joe reevy Archives - Inspiring Portfolio Careers

This is the second of a 2 part guest blog by Joe Reevy about his portfolio career. Read part 1: https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/joe-reevys-portfolio-career-part-1/

How do you approach marketing your portfolio career?

I don’t. I have never sought work or asked for a promotion or pay rise. However, in the early days I did a lot of public speaking, which works really well… if you have done anything long enough at a senior enough level to have a good bank of stories to tell. Now I am super connected on LinkedIn…but I haven’t said yes to anything in quite a long time.

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

Just little old me. My style is intentionally confrontational when I do talks etc. If 10% of the room think I am a jackass/crazy I don’t care, as long as a bigger percentage think I am fab/challenging. I’ll join the debate with anyone. Your biggest enemy is being anodyne.

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

Don’t. Join a really big business or government, get to the top, mess it up and then take the tons of lolly they give you for failure – then do something fun. OR…get a REAL and believable CV to prove expertise, get in front of a lot of people and make friends. Helping others is the best way to do that in business (and life).

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

I don’t know, I’m a man… although the flexibility re time is a boon and would be especially so for those with young children.

What 5 tips can you share for people considering a portfolio career?

Be damned good at something
Listen and listen some more
Be super organised
You’ll catch a lot more bees with honey than salt. Kindness and generosity beget kindness and generosity.
Learn to speak your client’s language (all industries have them… read their press etc).

Always take a little time to remember everything you have to be grateful for and to marvel at the wonders of nature. Slow is better.

If you are asked to give a talk, practice it in real time at least 4 times.

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View Joe Reevy’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joereevy/

Interested in creating a portfolio career for yourself? Contact Rachel Brushfield for a confidential chat: https://www.energiselegal.com/contact-us/get-in-touch/

I came to the UK at 10.

I got into Exeter University at 16 – studied psychology, then an MSc Southampton University (Institute of Sound and Vibration Research). When the government pulled my PhD funding because I am foreign, I did a couple of years in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and then trained as a Chartered Accountant with Grant Thornton (that’s how people become Chartered Accountants), starting my first (Mail-order hi-fi) business at the same time.

I moved back to Devon and within 3 years was a full equity partner in a good local firm. I grew that firm and then quit in my early 40s and started my portfolio career. At the start, I consulted for lots of (mainly) law firms and was managing editor of LawZone, which was sold to The Lawyer in 2003. I became chairman of a forensic science company. I founded Words4Business in 2001, LegalRSS in 2010 (both sold 2019) and Crosselerator in 2017. I have been an NED of Timber Milling plc since 2004.

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

I am currently Director of Crosselerator Ltd, Director of Hoppings Softwood Products plc and informal mentor to a few small businesses. In the past I dabbled at a part-time PhD, was on the audit committee of Exeter University for several years and was lead trustee of a charity which gave more than £600k to good causes.

How did your portfolio career come about?

I was always a ‘Mr Fixit’ type, not a conventional audit/tax accountant. I really like challenges and am really good at looking forward. When the challenge goes, so do I. An awful lot of jobs are really part-time jobs with people turning them into full-time jobs.

How has your portfolio career changed over time?

When I have solved the problem(s) I was brought in to solve, I always fired myself, but the big strategic roles last a long time. I pretty much gave up working outside our family businesses and my long-term Non Executive Director role in 2008.

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

I think a lot and have ideas and people find them useful enough to want to have me around.

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

Quitting my practice was planned: my partners were driving me crazy. I didn’t have anything to go to when I gave notice, but getting work was always really easy. When we founded Words4Busness, we built that quickly enough to not worry about the other stuff, which we have progressively rolled off since 2008. If a really interesting thing comes along, I’ll look at it, but unless it is interesting, no amount of money would get me on board.

What do you most love about having a portfolio career?

I pick my own work and people to work with. We can live in gorgeous Devon and don’t have to go to the big city (London).

What are the challenges of having a portfolio career?

If you are very direct (business shouldn’t be a game or an ego-trip), some people (especially men) don’t take criticism well, no matter how necessary or well-intended. The hardest thing is telling people they (or people they work with) have to go for the good of the business.

Who or what helps you to manage your portfolio career?

My faithful desk diary keeps my schedule sorted. Carrie (my wife) keeps me sane and is a much better negotiator than I.

Part 2 of Joe Reevy’s guest blog about his portfolio career coming soon.

Interested in finding out more about a portfolio career for yourself? Get in touch:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/portfolio/connect/

Joe Reevy’s guest blog about his portfolio career part 2

Joe Reevy’s portfolio career part 1