Kickstart Your Portfolio Career: Part 3 of 5
How to build a Financially Stable Portfolio Career &a Make Your Side Hustle, Your Main Hustle
Welcome to the third installment of a five-part miniseries, 'Kickstart Your Portfolio Career.' This August, I am hosting a Free Workshop where I will dive deeper into each tip and what it actually takes to launch your portfolio career while maintaining your day job.
When we decide to venture into the wild and wonderful world of being a Portfolio Careerist, many of us wrestle with a series of daunting questions:
How on earth do I find the time to even think about launching my Portfolio Career? I wrote about this here
How do I find work that lights me up and brings me meaning and fulfillment? I wrote about this here
How do I make a sustainable income from a Portfolio Career?
This last question is one I grappled with for years.
Throughout my 20-year professional career (ouch, that makes me feel old), I always had a stable monthly income. In fact, as soon as it was legal for me to get a part-time job (at 14 years and 9 months in Victoria, Australia), I jumped at the chance. I loved the security of a stable income; it made my body feel safe, and I relished not having to rely on anyone (we won't delve into my avoidance attachment style here, but it’s a thing).
That’s why the idea of moving away from a stable income terrified me. It was ingrained in my way of life, my nervous system, and my operations. On top of that, I’m part of a dual-income family with a mortgage, childcare costs, and school fees.
However, the higher I climbed the corporate ladder into senior roles, the more unhappy and depressed I became. I also became acutely aware of the politicking and redundancy cycles targeting the 'expensive' middle management roles I held.
I reached a point where I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I knew I had no option but to make a change (you can read about my 2017 breakdown turned breakthrough here).
Taking that leap wasn’t easy, but it was essential for my well-being and fulfilment. Embracing my Portfolio Career allowed me to align my work with my passions and values, ultimately leading to a more satisfying and balanced life.
If you're standing at the crossroads of making a similar decision, know that it's entirely possible to create a sustainable and fulfilling portfolio career. It takes planning, strategy, and sometimes a little courage, but it’s well worth the journey.
Slow And Steady Wins The Race.
My step into the world of multiple income streams was slow and steady. Unlike the advice from the Marketing Bros to 'jump into the deep end and see if you can swim,' I took a different approach.
For starters, I don’t follow any advice that gives me a panic attack at the thought of it. Plus, I have real-life responsibilities, so rocking up to work and giving notice without a sustainable plan was never an option.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’m a HUGE advocate for keeping your ‘core’ income stream (e.g., your day job) while you build your Portfolio Career. I repositioned my day job as the ‘main investor’ in my Portfolio Career, treating it like I was the CEO of a company—my company. I reported to my 'investors' (myself) monthly, tracked spending, acquired new skills, and conducted cost-benefit analyses to stay on track.
This mindset allowed my nervous system to feel safe. As I took my time to learn about myself and how to monetise my skills, I felt confident in investing in myself as a valuable asset. I stopped submitting business cases to my employer for my professional development and decided that I wasn’t going to wait for the share price to increase for my value to be recognised.
I launched my Portfolio Career in late 2019 and held my executive-level role at a Private Equity firm for nearly 4.5 years before leaving in February this year.
Throughout the years, I experimented with various offerings and business models. Some stuck, some didn’t. Here are my income streams over the years (BOLD are current):
2019 - 2020:
Startup team coaching (now only for companies I have invested in)
Venture Scouting (no longer in my portfolio)
Startup Team Member, Sweat Equity (no longer in my portfolio)
Angel Investing (still active)
2021:
Life Coaching (stopped after 3 months)
Tarot and Numerology (integrated but not stand-alone)
Venture Builder Consulting (part-time for sustainable businesses)
Private Coaching (5 slots a year, love it)
Human Design Analysis (3+ times a month)
2022 - 2024:
Human Design for Business Analysis (4-5 times a year)
Portfolio Career Mentorship (my FAVOURITE and main income stream)
Community Building (The Portfolio Career Club, one of my true loves)
Future of Work Writer (love it, but not yet a direct income source)
Future of Work Speaker (whenever possible, love it)
Experimenting helped me discern what work truly lights me up versus what I thought should light me up. For example, I expected my main income stream to be working with startup teams—my skillset and passion aligned here. However, the joy was sucked out when they aimed for hyper-scale metrics driven by investor pressure.
Pivoting to use my Human Design knowledge combined with venture-building to support solopreneurs was a game-changer. This led to my focus on Portfolio Career Mentorship, and the rest is history!
Finding the work I love allowed me to build a sustainable business model with recurring income supplemented by consulting, speaking, and workshops.
Overcoming Key Hurdles Before Leaving My Day Job.
Everyone’s life circumstances are different, but here are the hurdles I needed to overcome before taking the plunge to leave my day job:
One Year’s Salary in Savings: Financial cushion for peace of mind.
50% Minimum Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): Consistently making at least half of my corporate salary monthly (e.g., if my salary was £10k, my goal was £5k/month).
Balanced Income Streams: A plan to ensure 2-3 income streams contributed equally, avoiding reliance on a single source.
12-Month Trial Period: Agreed with my husband, this was the maximum period we could afford to test my portfolio career.
Proven Service Demand: I validated this by selling out The Portfolio Career Club twice, confirming the desirability of my offerings.
Your timeline and experimentation will differ from mine, but here are some overarching questions to guide your readiness:
What are your current monthly expenses and financial obligations?
Understanding your baseline financial needs is foundational for setting realistic income goals and covering essentials.
What are your independent revenue streams or potential sources of income?
Identifying and testing potential income streams quickly is critical. This helps you find out if you enjoy the work and can monetise it.
How much savings do you have, and how long can it sustain you without additional income?
Having a financial cushion of at least six months is essential. I decided on 12 months for added security.
What skills and services can you offer that are in demand?
Align your marketable skills with services that are in high demand to ensure viable offerings (Take this quiz if you're stuck).
How can you diversify your income streams to reduce risk?
Diversification mitigates the risk of relying on a single income source. Start with one income stream and quickly build more to avoid having all your eggs in one basket.
Navigating these questions helped me create a sustainable and fulfilling portfolio career, and I hope they assist you in doing the same.
Final Thoughts.
When I first started out in 2019, I had no idea what I was doing. A coach advised me to quit my day job, but thankfully, I had enough sense to know this wasn't the right decision for me or my family. Unfortunately, many people fall into this trap. Our society has idolised tech bros and eight-figure coaches who seemingly resign from their day jobs and start making ridiculous amounts of money within months.
While this may be the case for a fortunate few, it’s not the majority's experience. If you choose to explore the world of Portfolio Careers, ensure you have considered your financial position and made a solid plan for when you eventually leave your job.
Making thoughtful and well-planned decisions can pave the way for a successful transition into a fulfilling portfolio career.