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I was fortunate enough to be taught by Professor Charles Handy, who is credited with coming up with the idea of the portfolio career, when I was studying at London Business School in the early 80’s and I have a vivid memory of him talking to us about this idea of not pursuing one career path. At the time it seemed really quite revolutionary – the idea that we could pursue a professional journey that combined multiple part-time roles, freelance work, projects, or even launch multiple businesses, rather than relying on a single full-time job.
In the decades since, the rise of digital technology, the post-Covid explosion in remote working, and economic uncertainty leading to the growth of the “gig economy” have made portfolio careers increasingly viable and attractive to many people. My daughter who is a doctor tells me that medics, especially GP’s, are now encouraged to think about adding other, non-medical, paid roles as a way of avoiding burnout and keeping themselves engaged and energised.
As some of us with ‘more than a few miles on the clock’ realise that ageism in the workplace is rampant and that our job applications indicating we are fifty years old or more, don’t event merit the courtesy of a response, perhaps embarking on a portfolio career, rather than search for that next job, might be a way for us to take back some control over our lives.
Firstly, a bit of terminology. There is now an array of different terms for those who don’t have a single source of employment. There have always been “freelancers”, people who offer their time and expertise on a project basis for an agreed fee. Now we are seeing the rise of what’s called “fractional employment”, and “solopreneurs”.
Fractional employment is different to being a freelancer. Here the individual offers their experience, skills and a percentage of their time to one or more companies on an on-going basis. Fractional employment can be particularly appealing to SME’s who, for example, require a CFO, but can’t afford to employ an experienced CFO on a full-time basis. However, a “fractional CFO” tends to only offer CFO skills and services and doesn’t tend to also work as teacher, carpenter or healthcare worker at the same time…that would be termed a portfolio career. Another popular term is “solopreneur” - someone who starts and runs a business entirely on their own, without co-founders or employees.
So, what are the benefits and drawbacks of pursuing a portfolio career, in particular for older people?
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of a portfolio career is the flexibility it offers. Unbeholden to a single employer, we can have greater control over our time, workload, and types of projects we might take on. This autonomy allows us to shape our working life around personal life priorities, such as care-giving, travel, or health. As we get older and realise that we don’t want to spend all our time in the office only to be kicked out of the door once we hit our sixties, taking control becomes increasingly appealing.
Another benefit is that working across multiple sectors can be intellectually stimulating and allow for continual development of our skills. Portfolio professionals often describe their work as more engaging because they’re not repeating the same tasks every day. A portfolio of roles might allow us to blend creative, strategic, and operational roles—developing cross-functional expertise that can in turn make us highly adaptable and adds to our value as employees across different sectors.
Another advantage of the portfolio career (versus fractional employment) is that having multiple income streams can provide financial security in uncertain economic times (are times ever economically certain these days?). If one project or client dries up, others can fill the gap. In this sense, a portfolio career offers built-in risk mitigation. This was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, where professionals with diversified income streams were often better able to weather the economic storm.
Portfolio careers allow us to structure our work around what matters most to us. We might balance some remunerative corporate work with running an eco-friendly e-commerce business or mentoring young entrepreneurs. This might have particular appeal to us older workers who want to “give something back” alongside the necessity of earning a living.
Of course, the portfolio career isn’t for everyone. For some, the certainty of a monthly pay slip from an employer is of paramount importance. A portfolio of jobs usually lacks the pensions, paid holiday, or health insurance that a full-time job might offer. Managing a portfolio of roles unsurprisingly demands more personal management of time and finances. It’s easy (and I speak here from personal experience!) to forget to put aside money for tax and NI and that your gross/pre-tax income isn’t all there to be spent….
If you are interested in the idea of a portfolio career, there are a number of resources/communities on-line. Take a look at The Portfolio Collective or The Liberti Group.
