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Portfolio career

What is a portfolio career?

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What is portfolio working and why is it growing?

Portfolio working is when an individual has multi strands rather than just one to their career. This trend has been growing for a while, fuelled by desire and also necessity post credit crunch.

With more competition in many professions, a portfolio career could be a sound choice.

Why is portfolio working growing?

  • People aren’t ‘one-dimensional’ and fit in a box, they have different skills and interests
  • The job for life is dead as a concept – a portfolio career helps you create your career as you want it
  • A current shortage of full time jobs has led to more part time jobs, creating a financial shortfall that needs to be filled
  • The younger generation actively seek more variety than the older generations
  • People are now more used to choice and like the idea that they can design their career as they wish
  • More people are seeking meaning and purpose, and a portfolio career enables people to earn money and give back
  • Mixing employment and self-employment reduces the perceived risk of going it alone 100%
  • More companies are seeing contracts and projects as a wise solution without increasing headcount, giving you the scope to have a portfolio career

5 Tips to explore portfolio working

  1. Know your financial break even and how much money you need to feel secure and have peace of mind
  2. Create efficient systems as multi career strands can take more time to manage
  3. Plan time for marketing to line up the next contract/retainer and create a financial buffer in case things change unexpectedly
  4. Get advice from people doing portfolio working so you understand the pros and cons
  5. Know your values and needs/wants so that you can ensure that a portfolio career is the right choice to give you fulfilment not stress

The brand called You – why you need a personal brand

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Personal branding is becoming not just more important, but essential. Increasingly employees and consultants for projects will be resourced online via ‘Trip Advisor style’ sites. Just as videos and infographics have grown in importance to provide communication cut-through online, so defining your personal brand is a modern way to stand out.

Picture a sea of faces on a resourcing or recruitment web site for lawyers. An avatar (head-shot of you), and a couple of sentences maximum to get the message across, plus ratings about you from previous clients, employers and peers.

A busy executive looks at the site to find someone for an exciting career enhancing project or contract. How will you stand out and be chosen from the hundreds of choices? What will make the browser notice you in a good way so you are on their initial resourcing or recruitment list? Or will you be invisible – your online profile showcasing your high-quality experience not even read, because you didn’t get past the first hurdle.

So what is a personal brand and why is it so important for the future of work?

A personal brand is the territory you occupy in the minds and hearts of your target audience. It gets you noticed in a good way and positions you as the ‘go-to person’ for your specialism or niche.

The wording of your personal brand is crucial. The best personal brands are memorable, relevant and emotive. Articulating your personal brand in just three words follows in-depth analysis of yourself and the needs of your target audience, plus emerging trends, takes time and thought.

Articulate your brand in just three words.

Many people find it hard to create their own personal brand because they are so close to themselves that they can’t see their own unique talents. Synthesising, distilling and articulating the essence of you and the gift you bring to others in just a few words is a skill in itself.

Here are some pertinent quotes about personal branding.

“All of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.” Tom Peters in Fast Company.

“Building a profitable personal brand online is not a sprint, and something that happens overnight. Don’t aim for perfection early on. Instead allow your brand to evolve naturally over time and focus on providing massive value and over deliver to your target audience. Then you will get more clear over your message and brand as well.“ Navid Moazzez.

“Personal branding is about managing your name — even if you don’t own a business — in a world of misinformation, disinformation, and semi-permanent Google records. Going on a date? Chances are that your ‘blind’ date has Googled your name. Going to a job interview?” Tim Ferriss.

“If you don’t give the market the story to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you.” David Brier.

“Branding demands commitment; commitment to continual re-invention; striking chords with people to stir their emotions; and commitment to imagination. It is easy to be cynical about such things, much harder to be successful.” Sir Richard Branson.

My personal brand is ‘Talent Liberator’. I do what it says on the tin. Originally at the beginning of my business 20 years ago, my personal brand was ‘Energising Connector’ which was an accurate summary of what I do, but it lacks the emotive quality which makes a better personal brand.

Here are some examples of personal brands:

‘Network Navigator’ – a networking specialist

‘The Body Coach’ – a personal trainer

‘The Clean Food Coach’ – an expert in natural food to stay healthy

‘Mr Loophole’ – a lawyer who specialises in getting celebrities out of driving bans.

‘The Book Midwife’ – a writing coach who helps her clients to self-publish a book

‘Insight Integrator’ – A strategist specialising in insight to inform an integrated strategy

‘Career Sherpa’ – a job search coach for the digital age

‘Miss Masala’ – an Indian cook and food writer

Make time to think about and create your personal brand. It takes time, but is one of the best investments you will ever make to attract the work you really want.

If you would like to receive information about Energise Personal Branding individual mentoring service, please e mail me. Thanks! https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/portfolio/connect/

10 pros of a portfolio career

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A career portfolio or portfolio career has many pros. I have thought of over 70. Here are 10 of mine for now:

  1. Doing what I want
  2. No week ever the same
  3. Always learning
  4. Planning my own tasks around the sunny weather
  5. The ability to be spontaneous
  6. Taking a day off if I feel like it
  7. Avoiding rush hour
  8. Avoiding queues and busy times in shops
  9. The variety and stimulation of varied work
  10. Getting better value train fares from travelling off peak

What would be your biggest pro from a portfolio career?

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/ Download your copy of our free report ‘Discover portfolio careers’:

The ‘push me’, ‘pull you’ of a portfolio career

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Question for you.

How do you know when to edit or evolve your portfolio career?

I was reflecting on this recently during a career retreat and came to the conclusion that there are ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors.

‘Push’ factors are negative things that cause you to re-evaluate.  ‘Pull’ factors are things that attract you so ‘pull’ you to want to change the mix of your portfolio career.

Top 11 ‘Push’ factors

  • Low satisfaction or fulfillment
  • Doesn’t help you to progress or grow
  • Poor money for the effort/time
  • More competition for work
  • Doesn’t fit your career vision
  • Bored of doing the same work
  • Technology replacing demand
  • Trend to in-house from freelance
  • Stressful or feels like hassle
  • Doesn’t fit with your personal values
  • Unreasonable deadlines or demands

Top 11 ‘Pull’ factors

  • Builds your career capital
  • Learn a new skill
  • Stimulating new challenge
  • Broaden your network
  • Good money
  • Emerging new work area
  • Work you can do flexibly
  • Work you can do from home
  • Project with people you like
  • New ‘string to your bow’
  • Aligns with your longer-term vision

What would be your top 3 ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors?

Defining your own portfolio career ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors helps you to screen work options and feel clear about what projects you say ‘yes’ to and ‘no’ to.

Interested in a portfolio career?

Download our free report ‘Discover Portfolio Careers’:

Who is a portfolio career for?

Vanessa Vallely’s portfolio career – guest blog the sequel

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This week, it is International Women’s Day on 8 March, so a fitting time to post this guest blog about a woman who does so much to support women.

About Vanessa Vallely

Vanessa Vallely is one of the UK’s most well-networked women and has provided keynotes on a variety of career related topics for over 250 companies worldwide. Vanessa is also one of the UK’s most prominent figures in gender equality and often provides guidance and consultancy to both government and corporate organisations who are seeking to attract, develop and retain their female talent.

At the height of her successful 25 year career in financial services, Vanessa launched the award winning WeAreTheCity.com in 2008 as a vehicle to help corporate women connect and grow professionally and personally. WeAreTheCity.com now has over 60,000 members and in 2013 launched a sister site in India.

Vanessa is also the founder of UK wide diversity forum Gender networks (formerly The Network Of Networks, or ‘TNON’) which brings together diversity leaders from over 120 firms to share best practice.  Vanessa is the author of the book “Heels of steel: Surviving and Thriving in the Corporate World’ which tracks her career and shares 13 chapters of tips to succeed in the workplace.

Over the past seven years, she has been named Women in Banking and Finance’s Champion for Women, Financial News Top 100 Rising Star, The International Alliance for Women Top 100 Women globally and Brummells Top 30 entrepreneurs. In 2015 Vanessa was in GQ UK’s Top 100 Connected Women and The Evening Standard’s 100 Most Influential Londoners. Vanessa is a regular guest on TV and radio and also sits on the Government Digital Services Advisory Board.

Vanessa is also The Pearly Queen of The City of London, a tradition that has been in her family for over 100 years. She is an avid charity worker and sits on the board for Cancer Research UK as one of its Women of Influence.

Keynotes and workshops include The Power of Profile, The Power of Social Media, The Big Brand Theory, Speed Networking, Pay it Forward and Manage your Career.

What headline sums up 2016 for you?

BeBoldForChange, which is this year’s IWD theme.  Both I and WeAreTheCity pushed our boundaries last year and took risks to introduce new things we wanted to do.  I personally learnt to respect my time and that if I was to be able to take on new things, that I had to let some other things go!

What has changed in the last 12 months?

I have lots more help at WeAreTheCity which has taken the pressure off of me to come up with ideas and mobilise our initiatives.  Our client base has grown substantially as has our reach to working women.  In 2016, we ran the Rising Star awards in India and we introduced a new conference for Women in Technology, WeAreTechWomen. Both were substantial projects which we needed to fit in with an already packed annual calendar of activities and events.

How did any change come about?

From a professional perspective, I think we just decided to take more risks. We stepped in to markets we previously had no presence in, lucky for us what we brought to the table was a little bit different.  I think having such a strong team at WeAreTheCity means there is no end of ideas of things we can do, it is just a case of prioritising what we do and ensuring that we focus on projects that will have the biggest impact for working women.

What is the significance of this change for you?

We are growing at pace! Which is great, but it also means that we have to adapt and be flexible to change. WeAreTheCity started in 2008 as a part time hobby whilst both me and my husband were working full time.  Now it is an organisation that works with over 100 clients, with 9 staff who service over 72,000 working women, 8 million website visitors per month, whilst running two, soon to be three sets of awards as well as 20 events and 2 conferences per year! It’s a tall order for a small team, but we absolutely love what we do so it doesn’t feel like a job or hard work.

What next for you in 2017?

WeAreTheCity are in the middle of canvassing for nominations for this year’s Rising Star awards in the UK as well as planning our forthcoming conference, WeAreFutureLeaders.  The back end of the year is all about women in technology, which includes our WeAreTechWomen conference and our new tech awards.  My personal focus for 2017 is the growth of WeAreTheCity and introducing further projects and programmes that will help working women in the pipeline to achieve their potential. I am still speaking regularly at corporate organisations, charities and schools as well as being committed to a number of boards and advisory groups.  It will no doubt be another busy year, but I am excited and very much up for the challenge.

Thanks to Vanessa Vallely for making the time to write a guest blog for Energise – The Talent Liberation Company.

More:

Web site

http://www.vanessavallely.com/

LinkedIn profile

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessavallely/

We Are The City

http://www.wearethecity.com/

Career Club

http://www.wearethecity.com/careers-club/

Twitter

@WATC_Girl

Read Vanessa Vallely original guest blog part 1 for Energise. 9 January 2016

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vanessa-vallely-guest-blog-part-1-rachel-brushfield

Read Vanessa Vallely original guest blog part 2 for Energise. 9 January 2016

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vanessa-vallely-guest-blog-part-2-rachel-brushfield

Interested in a portfolio career?

Free report: Discover Portfolio Careers:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Free report: Find out your transferable Skills

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/what-is-a-portfolio-career/

Free report: Pain free career change

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/talent-liberation/

Web site – Inspiring Portfolio Careers

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/

Are you a Woman Lawyer seeking a portfolio career?

http://www.llclub.org/

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/energiseliberateyourtalent/

Twitter

@TalentLiberator

Are you a senior woman employed in an Oxfordshire company or firm? We run our own cross sector/profession network PWHub – Inspiring Professional Women for you with quarterly events:

http://www.pwhub.org.uk/

View our chapter on gender balance for The International Bar Association/Globe Law and Business.  (2013)

http://www.energiselegal.com/published/books/managing-talent-for-success-talent-development-in-law-firms/

Funke Abimbola’s Portfolio Career – the sequel part 2

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This is a 2 part guest blog for Energise by Funke Abimbola about her portfolio career. This is part 2.

Funke Abimbola is a multi-award winning Lawyer/TEDx Speaker/TV contributor/Diversity Leader/Patron/Board member and proud mother. She is currently General Counsel and Head of Financial Compliance at Roche UK.

To read part 1 of this guest blog, please click on this link.

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/funke-abimbolas-portfolio-career-sequel-part-1/

How did any change come about?

I made a conscious decision to say “yes” to as many opportunities as possible in 2016, especially where I was taken outside my comfort zone. Although I was unbelievably busy in 2016, the year led to unparalleled opportunities not only for me but for countless others within my sphere of influence.

What is the significance of this change for you?

By saying “yes” to everything, I am in a much better place to recognise my boundaries and to know what I need to prioritise during 2017. Importantly, I now know what to say “no” to going forwards without feeling guilty in saying “no”! Last year was another year of development and key learnings for me and my team.

What next for you in 2017?

I started 2017 with another promotion – from 1st January, my role at Roche expanded to include heading up our financial compliance function. As General Counsel & Head of Financial Compliance, I continue to lead on legal and corporate compliance for the Roche UK pharmaceutical business, sitting on several senior leadership teams and providing legal support in the UK, Ireland, Malta and Gibraltar. In addition, I have also gained responsibility for all financial compliance matters for the UK pharmaceutical business including overseeing and leading on internal financial audits, internal financial testing (ICFR) and other financial controls that maintain the integrity of the organisation’s financial systems. This is a first within our organisation so a key priority for me is to embed my expanded team and to ensure that we all continue to develop together.

In terms of my external, voluntary diversity work, 2017 has started on a very promising note. I was listed in the law section of Debretts 500 (together with Supreme Court President, Lord Neuberger, Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale, and others) as being one of the most influential people in Britain because of the impact of my diversity work within the legal profession. In January, I took part in my first panel discussion event as Patron of UCLU’s Leadership and Management Society. The discussion was called “How to embrace your diversity and lead’ and I was joined on the panel by a number of colleagues and friends in senior leadership roles. Collectively, we shared our wisdom and experience with the students and other attendees. The event was a huge success and I continue to receive inspirational messages from those who attended, thanking us for our contributions and the impact we made.

I have been interviewed for a book being published by Harper Collins in Spring 2018. Called ‘Slay in your lane’, the book will be a guide to life for black British women. It was a real honour to be approached as one of the black women being interviewed for this ground-breaking publication. Others being interviewed include actress Thandie Newton, GQ publisher Vanessa Kingori MBE and Karen Blackett OBE, Chairwoman of MediaCom.

International Women’s Month (March) is always really busy for me and this year is no different. I have a range of engagements in my diary including delivering a keynote speech at my alma mater, Newcastle Law School, as part of the Inspirational Women in Law project and the 2017 Freedom of the City celebrations marking 50 years since Martin Luther King was given an honourary degree by Newcastle University. I am also partnering with Speakers4Schools and INTO University and will be speaking to a group of school students about my career journey, providing mentoring and work experience opportunities to them. I will be interviewing a high profile speaker to mark International Women’s Day itself in my capacity as an advisory board member of Women in Law London, a large network supporting the progression of women lawyers in the UK. I am speaking at the Solid Woman conference at the British Council as part of an initiative to empower and upskill women from a minority ethnic background. Another highlight in March will be speaking to a large group of school children from a BAME background at the House of Commons, providing guidance and advice about their future career options.

In May, I will be part of a panel of senior leaders at WeAreTheCity’s first ever leadership conference in May called WeAreFutureLeaders. Founded in 2008 by Vanessa Vallely, WeAreTheCity is a free, centralised hub for professional women who want to progress in their careers, enhance their skills and build their networks. WeAreTheCity has 42,000 members, 80% of whom are professional women. WeAreFutureLeaders will be held at Simmons and Simmons, a leading international law firm. The aim of the conference is to equip its female attendees with the skills they need to progress to leadership positions. I am looking forward to being part of the panel, including providing speed mentoring to attendees.

Later on this year, I will be judging the Inclusive Network Awards and This Is Me Awesome 100 nominations, recognising inspiring individuals who have given back and made their mark in our community. I am also one of the judges for the third We are the City Rising Star awards, a unique awards programme that recognises the pipeline of female talent across a range of industries.

Throughout 2017, I will continue to appear on BBC 1 as part of the world news review team, providing expert commentary on topical news items. In addition, I am being considered for another TEDx talk taking place this summer.

Yet to be scheduled is an important meeting at number 10 Downing Street. Suffice to say that the Prime Minister and I are struggling to align our diaries at present but we will get there!

Anything else you would like to add?

Whilst 2016 was, undoubtedly, a year of tremendous successes for me, it is also important to add that I made my fair share of mistakes last year too. Learning from mistakes is an essential part of being a leader and there were some key learnings for me throughout the year. I feel empowered to improve even more during 2017 and remain committed to increasing my influence and impact in the process.

The final thing to mention is that my teenaged son signed up to UN Women’s HeforShe campaign in 2016. He had noticed that the girls in his class were very capable but lacked confidence and did not always put their hands up in lessons, even when they knew the answer. He has committed to empowering the girls and supporting their confidence, quite remarkable for a teenager. I really hope that more male gender champions are encouraged and inspired to follow his example!

Funke’s LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/funkeabimbola

Follow Funke on Twitter @diversitychamp1

https://twitter.com/DiversityChamp1

Interested in a portfolio career? Download your free report Discover Portfolio Careers:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Follow us on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Funke Abimbola’s Portfolio Career – the sequel part 1

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This is a 2 part guest blog for Energise by Funke Abimbola about her portfolio career. This is part 1.

Funke Abimbola is a multi-award winning Lawyer/TEDx Speaker/TV contributor/Diversity Leader/Patron/Board member and proud mother. She is currently General Counsel and Head of Financial Compliance at Roche UK.

What headline summed up last year, 2016 for you?

The year I said “yes” to (almost) everything.

What has changed in the last 12 months?

Within my career as a senior lawyer and leader for Roche, I was promoted to General Counsel & Company Secretary in December 2015. My key priority during 2016 was to develop into my new role. Two other members of my team were also promoted at the end of 2015. As a team, we have been involved in a number of core initiatives across the UK & Ireland pharmaceutical business and have developed together, making best use of our strengths as a team and learning from our mistakes and other areas for improvement. I am so proud to have seen my team receive recognition through a range of awards programmes including the Legal Business Awards, the Lawyer Awards, the British Legal Awards, the Law Society Excellence Awards and the Global Equality & Diversity Awards. In addition, 2 members of my team have won individual awards for their outstanding work, a source of tremendous pride for me. I thrive on seeing my team members flourishing and maximising their potential.

Also within Roche, I was filmed for our employee pride video called ‘Everybody In’, sharing my perspective on why I am so proud to work for Roche. The diversity within our UK organisation is very proudly showcased throughout the video. I was part of a small team of colleagues working on producing a report highlighting the overall impact of our organisation in the UK, including the impact of our diverse talent pool. The report was successfully launched earlier this year.

My voluntary diversity work went from strength to strength in 2016 as my influence broadened and became more widely recognised. Roche recognised me as a ‘Volunteer Superhero’ early in 2016, commending me for the impact of all my voluntary diversity and inclusion work. I now partner with the organisation’s global head of diversity and inclusion, providing my insights and guidance on our global D&I strategy.

I successfully launched the Akindolie Medical Scholarship in April in memory of my father, Dr. Frank Akindolie, a gifted, German-trained doctor who died over 4 years ago. The scholarship is privately funded and is aimed at supporting UK BAME medical students, comprising both a bursary award and leadership mentoring. My family and I were able to award the inaugural scholarship to an exceptional medical student at the British Medical Association in September.

I have continued to support the Law Society’s diversity agenda by providing keynote speeches at several Women Lawyers Division and Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division events, together with providing mentoring and networking support. I have partnered with the current Law Society president to further the race agenda amongst all practising solicitors in England and Wales.

I have been appointed as Patron of BAME and other philanthropic initiatives this year  – Power Up, an initiative focused on upskilling and empowering BAME professionals, the Interlaw Diversity BAME Forum, with a focus on BAME lawyers and the Asian Voice Charity Awards. I was appointed as the first ever patron of UCLU’s Leadership and Management Society, the fastest growing society at UCLU and the only one devoted to leadership development. In August, I agreed to become Ambassador for the Precious Awards, supporting and recognising women of colour.

Throughout 2016, I spoke to and inspired over 2,000 school children, sharing my personal leadership journey with them and encouraging them to overcome challenges to maximise their potential. Following each talk, I followed up with those students who were interested in work experience and tapped into my network to secure opportunities for them. I also spoke in Parliament, at the Open University, within a number of corporates and at several law firms, all with the same consistent message that embracing diversity and inclusion is not only the right thing to do but makes good business sense and helps organisations to maintain their competitive edge. I was privileged to be one of the keynote speakers at the National Diversity Awards reunion event in February, having won the Gender Role Model award in 2015.

In June, I spoke at my first TEDx event sharing my personal story of overcoming various challenges. I was an expert contributor to David Lammy MP’s review into the criminal justice system and have also provided expert advice to the Ministry of Justice on a number of issues.

I became a Senior Advisory Board Member of Aspiring Solicitors, the UK’s largest diversity platform and resource within the legal profession and will be mentoring female BAME future lawyers going forwards. I was appointed as an advisory board member of Women in Law London, the largest network for pre-partnership women solicitors working in private practice and in-house. By providing strategic input and vision to the network, I am contributing towards extending the network’s influence and impact.

I held the first leadership conference for my own women’s network, Women Leaders in Life Sciences Law, in September 2016. The theme of the conference was ‘Letting down ladders’ and the conference was a huge success with many delegates flying in from overseas and demand already high for our 2017 conference.

I was privileged to have judged a number of award programmes in 2016  and was recognised through a range of award programmes myself including Divas of Colour, Women4Africa, We are the City, Women of the Future, European Diversity Awards, Lift Effects and CA Awards. It was a real highlight of the year to be awarded ‘Point of Light’ status by Prime Minister, Theresa May, recognising the impact of my voluntary diversity work in improving workplace diversity across the UK and in inspiring thousands of school children. Incredibly, I am now on the Prime Minister’s Christmas card list too!

My leadership and legal expertise were also recognised on 3 powerlists in 2016 – the UPStanding powerlist (ranked as being a top 20 BAME leader globally), Powerful Media’s Powerlist (top 100 leader of African/Afro-Caribbean descent in the UK) and Legal Business magazine’s GC Powerlist 2016 (top general counsel within the life sciences/healthcare sector).

I have been interviewed by several magazines and media outlets including the Law Society Gazette, The Guardian and the International Bar Association. Following an interview with BBC journalist Sally Bundock, I was invited to be a part of the BBC’s team of volunteer expert news reviewers and now regularly appear on BBC 1 discussing a range of world news topics.

I also took part in the Law Society’s ‘Solicitor Brand’ media campaign and was filmed for this campaign, sharing my personal story about how and why I became a solicitor and what being a solicitor means to me.

Funke’s LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/funkeabimbola

Follow Funke on Twitter @DiversityChamp1

https://twitter.com/diversitychamp1

Interested in a portfolio career? Download your free report Discover Portfolio Careers:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Follow us on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

 

 

Nicola Manning’s portfolio career part 2 of 2

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nicola-manning

This is part 2 of a 2 part guest blog by Nicola Manning.

Here is the link to part 1 in case you missed it.

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/nicola-mannings-portfolio-career/

How has your portfolio career changed over time?

I’ve only been working part time at McMillan Williams since last year so it’s early days as far as my portfolio career is concerned, but I’ve certainly benefited from part time working to enable me to devote time to the Guild of Entrepreneurs in its own start-up phase which has been a fantastic opportunity.

When people ask you ‘what do you do?’ – what do you reply?

It depends I suppose, on how they have met me and which career emphasis feels more appropriate at that juncture – and how much time they have to hear the “full works concert” I guess!

To what extent did your portfolio career happen by chance/luck and to what extent was it planned?

Not planned (by me) at all but I believe strongly in destiny and I would simply say that I rose to meet my destiny (not always the straightest or most comfortable path) as various life events were placed in my path for me either to seize or to turn away from and it’s turned out all right!

What do you most love about having a portfolio career?

Variety!  I am and always have been hugely active and a multi-tasker, so it is just playing to my strengths I guess!

What are the challenges of having a portfolio career?

Having enough hours in the day to do everything sometimes.  I’m often replying to emails at 5am or midnight!  But it usually works out OK.

Who or what helps you to manage your portfolio career?

No-one but me but I’m pretty well organised with my time after having brought up 5 children and ran compliance across what was latterly 17 separate office locations.

How do you approach marketing your portfolio career?

It’s more about marketing me as the brand I think, and I find that people will approach me if they feel that there is something I can do to add value to their own project or initiative.

What if any, is the personal brand used for your portfolio career?

See above.

What skills/experience/qualities does someone need to have a portfolio career?

Experience in running and managing businesses (especially being part of the senior management team at MW during its massive expansion and change programme from 2008-2014) and my life experiences good and bad, have helped shape my own career hugely.

What advice would you give to someone considering a portfolio career?

Use every opportunity to make a difference somewhere!  Not always easy/possible when you are stuck in an employment situation and possibly not able to reach your true potential as a result.  You will know when the time is right for you.

What benefits do portfolio careers bring specifically to women and mothers, rather than to men?

Flexibility outside the restraints of 9-5 (if you’re lucky) office work but it ought to work just as efficiently for men too!

What are your top 5 tips to successfully manage a portfolio career?

  • Try not to compartmentalise your different roles too much or you may miss things that have the potential to join up activities and projects, with others.
  • Keep your energy and enthusiasm alive for all that you are doing and if you lose that in any area, you probably need to find a different project or role.
  • Likewise, don’t focus too much on one project or role to the detriment of the others.
  • Aim for a “bigger picture” involvement rather than overtly focused on detail otherwise it’s probably too weighted and not suitable as part of a portfolio anyway.
  • Always look for opportunities wherever you go and whomever you meet.

More

View Nicola Manning’s LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolamanning

Interested in a portfolio career?

Want to create your own portfolio career? Click on this link:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/

Download your free report ‘Discover portfolio careers’:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Download your free report ‘Pain free career change’:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/testimonials/

Unsure what your transferable skills are, download your free report ‘Skills’ from this web page:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/what-is-a-portfolio-career/

Read more guest bloggers accounts of their portfolio career:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/blog/

Woman solicitor interested in a portfolio career?

Visit our web site specifically for women solicitors LLClub:

http://www.llclub.org/

Nicola Manning’s portfolio career – part 1 of 2

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nicola-manning

This is part 1 of a 2 part guest blog by Nicola Manning about her portfolio career. This is part 1.

What are the components of your portfolio career e.g. study, paid freelance work, part time job, volunteering etc.)

I work two days per week as Chargé d’affaires (an ambassadorial and project specific role) for busy and successful law firm McMillan Williams Solicitors Limited (I was formerly its Chief Professional Officer and Head of Risk and Compliance for 12 years).  Within my work for MWSL I also sit on the Law Society Council; the Society’s Legal Affairs and Policy Board, and its Equality Diversity and Inclusion Committee so am actively involved in professional strategy and policy on a number of levels.  I am currently in my second (of 4 year terms) term of office as a Council member.

I’ve been the appointed Court of Protection/Office for the Public Guardian Deputy to over 100 patients who are unable to manage their own affairs for the past 7 years.  I am currently working with a care provider to look at rolling out a nationwide package of financial and estate planning in-house.

I also work with legal risk and compliance and PII companies on a consultancy basis ad hoc, to assist practices to get prepared for Lexcel accreditation and also to give advice about enhancing their diversity and CSR practices to maximise business development opportunities.

I am the CEO and majority shareholder of a trading company in Ghana, West Africa, trading in our own leading brands of sanitary towels and nappies which are imported from China to Africa.  Within that role, I am also involved in a charitable project with Breast Care International in Ghana, to whom my company donates funds, and we are working with BCI to raise further funds to provide for all secondary school pupils (male and female) to be educated to raise awareness and bust (pardon the pun) cultural myths about breast cancer to break the country’s cycle of fear and ignorance across an entire generation.

I am actively looking to expand our trading to other African territories and also looking at some environmental based projects in Africa and in UK.

I am a Founder member and Court Assistant at the Guild of Entrepreneurs, one of the City of London’s newest Guilds and an aspirant Livery company.  The Guild Court is equivalent to its Board of Directors and I am actively involved in its Education and Outreach, and Membership committees.  This is a volunteer role.

I am currently working on several potential new business projects through my interaction with the Guild.  I love joining things and people up!

I am a dual- qualified Usui Rei-ki and Karuna ® Rei-ki practitioner and a Master Teacher in both, qualified to attune others and to run courses to bring this wonderful healing energy to the attention of interested others.  I am also a qualified Munay-Ki practitioner and teacher (this is another form of energy healing) and I work with crystals for healing purposes as well.

I am a licensed psychometric analyst (Success Dynamics, Level 1)

How did your portfolio career come about?

After 12 years at the compliance and management coalface within MW, and having been forced to make a decision in 2011 (on the sudden death of my ex partner abroad and a threat from a third party to take illegal control of my company) to go back and fight to keep it, once I had it back in 2012, I then decided over the next 12 months, to devote more time to running it and exploring other business opportunities arising, rather than working solely for one employer and running myself ragged trying to run a company abroad, still work full time as a lawyer and also bring up a young child on my own.

Part 2 of Nicola Manning’s guest blog about her portfolio career coming soon.

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View Nicola Manning’s LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolamanning

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