to challenge and test me. It continues to teach me that nothing is certain but everything is up for grabs.
This life has become my new home.
And boy, do I love it here.
This post is part one of a six part deep dive into Portfolio Careers:
Saying goodbye to “traditional” work, and why I’m building a portfolio career instead. This post.
WTF is a portfolio career? Read here.
How I’m building my portfolio of clients, projects and income streams. Read here.
Skills you need to run a successful one (wo)man show. Read here.
One thing they don’t tell you about working for yourself. Read here.
To portfolio or not to portfolio, that is the career question. Read here.
🎧 My thoughts on evaluating risk and opportunity as a solopreneur…
…and how my initial crippling fear subsided as opportunities, projects and gigs emerged.
When you’re ready, here are two ways I can help:
Portfolio Career Mentoring: 1-1, personalised mentoring (with yours truly) to help you build a career that sits at the intersection of freedom, creative fulfilment, meaning and money.
The Portfolio Career Operating System: an all-in-one operating system designed to help you streamline workflows, save time and minimise burnout while focusing on the things that drive more revenue, happiness and fulfilment. The exact system I’ve used to grow my portfolio to multiple six figures across fractional, advisory, mentoring, writing and digital products. Learn more here.
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Congrats Anna. I'm sure it's not all glamour and glitter, but the life you describe is something I'm working toward, and something I think many people would love to hear more about:
What worked, what didn't and some advice for someone who wants to live on their own terms.
Although I do enjoy my job as an engineer, it's hard to beat a self-employed career that is fulfilling...
I don't know exactly why, but I really enjoy reading your writing! keep it up.
Relating hard, all the way down to the late night voice memo. It’s wild to admit but I’ve always carried some shame around my many pivots, and wondered why I can’t just be content with one, steady thing. I still feel this way at times as I navigate a big pivotal unfolding in real time, recognizing it as a gift. And noticing how each one somehow brings you closer to the truth of who you are. At least in that moment in time :)