Are you multi-passionate, constantly curious, and energized by learning? If you’ve ever felt like one career path wasn’t enough to express your talents, a portfolio career might be your perfect fit.
As a career coach with over three decades of experience as an entrepreneur, I have also worked with and presented to thousands of job seekers, career changers, and entrepreneurs. I’ve witnessed the workplace evolve dramatically.
The traditional 9-to-5 isn’t the only option anymore—especially in today’s economy with widespread layoffs, including in sectors like the Federal Government.
More professionals are embracing flexible, purpose-driven work on their terms, especially if they are multipotentialite and want to be authentic!
Welcome to the world of a portfolio career, where you are the architect of your professional journey, empowered to design a career that aligns with your unique talents and passions.
What Is a Portfolio Career?
A portfolio career involves managing multiple income streams simultaneously rather than relying on a single full-time job. These roles can be a mix of:
- Freelance or contract work
- Consulting projects
- Part-time employment
- Side hustles
- Speaking engagements
- Teaching or coaching
- Creative work
- Board or advisory roles (check out our nonprofit resources if you are a mission-driven servant leader)
This dynamic approach offers financial resilience, career diversity, and the liberating freedom to align your work with your lifestyle—whether you thrive at 1 AM or love working from a beachside Airbnb in “Aloha Time.”
Lifestyle is key for me. When I think of 8 AM, I may be in REM mode, while 1 AM might be “in my zone of genius” productivity time. On the other hand, you might be a morning person, so you do what works for you.
Benefits of a Portfolio Career
- Diversified Income – Minimize risk by combining W-2 and 1099 income sources or having multiple 1099 sources. Reduce financial risk by not relying on one employer.
- Purpose-Driven Work – Blend your passions with profit.
- Skill Expansion – Learn across industries while growing your expertise.
- Flexible Schedule – Own your calendar and productivity rhythms.
How to Start Your Portfolio Career: A Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Assess Your Skills and Interests
List your marketable skills, passions, and certifications. Identify areas where you could offer value—consulting, writing, coaching, designing, etc.
Step 2: Explore Viable Income Streams
Research part-time gigs, online teaching platforms, or freelance marketplaces. Ask yourself: “What will people pay me to do?”
Step 3: Start Small and Test
Begin with a side hustle while still employed—or dive in if you’ve been downsized. Validate your idea before scaling.
Step 4: Set Up the Business Basics
- Create a business email, a website or an online portfolio, and an invoicing system. I only work on a retainer basis and have for several years after learning the hard way with clients who did not pay.
- I use customized Gmails for my businesses, along with Google Workspace. It has every basic tool I need, and the price is right.
- If you are tech-savvy, you could build a website on Wix or Squarespace. However, WordPress is my go-to website platform, paired with Rank Math for SEO (available only for WordPress). I have learned much about SEO and keywords over the past decade (hence, the bonus for my resume and LinkedIn clients).
Read articles to compare and contrast website platforms on WPBeginner. Also, note that your choice of a website hosting platform can make or break whether you have a pleasant or frustrating experience.
- Consider registering an LLC or business name. It’s easy to set up an LLC by yourself in Pennsylvania and post your fictitious name filings in two news outlets. Get your Tax ID number ONLY from a .gov website.
- Take free workshops and engage in free mentoring from your local SCORE chapter. Not only have I been mentored by SCORE, but I have been on the Speaker’s Bureau since 2013. Check out my upcoming speaking events, and learn with me!
Step 5: Market Your Brand Strategically
- Refresh your resume and LinkedIn to reflect your hybrid professional identity and multiple roles.
- Showcase how your roles connect under a personal brand narrative, emphasizing the importance of your unique professional identity in the portfolio career landscape.
- Use “Experience” entries and a strategic “About” section to share your story and contact details.
Step 6: Grow Your Network and Visibility
- Engage on LinkedIn—comment with 13+ words BEFORE liking, and aim to post once every 18–24 hours at the most. Commenting on LinkedIn can create visibility, discoverability, and credibility, so spend 15 minutes or more daily commenting BEFORE making your own post.
- Join networking and career education groups like the Great Careers Network and Thought Leadership Branding Club.
- Stay active at virtual and in-person events to build your ecosystem and expand your network.
Step 7: Manage Your Time Like a Pro
- Use project management tools like Trello, Asana, or Google Calendar with color-coded time blocking for productivity or time open to reserve for client meetings.
- Sync your Calendly or equivalent scheduler so people can book meetings effortlessly.
- Balance your client demands, personal joy, and downtime. I prioritize my time using my annual pass at Disney and enjoying my daughter’s Disney Vacation Club. Yep I am a #DisneyNerd .
How to Present a Portfolio Career on LinkedIn
- Headline: List multiple specialties or roles to showcase your versatility. Craft a standout LinkedIn headline that reflects everything you do but with keywords and not titles like CEO or Founder.
- Experience Section: Separate each role or group them under a LinkedIn company page.
Example:
Your Company Name
Role 1
Role 2
Role 3
- About Section: Make your About section skimmable and scannable in a value-driven format. Include your contact links at the bottom for people not yet connected to you. Make it easy for them to reach out and do business.
- Content Strategy: Share updates, wins, behind-the-scenes insights, or helpful tips. Here are 57 LinkedIn post ideas.
- Visual Branding: Create a custom banner with your services or unique selling proposition (USP). Use Canva—it’s beginner-friendly. With these step-by-step instructions, you can create a custom banner in less than a half hour, even if you are not a graphic designer.
Final Thoughts
Portfolio careers are not a trend—they’re a lifestyle. With planning, the right mindset, and a strong personal brand, you can design a career that fits you, not the other way around.
If you’re ready to explore your portfolio career or want help building your LinkedIn profile content or company page online, I’m just a Calendly Book a Call away. I will add a Zoom link after you book!
Remember – A traditional job is a road; a portfolio career is a compass.
NEXT STEPS
- Subscribe to my newsletter on LinkedIn™ for bright ideas on how to manage your career.
- If you need a resume or LinkedIn™ profile to get you to your next step, book a call to chat! Can’t beat a free discovery call!
- Join as a member at https://greatcareers.org/membership of the #1 business networking association on the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Book of Lists five years in a row!
- To support our charity at KeepOnSharing.com and use the referral code Career
- Follow #GreatCareersPHL
BIO
Lynne M. Williams is the Executive Director of the Great Careers Network, a volunteer-run 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides career development and networking connections for 1) job seekers in career transition, including veterans, and 2) employed and self-employed for career management.
Aside from writing keyword-focused content for ATS resumes and LinkedIn profiles, Lynne is writing her doctoral dissertation on LinkedIn for Job Seekers. She is a contributing author on “Applying to Positions” in Find Your Fit: A Practical Guide to Landing the Job You Love, along with the late Dick Bolles, the author of What Color is Your Parachute?, and is also a speaker on career topics.
