1272: [Part 2] What is a Portfolio Career & How to Build One by Daniella of I Like to Dabble on Monetizing your Skills

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[00:01:00] This is Optimal Work Daily Episode 1272.

[00:01:04] What is a portfolio career and how to build one?

[00:01:06] Part two by Daniella of iLikeToDouble.com.

[00:01:10] And I am your narrator, Dan. Welcome back to OWD.

[00:01:13] And if you heard me yesterday, you know that today is going to be a continuation episode.

[00:01:18] Part two from Episode 1271. If you haven't checked out that one yet,

[00:01:22] I would recommend going back and listening to yesterday's episode first.

[00:01:26] But if you are all caught up, let's get to the second half now as we continue optimizing your life.

[00:01:36] What is a portfolio career and how to build one?

[00:01:38] Part two by Daniella of iLikeToDouble.com

[00:01:43] The benefits of a portfolio career.

[00:01:46] There are quite a few benefits to having a portfolio career.

[00:01:49] Some of these include one, diversify your skillset and get to know your skills better.

[00:01:55] Two, increase your income.

[00:01:58] Three, test out different careers and jobs.

[00:02:01] Four, work remotely in your own business.

[00:02:04] Five, fulfillment from trying things that you are passionate and curious about.

[00:02:08] Six, protect your future as it keeps you flexible.

[00:02:12] And seven, more control over your skills, income and identity.

[00:02:17] The downsides to a portfolio career.

[00:02:20] With every positive, there is a negative.

[00:02:22] These are some of the caveats to a portfolio career.

[00:02:26] It may be difficult to keep your days balanced and organized.

[00:02:29] Work can be stressful with getting used to constantly pitching and marketing yourself,

[00:02:34] and your friends and family might not understand and discourage your efforts.

[00:02:38] How to start a portfolio career?

[00:02:41] I never officially launched my own portfolio career.

[00:02:44] When I wanted to try something new on the side of my day job in IT,

[00:02:48] I started googling those things I wanted to learn to see how to get started.

[00:02:52] There was a lot of self-teaching happening, and I did a lot of jumping in scared to learn new skills.

[00:02:57] I often sought out free resources I could find online for freelance writing and logging.

[00:03:02] Free online courses are also available for a wide variety of skills, jobs and business ideas.

[00:03:08] What's your why?

[00:03:11] No why you're exploring a portfolio career.

[00:03:14] Or are you doing it to brand yourself better for career opportunities?

[00:03:17] For flexibility?

[00:03:19] Or do you need help deciding a career path?

[00:03:21] This will help you plan out what you actually want to do,

[00:03:24] how you work, how you'll be successful and what success even means to you.

[00:03:30] What skills will you monetize?

[00:03:32] What do you like to do?

[00:03:34] When you think of all the skills you use at your day job,

[00:03:37] which ones would you still do happily for free?

[00:03:40] Those are the skills you can start thinking about monetizing.

[00:03:43] One example of monetizing a skill is writing.

[00:03:46] If you want to decide exactly what you would write to make money,

[00:03:49] think of a topic you enjoy talking about and that you can easily write about.

[00:03:53] You can freelance write in that subject, blog about that subject,

[00:03:57] write scripts for YouTubers in that subject, edit work for authors,

[00:04:01] or write your own works like eBooks or physical books.

[00:04:05] Look for a need to fill.

[00:04:07] If you want to stand out in the subject,

[00:04:09] you are monetizing your skill in, or otherwise called niche.

[00:04:13] Look for the gaps.

[00:04:15] What are people in your niche not talking about?

[00:04:18] Using the example previously given, what are writers in your niche not writing about?

[00:04:23] When you're thinking of a need to fill,

[00:04:25] you have to think who the need is even for.

[00:04:27] Who do you want to serve?

[00:04:29] Is there a takeout there that no one is talking about?

[00:04:32] Is there a way that you can connect with people that others can't?

[00:04:35] That is where you can start to find your people, potential clients, readers,

[00:04:39] whatever you call the people that appreciate your skill.

[00:04:43] Learn about branding and marketing.

[00:04:45] Once you have an idea of what you can offer and who you can offer it to,

[00:04:49] think about the packaging of it.

[00:04:51] This is called your branding and marketing.

[00:04:54] Branding is how you make your clients feel while your marketing is your messaging.

[00:04:58] Come up with a unique way that you help people in a way that others don't,

[00:05:03] something that makes you the go-to person in your niche.

[00:05:06] Build relationships.

[00:05:09] Your network is the most valuable part of your portfolio career.

[00:05:12] Maintain relationships with several contacts across the different work you do for mentorship,

[00:05:17] advice, to find work, clients or just stay connected.

[00:05:22] LinkedIn and Twitter seem to be the best routes for this in my current portfolio career.

[00:05:27] Your career is multifaceted.

[00:05:30] Your career is not something that has to remain fixed for your entire working life.

[00:05:34] It is forever changing and evolving.

[00:05:37] You're allowed to explore different things as you change and evolve alongside your work.

[00:05:42] Sometimes, you might even find yourself accidentally trying a portfolio approach to working

[00:05:47] as you found past work cultures to be too toxic to continue working in.

[00:05:51] When this happens, it can be stressful to try a new way of making money where more responsibility

[00:05:56] is on you to pitch clients for work versus a stable paycheck incoming every two weeks,

[00:06:02] regardless of how much work you did.

[00:06:04] When deciding on if you want to try a portfolio career,

[00:06:07] keep your mental health in mind and make sure to plan for rest.

[00:06:11] Whatever you decide to do, know that nothing is permanent.

[00:06:15] You can and should decide to do whatever feels the best for you wherever you are in your career

[00:06:21] and working situation.

[00:06:26] You just listened to part two of the post titled,

[00:06:29] What is a portfolio career and how to build one by Daniela of iLikeToDabble.com

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[00:08:48] And there you have it, part two of this great post from Daniela.

[00:08:52] And yesterday I mentioned some of what Daniela has been up to like the fact that she's gone

[00:08:56] from zero to 12 income streams in the past four years.

[00:09:00] But prior to that she was going through a lot. She endured back-to-back layoffs, had no

[00:09:05] savings and was living paycheck to paycheck. But now, in addition to her own work,

[00:09:09] she teaches thousands of others how to start and grow their own side hustles and businesses,

[00:09:13] get their money right, find remote work that aligns with what they really want to do

[00:09:18] and live their best life. So come by iLikeTheDouble.com to learn a lot more.

[00:09:23] And again, a big thank you to Daniela for letting us share her work.

[00:09:27] And that wraps up our two-part episode which I do hope you enjoyed.

[00:09:30] Thanks so much for being here and I'll see you once again tomorrow where your optimal life

[00:09:34] awaits.