In the last post, we talked
about encore careers—finding fulfillment in a second career helping others.
Today, I want to explore portfolio careers. I first encountered this concept while
researching life coaching. I had found my journey of self-discovery so
rewarding up to this point that I was considering whether I might enjoy helping
others through a career as a life coach. One coach indicated she often
recommends portfolio careers to her clients looking for a change. The more I
read, the more intrigued I became.
There’s nothing particularly
new about a portfolio career—it’s basically a career comprised of multiple
part-time jobs. In the early ‘90’s, British management consultant Charles Handy
coined the term and suggested that working full-time for a single employer
would go the way of the dinosaurs in the twenty-first century economy. His
prediction proved prescient, especially with the Great Recession gobbling up so
many full-time jobs. Many workers have been forced to piece together employment
from several part-time jobs or temporary assignments whether they want to or
not. As with encore careers, it can be difficult to replicate the income from a
full-time job, and then there’s the issue of benefits.
But what about a portfolio
career by choice? The prospect sounded increasingly attractive to me.
Since I had planned to
retire early (just not this early), I had already considered the issue of
health insurance. I had hoped to wait until OG qualified for Medicare, but since
that didn’t work out, we decided to elect COBRA benefits through my former
employer. The coverage is expensive, but comprehensive, and will cover OG until
he reaches sixty-five. At that point, if not before, I will need to purchase
individual coverage. For me, the Affordable Care Act couldn’t have come at a better
time.
That leaves the issue of
income and the decision about what I want to do with the rest of my life. I
could look for another job, but even ignoring the issue of age discrimination, every
fiber of my being resists the idea of working for someone else again. I have never
considered myself entrepreneurial, but I trust myself with my future more than
I trust anyone else. The time seems right to take the plunge into
self-employment.
I am lucky enough to have adequate
retirement savings but not quite old enough to tap into them without paying a penalty.
We have enough in the bank to cover our expenses for a number of months, so I intend
to make the most of that time preparing for my next career.
Many people who choose to
put together a portfolio career build off their prior professional experience. They
might consult in their previous field for a number of different clients or rely
on past contacts to establish a new business. I rejected that option
immediately. The thought of spending another hour working in insurance gives me
chills. But what else do I know how to do?
I know how to write. I’ve
written two award-winning novels and a novella and have another completed with several
more in the works. But because I know what’s involved, I had to ask myself whether
I have what it takes to be a full-time writer. The honest answer is no. I need
more variety. To do my best work I need to allow the creative well time to
refill. I know I want to continue writing, but that’s only the first part of my
portfolio career. Because I have gone through the self-evaluation process described
in my previous post, a couple of other ideas have been percolating in my brain.
I love the written word in
every form. I love to read; I love to write. I also love to edit. Not many
writers can say that, but it’s true for me. I’ve been professionally edited,
and I’ve edited other writers’ work. I know I would find it truly rewarding to
help independent authors present their best possible work to the world. The
second part of my new career will be freelance editing.
I have another love as well—art
and design. Along with writing and editing, I’m going to learn to design book
covers. I have a degree in Art History from Vassar College
