Escape the 9 to 5 job with a portfolio career. This may sound worse than a full time job to some! However, it can offer the answer to escape the monotony of a dull job, or a toxic corporate environment. Many people would prefer to juggle jobs which are lower paid, than to suck the nipple of a corporation! Low paid jobs can give you more flexibility and freedom in other ways, even if they don’t pay a huge amount.
My last post talked about escaping the 9 to 5 with a dream job. I found my dream job as a stuntman! But in order to achieve it, I juggled multiple low paid jobs so I wasn’t tied to 9 to 5 hours. This allowed me to do the training I needed for my dream job!
Escape 9 To 5 – Portfolio Income
A portfolio income is attractive because it gives you more choice. With a 9 to 5, (or even an 8 to 6, as is more commonly the case), you’re stuck through those hours. Plus, you’re trapped with a nasty commute too, in many cases. That means you give up the best hours of the day commuting to and from work, or stuck in the office. But with a few side hustles, it’s not the case. You can have a bar job in the evening, to free up your time in the day. You can build an income online through an online business, which is flexible hours.
To allow me to do the training for the stunt work, I juggled multiple jobs. I worked as a lifeguard, an office worker (data input), an HGV (heavy goods) driver and a taxi driver, among other roles. None of these jobs paid a huge wage. But, they allowed me more choice and freedom in other ways. This can be the answer if you want more time with your family. Or, if you want to work on a side hustle and your main job doesn’t give you time.
Escape 9 To 5 – Portfolio Income & Loyalty
One of the biggest pains in a career is the assumed loyalty you must have to the corporation or company. It’s true as well that you become dependent on your income, which makes you loyal! However, over time, this is emphasised by your employers and you become more and more trapped. It’s corporate culture to look forward to your salary each month and plan your pension. But what if you want out? Well now you have a family to feed, a mortgage to pay and a nice car in the drive! Your work colleagues all agree it’s much better to stay for the duration, so who are you to argue!?
It’s a risk to switch careers, particularly if you have so much already on the table. But consider lowering your hours instead. Or side stepping to another less demanding role. Now you have a lot more time available and a small money problem! But you can pick up a side hustle to fill the shortfall and this puts you in a less vulnerable position financially. In a full time position, you can always be fired! But once you have a couple of different income streams, you’re less trapped immediately.
Having multiple income sources gives you more autonomy. You’re less entrenched in a company who can fire you at any time if you don’t bark to their tune!
Building A Portfolio Income
Building a portfolio income takes time, but a good place to start is with a passion or interest if you have one. Many people make side hustles out of a passion for language, or playing a musical instrument. There’s many opportunities online now through various business models – Amazon, affiliate marketing, Shopify, print on demand and self publishing etc. Check out the free video series to learn more here. Uber of course springs to mind too, although there are costs involved in working for Uber, it offers a flexible way of working on a self employed basic.
Start with a single income source and build up your side hustle in your spare time. You may of course need to cut back on some expenses to allow you to change from working full time. But most people have a bunch of outgoings which they don’t really need – Netflix, gym membership and other subscriptions for example. To escape 9 to 5 life you have to make some sacrifices!
Why Build A Portfolio Income
A portfolio income gives you more choice and puts you back in the driving seat in your life. With a single source of income, you become very dependent on that source. You’re also vulnerable to losing it should you be made redundant. This is becoming more likely every day given the huge changes we are seeing in artificial intelligence (AI) in all sectors. Many jobs are disappearing because AI can do them better (and/or cheaper) than humans.
A portfolio income gives you more choice and flexibility. You can prioritise the things in your life which are important to you, such as family and free time, for example. Not everyone wants two holidays a year if if means working all hours and sitting in rush hour twice a day! A portfolio career means you can avoid long commutes and toxic work environments.
A portfolio career means you’re less controlled by a single boss – who holds all the purse strings. If put you back in charge of your time. Juggling two part time jobs might be preferable to a long commute and a high paying corporate position. Of course the money might be less, but you now have more time for spending with family, or building up another side hustle such as an online business.
Check out the free videos on this website to learn more about starting an online business.