There are so many ways to slash your career, but one way to think about how to pursue multiple careers is how to expand it. Do you go wide, deep, or wild?
What do I mean? Going wide means sticking to one discipline and applying different but related skills for different industries or markets. Going deep means sticking to one industry and applying different disciplines and unrelated skills within that industry or market. Going wild means doing different things in different industries. Let me give you some personal examples:
1. Go wide
This is all about sticking to one skill. Let’s say you are an independent marketing professional. Your marketing skills are diverse, ranging from branding and PR to digital and events. But they are all within the marketing discipline. You start off as a branding expert, helping consumer companies in their rebranding efforts. Then technology companies start calling, asking if you can do their PR campaigns. Then restaurant owners you know ask if you can help them with social media campaigns. And so on. You end up with a portfolio career that looks like this: branding expert/PR professional/social media marketer.
This was my portfolio career in the past. For a time, I was a writer/editor and I got to be known for that. I was a magazine editor, business journalist, technology writer, gadgets reviewer, travel writer, and lifestyle writer. I was a print and online editor and blogger. Later, I became a copywriter.
So you can go wide by doing different iterations of a broad skill across different industries. Are you a programmer? You can be a web developer/app developer/software programmer. Are you an accountant? You can be a CPA/financial analyst/management accountant. Are you a sales professional? You can be a real estate broker/financial advisor/network marketer. I know people who sell real estate and insurance. Are you a designer? You can become a graphic designer/fashion designer/cake designer/interior designer/photographer/furniture designer. I have a friend who is a graphic designer and web designer who transitioned into the cake business and is now a photographer, and she’s doing very well.
2. Go deep
The other option is to stick to one industry you know best and offer different, even unrelated, services for that industry. In other words, this is about sticking to one market niche. Let’s say you work in the banking industry for two decades, moving from accounts management to product development to training to corporate communications, so you know the ins and outs of banking. Now that you availed of early retirement, you decide to work as a consultant for the banking industry. With your diverse skill set, your portfolio career can look like this: marketing consultant/corporate trainer/communications professional for the banking sector.
This is my portfolio career at present. For years, I have been a personal finance advocate. And I had always wanted to transition to this. That started with MoneySense, the first and only personal finance magazine in the Philippines, launched in 2007. Then, after putting up Learning Curve, the conference and seminar business that my wife and I founded, somehow (but not surprisingly) we ended up doing a lot of personal finance-related events, including our flagship conference Money Summit & Wealth Expo. When we started getting inquiries from companies to conduct business and financial literacy programs for employees, we spun off TrainersHQ, a speakers and trainers bureau.
Then we got the license to run certification courses from the Digital Marketing Institute. We then expanded into corporate conferences when we were chosen as the Philippine partner for Singapore-based Marketing Magazine and Human Resources Magazine. That’s why my portfolio career looks like this right now: conference producer/editor-in-chief.
Are you in the non-profit sector? You can be a fund raiser/online marketer/PR professional for non-profits. Are you in the education sector? You can be a book publisher/app developer/web designer for schools. Are you in the restaurant industry? You can be a chef/business consultant/cookbook author/educator. Are you a marketing professional? You can start your own network marketing business, author marketing books, and run a marketing training company. I’m sure you have an idea who I’m referring to.
3. Go wild
If you have diverse skills as well as diverse interests across diverse industries, going wild may just be the portfolio career option for you. This is about not sticking to anything! Let’s say you’re a marketing consultant. But you also want to be an entrepreneur. So you put up your corporate giveaways business. But you’re also into yoga, so you start a yoga studio with friends and family. Now you’re a marketing consultant/corporate giveaways entrepreneur/yoga studio owner and teacher. They’re not even related but you all love to do them. This can work because this is a person I know.
This is also how I see my portfolio career in the future. I sketched a mind map of my interests and skills as well as the business and career opportunities I want to pursue. It’s literally all over the place. Just take a look at what I want to do:
- Financial planner
- Book author
- Book and e-book publisher
- Travel blogger
- Social entrepreneur
- E-commerce entrepreneur
- Real estate investor
- Stock and forex trader
- T-shirt entrepreneur
- Furniture maker
- Etc.
As you can see, that’s pretty wild! Of course, half of these will turn out to be not feasible, the other half will sputter after launch, and the remaining few might just end up successfully in my portfolio career. (Note: In fact, the original article had a longer list, which I already cut down by half!)
Are you an HR professional who happens to be a model and host? I know someone like that. He’s a top contact center HR executive but still does modeling and hosting gigs. Are you a real estate developer who loves food, writing, and hosting? You can guess who it is.
For personal branding purposes, it’s a lot easier to go wide or go deep and stick to your niche. But if you have so many passions and you want to try all of them, you can go wild and see what sticks.
Photo by Jeff Sheldon on Unsplash
