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.