I’m running the second beta round of my Just Start cohort! There are 10 spots available, and I’ve extended the deadline to tonight EST to sign up for the waitlist for $100 off.

Back when I lived in San Francisco, I went to a lot of house parties.

I was in my early 20s and met both new and familiar faces at each one.

At some point, I’d integrate myself into a new group and the question would come up, usually rather quickly, “So… what do you do for work?”

For a while I was really proud of what I did.

When I was in consulting, I got to travel all around the US.

When I got a new job at Slack, a hot tech company, I was also proud to tell everyone.

But after COVID, things changed for me.

I moved to NYC in April 2021 and hopped to a new company with the same title later that fall.

If I was getting paid 20% more and living in NYC by myself, shouldn’t I be happier?

I realized that when I went to new parties and met new people, I wasn’t excited to talk about work. My energy would shift. I’d avoid going into details.

That’s because instead of feeling proud—like my work actually mattered—it felt like the only reason I was doing it was for the paycheck.

But I didn’t know who I was without my job title. How would I introduce myself at parties if I couldn’t succinctly say I was a “Product Marketing Manager in Tech”?

What I realized after leaving my full-time job is that I did have a lot of other things going for me besides my core title.

This theme was apparent in my full-time job, too. I’d raise my hand on a new project because I wanted to grow and learn a new skill. And I found the same applies for me today.

If you’ve opened this email, you’re likely the type of person who also resists the idea of just doing one thing.

You’re building (or want to build) a portfolio career comprised of your many talents and interests. The best part of a portfolio career is that it can flex to who you are in a given moment.

Brain dump everything you do right now.

As someone building a portfolio career, my (growing) list looks like this:

When it comes to actually executing on all of these things, what energizes you? Is it the creative aspect? Bringing people together? Leading a project?

Common threads for me would look like:

This is the north star for all of the things you do to fall underneath. It’s something bigger than an achievement you want to make—it’s how you want to be remembered.

While that sounds like a lofty goal, just know that it can be refined over time. For example, here’s a version of mine:

To unlock freedom and fulfillment for multi-dimensional women building sustainable portfolio careers.

Before diving into the laundry list of what you do, spark curiosity. Go broad and share your vision.

Then, depending on who you’re talking to, you can tailor your elevator pitch. Maybe they’re a potential client, and you want to lean more into how you can help them. Or maybe they’re just a new friend at a party, and you want to talk more about what you’re exploring this second.

When in doubt, you can start your pitch off by, “I’m building a portfolio career comprised of [category 1], [category 2], [category 3].”

They may not know what a portfolio career is (curiosity sparked!) or they may be really interested in a specific category of work that you can dive into.

Now when you walk into parties, use it as a place to practice your pitch. Be proud of the work you’re sharing with the world because the energy you bring is contagious!

You don’t have to fit into a box. In fact, you can break it wide open and hand pick a career that fits your interests, talents, and values.

So… what do you do for work?

This week feels…heavy. The news about yet another US Citizen being fatally shot, let alone a nurse, is sickening.

While I try to make my content playful and light, I know there are bigger issues in our country (and the world) going on.

If you’re reading this and wondering what you can do to help, I’ll be reading this today and taking action where I can.

Cocoa Convos: The rise of portfolio careers | NYC (targeting Feb 20!)
​This is a casual meetup with other multi-passionate people to connect on how they're designing (or want to design) their portfolio careers. All are welcome!

Just Start Cohort - $100 off when you sign up for the waitlist
A 7-week cohort starting in February for the curious soul who wants to make a career pivot, without walking away from the stability they’ve worked hard to build. You’ll launch a career experiment alongside others exploring their next step.

Reimagine 1:1 Coaching
Reimagine is a highly personalized 1:1 coaching program for multi-passionate women ready to build their portfolio career. Book a free career strategy call with me to learn more.

Unblock Strategy Sprint
Get 90 minutes of strategic support on Zoom, personalized strengths mapping with an Enneagram assessment, and 2 weeks of async support to help unblock your goals and come up with a concrete action plan.