US-based employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, which is the highest number since 2009.

There may be a number of thoughts that come up when you hear this ranging from feeling stuck to glimmers of opportunity.

And honestly, these are all thoughts I’ve had before.

If you’re looking for an alternative way to make money, I break down the definitions of each non-traditional career path and when to consider each one.

Fractional is a hot word that’s been thrown around these days.

Essentially, you work on a part-time basis as a 1099 contractor. You set the number of hours you work—this could be a range or approximation, and you get paid a flat rate.

Within those hours, you might have a list of activities that you share in your proposal that you plan to work on, so you can set expectations with the company you’re working for. Typically, it’s not as tight as a consultant on a project (which I’ll explain later).

For example:

Fractional might be for you if:

Fractional might not be for you if:

Resources to explore: Fractional Fridays, From Full-Time to Fractional with Emily

Freelancing to me is like tapas at a restaurant. You get to try everything and see if you like it.

It varies a lot depending on where you are in your freelancing journey and the types of clients you work on. You might freelance with an agency who pulls you in on a project basis or you might find clients on your own or you might be doing both!

The fun part of freelancing is that you can say yes or no to various clients. You make the rules and set the boundaries. You can try new projects and learn what you like or don’t like.

For example:

You freelance with an events agency who pulls you into a big event twice a year at $100/hour. On the side, you also have your own freelancing clients where you plan events for your local community and charge on a per project basis.

Freelancing might be for you if:

Freelancing might not be for you if:

Resources to explore: Freelancing Females

Ah, consulting. I started out as a consultant working at Deloitte, and everyone always asked me how I could consult on something when I was straight out of college. The answer was I couldn’t. But I learned a lot about consulting.

In consulting land, you typically have a set engagement with a tight set of deliverables for the client. A good scope of work (SoW) will lay out timelines, scope, deliverables, and project rate to minimize confusion later on when the client asks for something different.

Consultants sometimes are sometimes confused with advisors. One key difference is that consultants usually have a set of deliverables.

For example:

You’re hired as a consultant for a 5-week engagement to audit a company’s messaging, redesign their positioning, and deliver updated website copy and a launch plan. You charge $3000 at the start and $3000 at the end.

Consulting might be for you if:

Consulting might not be for you if:

Advising kind of seems like the dream, right? You’re on a call or two with your client and tell them what you think.

As an advisor, you’re paid for your judgment and perspective. You might weigh in on strategy, review plans, make introductions, or help founders think through decisions.

You help companies solve challenges but don’t do the tactical work yourself. You often get paid in equity, typically 0.5-2%, or through a small cash retainer.

For example:

You advise a startup founder and agree to one 1 hour call per month. You talk to them about whatever they bring up, like GTM strategy, hiring their first marketer, and priorities for the team.

If they ever do go public, you get to realize the equity.

Advising might be for you if:

Advising might not be for you if:

Okay, today we covered Fractional, Freelance, Consulting, and Advising, and I’m realizing this got a bit long, so I’m splitting it up.

In next week’s newsletter, I’ll cover Coaching, Content Creation, Mentoring, and Teaching!

There are lots of avenues to explore making some income as a full-time or part-time job.

My favorite part of being self-employed is testing out various income streams and combining them, depending on need and interest.

Which one will you pick? Which one are you already doing? Send me a reply to let me know!

I’m feeling inspired this week after attending the second module of my iPEC Coaching Certification and watching Bad Bunny’s Superbowl performance.

I spent the last 3 days deep in Module 2 of iPEC’s Coaching Training. I learned a ton of coaching skills that I continue to practice, but I also wanted to share something else.

It can seem like there are a lot of coaches, consultants, fractional people, but there is always going to be enough work for everyone if you’re willing to try, share, experiment, mess up, and start over again.

Okay now with Bad Bunny’s Superbowl halftime show…he united the world with a central message: Together we are America. The only thing more powerful than hate is love.

We FEEL his energy, his passion, his message, and he leads us in believing it. We might not all build a personal brand like Benito, but there is a lot we can learn from him!

Anyways, if you got to the end on this one, tell me what you loved about the halftime show! 🙂

Talk soon,
Maggie

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