Portfolio Careers for Multiple Income Streams, aka Job Security

What is a portfolio career you ask?  QuintCareers defines it in this article.  The article states:

"...a portfolio career, in which instead of working a traditional full-time job, you work multiple part-time jobs (including part-time employment, temporary jobs, freelancing, and self-employment) with different employers that when combined are the equivalent of a full-time position. Portfolio careers offer more flexibility, variety, and freedom, but also require organizational skills as well as risk tolerance."

This concept has been going on for a while over in England and parts of Europe.  There's a blog focused on this portfolio career topic which can supply you with more insight as to how it is done and who is doing it.

Who are good candidates for a portfolio career? Almost anyone, however, these folks tend to gravitate towards the concept more easily:

• Retirees
• Returning to the workforce moms or dads
• Consultants (they already have the independent mindset)
• Those tired of corporate life

It all starts by understanding yourself and what you love doing.  Then brainstorm to come up with a way to bring this into a market. Then implement/sell it.

The advantages are many:

• Being in control of your life
• Ensuring streams of income, when one assignment ends, you'll always have others
• Flexibility in schedule or work-life balance

When you look around at the devastation caused by layoffs- financially and emotionally, it kind of makes sense to diversify...

 

Comments

[Dr. Randall Hansen]

Hannah... thanks so much for sharing information from my article on portfolio careers published on QuintCareers.com. As employers continue to announce massive job cuts, it makes even more sense for folks to take control over their careers -- whether being proactive in protecting the job they have or advancing to something like a portfolio career.

[Carol White Llewellyn, The Finger Lakes Travel Maven]

Hannah -

This is a great tip! When I first moved back to the Finger Lakes, I saw so many people working multiple jobs and wondered why. I'd rarely seen this in NYC, except for people launching new businesses or those in the entertainment industry. Now, I understand this strategy and think it makes as much sense as having a portfolio of investments. The biggest challenge with this type of structure is balance.

Thanks for sharing!
Carol