portfolio career

Viv Groskop guest blog about her portfolio career

November 6, 2018 By // by Rachel Brushfield

Viv Groskop is a writer, stand-up comedian and TV and radio presenter. She has guest-presented BBC Radio 4’s Front Row and Saturday Review and appears regularly on BBC1’s This Week.

As a prolific freelance interviewer and columnist, she has written for most of the British newspapers for the past 20 years, contributing most frequently to The Guardian and the Observer. She is the veteran of four sold-out one-woman Edinburgh Fringe shows. Her latest show Vivalicious celebrated therapy and the world of self-help and imagined a world where Oprah Winfrey is President.

Her latest book How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Public Speaking (Transworld) is about women, confidence and public speaking. She also works as an executive performance coach for groups and individuals, specialising in women and leadership.

What headline sums up 2018 for you?

The phrase Oprah used when she gave her speech at the Golden Globes for her Lifetime Achievement Awards: “Time’s up.”

This year it has felt like time is up on a lot of things: women not being heard and believed, women not being prominent in public spaces, women not taking up more space on FTSE 100 boards… And this debate is spilling out away from gender equality towards equality and diversity in general. Hurrah! When I’m doing stand-up, there’s a real hunger for people who can find the humour in all this. (Not bloody easy.) And when I’m doing corporate work as a performance coach, there is a sense of urgency from people — especially women – who want to find their voice and get better at speaking. Everyone is realising how important it is to be public-facing now, both for video content online and for events, large and small.

What has changed in the last 12 months?

I’ve leaned harder than usual into the usual chaotic but rewarding mix of a portfolio career: writing (two book deals this year), my own shows (Vivalicious at Underbelly at Edinburgh Fringe this summer) and helping other women find their voice (working with corporate groups and individuals).

Best moments? Hearing that a woman I coached got the role she wanted at first interview after a long period of job uncertainty. Finding out that another client who was absolutely petrified of speaking had given a speech in front of 300 people at her grandfather’s 70th birthday party. And having Sarah Brown come to my Edinburgh Fringe show and tweet about it to her 1 million followers.

How did any change come about?

I let go of the self-doubt and anxiety I had around a couple of book ideas I was aching to write, got my act together, pitched them and they sold. I think this happened partly because I suddenly feel old lately (I’m in my mid forties) and something in me just said, “Come on. Put it out there. So what if it gets rejected?”

What is the significance of this change for you?

Huge and tiny at the same time. Huge because I proved to myself that I’ve been sitting on really good ideas because I want to get them “just right” — and that moment never comes. Done is more important than perfect. Tiny because this isn’t a mental shift that is easy to hang onto. Sure, it makes a difference if your fear is proved wrong. But it soon floods back. So you just have to keep working on it.

What next for you in 2019?

A live version of the book How To Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking (published 1 November 2018) will be touring in Spring 2018 when the paperback is out. And I’ll be finishing writing Au Revoir, Tristesse: Life Lessons in French Literature, which is due out at the end of 2019. I’m also planning a series of workshops and retreats for groups of women who want to achieve their potential in public speaking and own the room!

More

‘How to own the room. Women and the art of brilliant speaking’ by Viv Groskop. Published 1 November 2018:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Own-Room-Brilliant-Speaking/dp/1787631125/ref=sr_1_1_twi_har_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1538408943&sr=8-1&keywords=viv+groskop

View Viv Groskop’s LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/viv-groskop-9798b711/

Follow Viv Groskop on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/VivGroskop

Interested in a portfolio career? Why not download your copy of our free report: Discover Portfolio Careers:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Vanessa Vallely’s portfolio career – guest blog the sequel

March 9, 2017 By // by Rachel Brushfield

This week, it is International Women’s Day on 8 March, so a fitting time to post this guest blog about a woman who does so much to support women.

About Vanessa Vallely

Vanessa Vallely is one of the UK’s most well-networked women and has provided keynotes on a variety of career related topics for over 250 companies worldwide. Vanessa is also one of the UK’s most prominent figures in gender equality and often provides guidance and consultancy to both government and corporate organisations who are seeking to attract, develop and retain their female talent.

At the height of her successful 25 year career in financial services, Vanessa launched the award winning WeAreTheCity.com in 2008 as a vehicle to help corporate women connect and grow professionally and personally. WeAreTheCity.com now has over 60,000 members and in 2013 launched a sister site in India.

Vanessa is also the founder of UK wide diversity forum Gender networks (formerly The Network Of Networks, or ‘TNON’) which brings together diversity leaders from over 120 firms to share best practice. Vanessa is the author of the book “Heels of steel: Surviving and Thriving in the Corporate World’ which tracks her career and shares 13 chapters of tips to succeed in the workplace.

Over the past seven years, she has been named Women in Banking and Finance’s Champion for Women, Financial News Top 100 Rising Star, The International Alliance for Women Top 100 Women globally and Brummells Top 30 entrepreneurs. In 2015 Vanessa was in GQ UK’s Top 100 Connected Women and The Evening Standard’s 100 Most Influential Londoners. Vanessa is a regular guest on TV and radio and also sits on the Government Digital Services Advisory Board.

Vanessa is also The Pearly Queen of The City of London, a tradition that has been in her family for over 100 years. She is an avid charity worker and sits on the board for Cancer Research UK as one of its Women of Influence.

Keynotes and workshops include The Power of Profile, The Power of Social Media, The Big Brand Theory, Speed Networking, Pay it Forward and Manage your Career.

What headline sums up 2016 for you?

BeBoldForChange, which is this year’s IWD theme. Both I and WeAreTheCity pushed our boundaries last year and took risks to introduce new things we wanted to do. I personally learnt to respect my time and that if I was to be able to take on new things, that I had to let some other things go!

What has changed in the last 12 months?

I have lots more help at WeAreTheCity which has taken the pressure off of me to come up with ideas and mobilise our initiatives. Our client base has grown substantially as has our reach to working women. In 2016, we ran the Rising Star awards in India and we introduced a new conference for Women in Technology, WeAreTechWomen. Both were substantial projects which we needed to fit in with an already packed annual calendar of activities and events.

How did any change come about?

From a professional perspective, I think we just decided to take more risks. We stepped in to markets we previously had no presence in, lucky for us what we brought to the table was a little bit different. I think having such a strong team at WeAreTheCity means there is no end of ideas of things we can do, it is just a case of prioritising what we do and ensuring that we focus on projects that will have the biggest impact for working women.

What is the significance of this change for you?

We are growing at pace! Which is great, but it also means that we have to adapt and be flexible to change. WeAreTheCity started in 2008 as a part time hobby whilst both me and my husband were working full time. Now it is an organisation that works with over 100 clients, with 9 staff who service over 72,000 working women, 8 million website visitors per month, whilst running two, soon to be three sets of awards as well as 20 events and 2 conferences per year! It’s a tall order for a small team, but we absolutely love what we do so it doesn’t feel like a job or hard work.

What next for you in 2017?

WeAreTheCity are in the middle of canvassing for nominations for this year’s Rising Star awards in the UK as well as planning our forthcoming conference, WeAreFutureLeaders. The back end of the year is all about women in technology, which includes our WeAreTechWomen conference and our new tech awards. My personal focus for 2017 is the growth of WeAreTheCity and introducing further projects and programmes that will help working women in the pipeline to achieve their potential. I am still speaking regularly at corporate organisations, charities and schools as well as being committed to a number of boards and advisory groups. It will no doubt be another busy year, but I am excited and very much up for the challenge.

Thanks to Vanessa Vallely for making the time to write a guest blog for Energise – The Talent Liberation Company.

More:

Web site

http://www.vanessavallely.com/

LinkedIn profile

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessavallely/

We Are The City

http://www.wearethecity.com/

Career Club

http://www.wearethecity.com/careers-club/

Twitter

@WATC_Girl

Read Vanessa Vallely original guest blog part 1 for Energise. 9 January 2016

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vanessa-vallely-guest-blog-part-1-rachel-brushfield

Read Vanessa Vallely original guest blog part 2 for Energise. 9 January 2016

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vanessa-vallely-guest-blog-part-2-rachel-brushfield

Interested in a portfolio career?

Free report: Discover Portfolio Careers:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Free report: Find out your transferable Skills

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/what-is-a-portfolio-career/

Free report: Pain free career change

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/talent-liberation/

Web site – Inspiring Portfolio Careers

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/

Are you a Woman Lawyer seeking a portfolio career?

http://www.llclub.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/energiseliberateyourtalent/

Twitter

@TalentLiberator

Are you a senior woman employed in an Oxfordshire company or firm? We run our own cross sector/profession network PWHub – Inspiring Professional Women for you with quarterly events:

http://www.pwhub.org.uk/

View our chapter on gender balance for The International Bar Association/Globe Law and Business. (2013)

http://www.energiselegal.com/published/books/managing-talent-for-success-talent-development-in-law-firms/

Funke Abimbola’s Portfolio Career – the sequel part 2

February 13, 2017 By // by Rachel Brushfield

This is a 2 part guest blog for Energise by Funke Abimbola about her portfolio career. This is part 2.

Funke Abimbola is a multi-award winning Lawyer/TEDx Speaker/TV contributor/Diversity Leader/Patron/Board member and proud mother. She is currently General Counsel and Head of Financial Compliance at Roche UK.

To read part 1 of this guest blog, please click on this link.

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/funke-abimbolas-portfolio-career-sequel-part-1/

How did any change come about?

I made a conscious decision to say “yes” to as many opportunities as possible in 2016, especially where I was taken outside my comfort zone. Although I was unbelievably busy in 2016, the year led to unparalleled opportunities not only for me but for countless others within my sphere of influence.

What is the significance of this change for you?

By saying “yes” to everything, I am in a much better place to recognise my boundaries and to know what I need to prioritise during 2017. Importantly, I now know what to say “no” to going forwards without feeling guilty in saying “no”! Last year was another year of development and key learnings for me and my team.

What next for you in 2017?

I started 2017 with another promotion – from 1^st January, my role at Roche expanded to include heading up our financial compliance function. As General Counsel & Head of Financial Compliance, I continue to lead on legal and corporate compliance for the Roche UK pharmaceutical business, sitting on several senior leadership teams and providing legal support in the UK, Ireland, Malta and Gibraltar. In addition, I have also gained responsibility for all financial compliance matters for the UK pharmaceutical business including overseeing and leading on internal financial audits, internal financial testing (ICFR) and other financial controls that maintain the integrity of the organisation’s financial systems. This is a first within our organisation so a key priority for me is to embed my expanded team and to ensure that we all continue to develop together.

In terms of my external, voluntary diversity work, 2017 has started on a very promising note. I was listed in the law section of Debretts 500 (together with Supreme Court President, Lord Neuberger, Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale, and others) as being one of the most influential people in Britain because of the impact of my diversity work within the legal profession. In January, I took part in my first panel discussion event as Patron of UCLU’s Leadership and Management Society. The discussion was called “How to embrace your diversity and lead’ and I was joined on the panel by a number of colleagues and friends in senior leadership roles. Collectively, we shared our wisdom and experience with the students and other attendees. The event was a huge success and I continue to receive inspirational messages from those who attended, thanking us for our contributions and the impact we made.

I have been interviewed for a book being published by Harper Collins in Spring 2018. Called ‘Slay in your lane’, the book will be a guide to life for black British women. It was a real honour to be approached as one of the black women being interviewed for this ground-breaking publication. Others being interviewed include actress Thandie Newton, GQ publisher Vanessa Kingori MBE and Karen Blackett OBE, Chairwoman of MediaCom.

International Women’s Month (March) is always really busy for me and this year is no different. I have a range of engagements in my diary including delivering a keynote speech at my alma mater, Newcastle Law School, as part of the Inspirational Women in Law project and the 2017 Freedom of the City celebrations marking 50 years since Martin Luther King was given an honourary degree by Newcastle University. I am also partnering with Speakers4Schools and INTO University and will be speaking to a group of school students about my career journey, providing mentoring and work experience opportunities to them. I will be interviewing a high profile speaker to mark International Women’s Day itself in my capacity as an advisory board member of Women in Law London, a large network supporting the progression of women lawyers in the UK. I am speaking at the Solid Woman conference at the British Council as part of an initiative to empower and upskill women from a minority ethnic background. Another highlight in March will be speaking to a large group of school children from a BAME background at the House of Commons, providing guidance and advice about their future career options.

In May, I will be part of a panel of senior leaders at WeAreTheCity’s first ever leadership conference in May called WeAreFutureLeaders. Founded in 2008 by Vanessa Vallely, WeAreTheCity is a free, centralised hub for professional women who want to progress in their careers, enhance their skills and build their networks. WeAreTheCity has 42,000 members, 80% of whom are professional women. WeAreFutureLeaders will be held at Simmons and Simmons, a leading international law firm. The aim of the conference is to equip its female attendees with the skills they need to progress to leadership positions. I am looking forward to being part of the panel, including providing speed mentoring to attendees.

Later on this year, I will be judging the Inclusive Network Awards and This Is Me Awesome 100 nominations, recognising inspiring individuals who have given back and made their mark in our community. I am also one of the judges for the third We are the City Rising Star awards, a unique awards programme that recognises the pipeline of female talent across a range of industries.

Throughout 2017, I will continue to appear on BBC 1 as part of the world news review team, providing expert commentary on topical news items. In addition, I am being considered for another TEDx talk taking place this summer.

Yet to be scheduled is an important meeting at number 10 Downing Street. Suffice to say that the Prime Minister and I are struggling to align our diaries at present but we will get there!

Anything else you would like to add?

Whilst 2016 was, undoubtedly, a year of tremendous successes for me, it is also important to add that I made my fair share of mistakes last year too. Learning from mistakes is an essential part of being a leader and there were some key learnings for me throughout the year. I feel empowered to improve even more during 2017 and remain committed to increasing my influence and impact in the process.

The final thing to mention is that my teenaged son signed up to UN Women’s HeforShe campaign in 2016. He had noticed that the girls in his class were very capable but lacked confidence and did not always put their hands up in lessons, even when they knew the answer. He has committed to empowering the girls and supporting their confidence, quite remarkable for a teenager. I really hope that more male gender champions are encouraged and inspired to follow his example!

Funke’s LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/funkeabimbola

Follow Funke on Twitter @diversitychamp1

https://twitter.com/DiversityChamp1

Interested in a portfolio career? Download your free report Discover Portfolio Careers:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Nicola Manning’s portfolio career part 2 of 2

September 29, 2016 By // by Rachel Brushfield

nicola-manning

This is part 2 of a 2 part guest blog by Nicola Manning.

Here is the link to part 1 in case you missed it.

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/nicola-mannings-portfolio-career/

How has your portfolio career changed over time?

I’ve only been working part time at McMillan Williams since last year so it’s early days as far as my portfolio career is concerned, but I’ve certainly benefited from part time working to enable me to devote time to the Guild of Entrepreneurs in its own start-up phase which has been a fantastic opportunity.

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

It depends I suppose, on how they have met me and which career emphasis feels more appropriate at that juncture – and how much time they have to hear the “full works concert” I guess!

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

Not planned (by me) at all but I believe strongly in destiny and I would simply say that I rose to meet my destiny (not always the straightest or most comfortable path) as various life events were placed in my path for me either to seize or to turn away from and it’s turned out all right!

What do you most love about having a portfolio career?

Variety! I am and always have been hugely active and a multi-tasker, so it is just playing to my strengths I guess!

What are the challenges of having a portfolio career?

Having enough hours in the day to do everything sometimes. I’m often replying to emails at 5am or midnight! But it usually works out OK.

Who or what helps you to manage your portfolio career?

No-one but me but I’m pretty well organised with my time after having brought up 5 children and ran compliance across what was latterly 17 separate office locations.

How do you approach marketing your portfolio career?

It’s more about marketing me as the brand I think, and I find that people will approach me if they feel that there is something I can do to add value to their own project or initiative.

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

See above.

What skills/experience/qualities does someone need to have a portfolio career?

Experience in running and managing businesses (especially being part of the senior management team at MW during its massive expansion and change programme from 2008-2014) and my life experiences good and bad, have helped shape my own career hugely.

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

Use every opportunity to make a difference somewhere! Not always easy/possible when you are stuck in an employment situation and possibly not able to reach your true potential as a result. You will know when the time is right for you.

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

Flexibility outside the restraints of 9-5 (if you’re lucky) office work but it ought to work just as efficiently for men too!

What are your top 5 tips to successfully manage a portfolio career?

Try not to compartmentalise your different roles too much or you may miss things that have the potential to join up activities and projects, with others.

Keep your energy and enthusiasm alive for all that you are doing and if you lose that in any area, you probably need to find a different project or role.

Likewise, don’t focus too much on one project or role to the detriment of the others.

Aim for a “bigger picture” involvement rather than overtly focused on detail otherwise it’s probably too weighted and not suitable as part of a portfolio anyway.

Always look for opportunities wherever you go and whomever you meet.

More

View Nicola Manning’s LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolamanning

Interested in a portfolio career?

Want to create your own portfolio career? Click on this link:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/

Download your free report ‘Discover portfolio careers’:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Download your free report ‘Pain free career change’:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/testimonials/

Unsure what your transferable skills are, download your free report ‘Skills’ from this web page:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/what-is-a-portfolio-career/

Read more guest bloggers accounts of their portfolio career:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/blog/

Woman solicitor interested in a portfolio career?

Visit our web site specifically for women solicitors LLClub:

http://www.llclub.org/

Guest blog Barrie Hopson part 2

September 7, 2016 By // by Rachel Brushfield

Barrie Hopson

This is a 2 part guest blog by Barrie Hopson. This is Part 2.

Barrie is a psychologist specialising in career development and lifelong learning and is a serial entrepreneur. His life mission is helping people to become architects of their own future. His latest project is developing an online learning programme to help people design their retirement ‘Live Happier’ to help people design their retirement, launched and free to use in August 2016.

He is a Non Exec Director of the Aspire-Igen Group and of Disability Sport Yorkshire. He chairs the national Quality in Career Standard Consortium Board. He was Chairman of Axia Interactive Media 2007-2013. He is a writer, presenter, consultant and was chair of his local community association for 8 years. He is on the advisory board of The Open Retirement Club. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Royal Society of Arts. He has written 39 books – the latest being ‘And What Do You Do? 10 Steps to Creating a Portfolio Career’, written with Katie Ledger. He gives presentations on the future of work, portfolio careers, and how to ‘design a retirement you’ll love’. He established the Counselling and Career Development Unit at Leeds University in 1976 and went on to found Lifeskills International in 1983. The company formed a joint venture – Hay-Lifeskills Ltd. – with Hay Group International of which he was co-chair for its first 3 years. His books include the bestselling 12 Steps to Success through Service, The Lifeskills Teaching Programmes and Build Your Own Rainbow. In 2008 he wrote The Rainbow Years: the Pluses of Being 50+ and an accompanying website for Learndirect www.fiftyforward.co.uk. The latter were all co-authored with Mike Scally. Barrie has worked widely as a consultant to commercial and educational organisations in the UK, USA, Asia, Canada and Europe. He sees one of the payoffs of his Portfolio Career as being able to follow Yorkshire County Cricket Club. He adores running and runs 10k, 10 mile and half marathons for the Stroke Association as he is now a carer for his stroke survivor wife.

The rest of this blog are in Barrie’s own words.

Here is part 1 in case you missed it:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/guest-blog-barrie-hopson-part-1/

Who or what helps you to manage your portfolio career?

No-one. Just me, my intuition and ensuring I have people who I respect and love spending time with and who are the sources of my inspiration. I never work alone. I have written 39 books and 2 online learning programmes and not one of them just by myself. The fun of creation comes for me in bouncing ideas off others. I am massively influenced by the quotation, “I never know what I think about something until I have heard what I have to say.”

How do you approach marketing your portfolio career?

I still look for meetings relevant to what I do and make an intuitive decision about whether or not to attend. 90% of the time, my intuition does not let me down. You need a website – at least one, and a really good LinkedIn profile. Spending time with creative people is also beneficial.

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

‘Helping people to become architects of their own future.’ I have only been using this for the past 10 years or so as I realised that a succinct brand message communicates a lot and of course is actually an invitation to people to ask further questions.

What skills/experience/qualities does someone need to have a portfolio career?

Well of course, Katie Ledger and I through our research came up with a whole list of these and you can answer them for yourselves for free on www.portfoliocareers.net

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

At the risk of being cheeky, read our book, And What Do You Do? 10 Steps to Creating A Portfolio Career, A&C Black, 2009

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

A portfolio lifestyle, which, interestingly, seems to be attracting men now as well.

What are your top 5 tips to successfully manage a portfolio career?

1) Know exactly what are your ‘motivated skills’ and only look for opportunities to practice them.

2) Only pick assignments consistent with your values.

3) Learn to say ‘no’.

4) Ensure you develop a portfolio lifestyle not just a portfolio career – which means organising downtime, having fun, taking holidays and spending time with people you love and respect.

5) Continue to reinvent yourself. This is one of the real joys of a portfolio career. There should never be a full stop – just a hyphen!]

What next?

For more information about portfolio careers, click on this link:

http://portfoliocareers.net/

To find out more about ‘Live Happier’, click on this link:

https://livehappier.aviva.co.uk/

To find out more about Barrie’s book about portfolio careers, click on this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Do-You-Creating-Portfolio/dp/1408116308

Want to create your own portfolio career? Click on this link:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/

Download your free report ‘Discover portfolio careers’:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Download your free report ‘Pain free career change’:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/testimonials/

Unsure what your transferable skills are, download your free report ‘Skills’ from this web page:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/what-is-a-portfolio-career/

Read more guest bloggers accounts of their portfolio career:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/blog/

Alex Wade’s portfolio career – guest blog part 1

July 27, 2016 By // by Rachel Brushfield

This is a two part guest blog by Alex Wade. This is part one.

Alex is a writer and his principal interests are law, sport (especially football, surfing and boxing), literature and travel, as well as general features, football and poker match reports and book reviews. Many years ago, when he was a media lawyer, Alex worked for leading libel firm Carter-Ruck before becoming now-Express Group proprietor Richard Desmond’s first Head of Legal Affairs. Subsequently Alex’s unreconstructed tendencies got the better of him. His life went off the rails but boxing played a large part in his rehabilitation. This story is chronicled in Wrecking Machine, a Sunday Times sports book of the week. Alex has travelled extensively and written about New York, Albania and Kazakhstan; Barbados, Ireland and Andalucía; Captain Cook country, Mexico and Francis Ford Coppola’s retreats in Belize and Guatemala. He lives in west Cornwall with his partner Caroline and his two sons.

The rest of this blog is in Alex’s own words.

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

It’s pretty much all paid freelance work, with a bit of volunteering. I work as a lawyer, freelance journalist, writer, occasional guest lecturer – and try and find time to be one of the trustees of environmental action charity Surfers Against Sewage.

How did your portfolio career come about?

By accident! I’m 50 now but back in my early 30s went off the rails for a year or so. Let’s just say that the conventional practice of law wasn’t for me. I also had a few demons to exorcise. Fortunately, they leave me alone these days.

How has your portfolio career changed over time?

Back in my early 30s, I made a decision to do what I’d always wanted to do – write for a living. I kept my hand in with the law, working as a night lawyer for the UK broadsheets, and banged on editors’ doors – luckily loud enough for a few of them to give me work. Back then I also wrote law reports – difficult, complex and not well paid – and wrote a lot for the legal trade press (more fun and better paid). I don’t do either of these things anymore. I’m also no longer involved in selling sports TV rights. I used to do this on behalf of someone in the industry, very much on a wing and a prayer. I’d travel to Eastern Europe and Central Asia, find the main broadcaster and try and sell in the rights to the FA Premier League, F1, boxing matches etc. Sometimes I’d be successful. Whether I was or not, I’d also go and travel wherever I was. This enabled me to get travel pieces away in the nationals, about places few people were visiting. It was a great way of building up by-line visibility. I don’t work in sports rights anymore, and don’t do so much travel writing these days either – it’s a loss leader.

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

Good question! Depends who’s asking. Usually I say ‘writer’ first – that’s what means the most to me.

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

By accident/chance!

More about Alex Wade

Personal web site:

www.alexwade.com

Alex Wade’s first novel, Flack’s Last Shift, is published by Blue Mark Books (£14.99).

www.flackslastshift.com

Alex’s Editorial Services business:

www.frugalspeech.com

LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-wade-5322724

Follow Alex Wade on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/surfnation1

More about portfolio careers:

Download our free report Discover Portfolio Careers

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Webinar about portfolio careers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF29AGuRIVw&app=desktop

Find out what your transferable skills are, download our free Skills report:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/what-is-a-portfolio-career/

Download our free report Pain Free Career change from this page:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/testimonials/

Check out our web site Inspiring Portfolio Careers:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Ruth Farenga’s portfolio career part 2

July 20, 2016 By // by DigitalJenIPC

A portfolio career is a great future proof career options, giving flexibility, variety and fulfillment, and mitigating risk.

Ruth Farenga runs Farenga Ltd as a workshop facilitator, Mindfulness teacher and project manager specialising in corporate partnerships, education, gender diversity and Mindfulness theory and practice. Ruth has consistently trained people in new skills, starting in the corporate education sector with Pearson and Intel Corporation and then transitioning over to ‘e-skills UK’ in the third sector. She now runs her own business and as part of that, the ‘People Like Me’ girls into STEM project for the WISE Campaign (Women in Science, Engineering and Technology).

You can read part 1 of her blog here

The rest of this blog are in Ruth’s own words.

Who or what helps you to manage your portfolio career?

My dog! My dog Juno is fantastic for getting me out every day and keeping me company. I also find planning a rough schedule of when to focus on what in the week does help. If I leave it to chance, I don’t find I use my time as effectively so a loose plan is a good idea.

I’ve also found not writing huge intimidating lists a good idea! I’ve separated my projects out on OneNote (app and desktop) so I can add things I need to do for each project. This means I don’t forget things when they pop into my head. For any given day, I find a smaller more achievable list is better – it’s useful to ask yourself, what has to get done today to take the pressure off doing it all at once.

How do you approach marketing your portfolio career?

Particularly for the Mindfulness teaching, I use social media, the Mindful Pathway website and local networking. For the great causes work, I use LinkedIn and some networking, but I could definitely do more!

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

I do see myself as a champion for others, someone who can help enable causes and people.

What skills/experience/qualities does someone need to have a portfolio career?

I think to have a portfolio career, you need to be quite versatile, you need to enjoy variety. I think often you are passionate about a cause and a way of life and want to find lots of ways of fulfilling it.

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

Firstly, I would say – hooray! Great that you’re considering it J I would encourage them to think about how they would balance their time, how they would look after themselves and how they would connect with others.

I would encourage them to think about what ties it all together. Even if in themselves, the elements seem quite separate, there is often a golden thread that can be seen. If you can articulate that, you’ll sound like you have a varied and cool life but also meaning behind it all.

What are your top 5 tips to successfully manage a portfolio career?

Plan – with lots of pots on the boil, it’s good to plan and allow space for your different projects in your week.
Connect – find groups or individuals with whom you can network and share, particularly where you can build long term relationships
Collaborate – if you like working with others, see where you can join up and run something together to share skills and motivate each other
Take care of yourself – whether it be meditation, yoga, running, the gym or something else, allow time to focus on you too
Pull the pieces together – to tell a story about what motivates you and why you do this variety of things. Show your passion when you tell it and you’ll be inspiring lots of people with your work and lifestyle

Thanks to Ruth for making the time to do a guest blog about her portfolio career for Energise.

More about Ruth Farenga

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthfarenga

Mindful Pathway:

http://www.mindfulpathway.co.uk/

Next course begins October 2016:

http://www.mindfulpathway.co.uk/mindfulness-courses/

Follow Ruth on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/roosterruth

https://twitter.com/mindfulpathway

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Guest blog part 2: Miranda Brawn

May 8, 2016 By // by DigitalJenIPC

This is a two part guest blog by Miranda Brawn. This is part 2.

Miranda Brawn is a multi-award winning legal business and diversity leader who is hailed as a trailblazer. Named Top 30 most inspirational women by Brummel, featured on CityAMs Women In The City and Speakers 100 Powerlists, BE Mogul Winner and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. With a background as an investment banker and a barrister, over 15 years’ experience in philanthropy and diversity work, Miranda wanted to go the extra mile and founded the Miranda Brawn Diversity leadership Foundation. She has also co-founded the General Counsel Diversity Leadership Forum and part of the Thomson Reuters Legal In-House Advisory Network and Business Law Consultation Advisory Board.

Here is part 1 of Miranda’s guest blog in case you missed it:

https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/guest-blog-part-1-miranda-brawn/https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/guest-blog-part-1-miranda-brawn/

The rest of this blog is in Miranda’s own words.

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

A lot – wearing several hats! Board advisor, Entrepreneur, Founder, CEO, Barrister, Banker, Investor, Public Speaker, Brand Ambassador, Founder of Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation, Vice Chair of the Black Cultural Archives, Business and Diversity Leader are among the main responses.

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

My portfolio career has happened purely by chance due to a range of interesting opportunities which have been presented to me in order to help make a real positive difference in the world.

What do you most love about having a portfolio career?

I love the variety and diversity of the different people and industries with the continuous learning of new skills and knowledge which help my portfolio career. In addition, my extensive network has grown immensely which enables me to help others to succeed.

Who or what helps you to manage your portfolio career?

My PA is amazing and helps me to manage my diary in order to stay on top of everything.

How do you approach marketing your portfolio career?

My portfolio career has grown organically with the help of social media, word of mouth and D.I.Y. PR to help raise my profile. I have been able to use my business and marketing graduate studies from years ago to implement a successful marketing strategy for my various initiatives. In addition, I have relationships with several influencers, journalists, radio and TV producers to help with any of my PR campaigns. The Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Scholarship was launched in the first week of January 2016 and I was approached by journalists, radio and TV producers who wanted to help to promote this diversity initiative.

What are your top 5 tips?

1) Develop a plan.
2) Get organised.
3) Have a support system.
4) Use your network.
5) Be open to unexpected opportunities.

What next?

More about Miranda Brawn:

Website www.mirandabrawn.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/brawnm

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirandabrawn?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Facebook www.facebook.com/MirandaBrawnEsq

Interested in a portfolio career yourself?

Download your copy of our free report ‘Discover portfolio careers’:

http://www.llclub.org/discover-portfolio-careers/

Funke Abimbola Guest blog – the sequel part 2

January 28, 2016 By // by DigitalJenIPC

This is a 2 part sequel guest blog, an update to the guest blogs Funke did for us in 2015. In part 1 Funke shared what has changed and how the change came about and in this post, part 2, she shares the significance of the change and what next for 2016.

Funke is a practising solicitor and multi award-winning lawyer and diversity campaigner. She joined Roche as Managing Counsel in January 2012, leading the legal team supporting Roche’s pharmaceutical operations in the UK, Ireland, Malta and Gibraltar and was also appointed as Data Protection Officer for the UK. She was promoted to General Counsel & Company Secretary in December 2015. Her career began in private practice before moving in-house. Outside of her role at Roche, Funke undertakes a lot of work to support diversity & inclusion in society as a whole and within the legal profession in particular, initiating and driving through a range of ground-breaking diversity initiatives. She has received national and European recognition for her diversity work, all of which is carried out in her spare time on voluntary basis.

Part 1 of this guest blog in case you missed it:

Sequel guest blog part 1

What is the significance of this change for you?

The changes were all significant to me as they showed once again that there is no substitute for hard work, determination and maintaining your focus, whatever the challenges. Tenacity always pays off in the end. I feel incredibly privileged to be making such an impact across all roles within my portfolio career.

What next for you in 2016?

I am focusing on developing my leadership even further and have an exceptional executive coach who is helping both me and my team to exceed our goals. Various members of my team have been promoted to new roles and I look forward to supporting the whole team’s development as we make our 2016 vision a reality.

Outside of work, I will continue to build upon last year’s diversity work across several diversity strands, including gender, and to broaden my influence into broader CSR initiatives. I already have 15 speaking engagements booked for 2016, including another engagement at the BBC and speaking at the House of Lords.

I was recently appointed as a Patron for Asian Voice’s Charity Awards (more details can be found at http://asianvoicecharityawards.com/) and look forward to supporting this new awards programme designed to reward those charities with a big vision, seeking to solve the most pressing social issues of our time (both in Britain and globally).

I am hoping to speak to over 2,000 school children this year, impacting positively on their lives by showing them what is possible with hard work and determination. As the mother of a teenage son, I find working with school children incredibly rewarding and absolutely fundamental: children really are the future and should be given every opportunity to maximise their potential. For example, I am speaking at an event in March called “The Art of Diversity”, a nationwide competition for children aged 4-19 to create a piece of art showing what diversity means to them (see https://theartofdiversity.communisis.com/). My son has entered the competition and I look forward to being inspired by the children’s vision of what diversity means.

The list of what I hope to achieve during 2016 is endless but above all, I want to be able to look back on this year and feel proud of what my team and I have achieved, both within and outside work.

Read Funke’s original guest blogs from 2015:

Part 1
Original guest blog part 1

Part 2
Original guest blog part 2

What transferable skills do you possess that you could leverage in new and different ways? Download your FREE report now:
Changing careers report

Simon Strong’s portfolio career 6 of 6

December 31, 2015 By // by DigitalJenIPC

This is the fifth in a series of 6 blog posts by Simon Strong about his portfolio career. Reading how people have created their own portfolio career can be useful to inspire you to create one yourself.

In case you missed them, here are parts 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5

Here is part 1:
https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2015/04/11/simon-strongs-portfolio-career-1/

Here is part 2:
https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2015/04/16/simon-strongs-portfolio-career-2/

Here is part 3:
https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2015/05/04/simon-strongs-portfolio-career-3/

Here is Part 4:
https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/simon-strongs-portfolio-career-4/

Here is part 5
https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2015/10/19/simon-strongs-portfolio-career-5-of-6/

The rest of this blog is in Simon’s own words.

How do you approach marketing your portfolio career?
I’d really like to take advice on that one! I’ve come to realise that marketing and branding consultants suck at marketing themselves.

The café is much easier because I have a product and a place.

What if any, is the personal brand used for your portfolio career?
Human Zoo works nicely across different facets of my work. But I’ve found that it’s personal reputation that seems to be what unlocks the opportunities for me. Human Zoo is more for me than for clients. I suppose it fulfils the convention of being a company name. Maybe when some of the innovation projects take off it’ll serve a more important role.

What advice would you give to someone considering a portfolio career?
Good Lord! I’m not sure anyone should take advice from me! I’m happy to help people to create products, services, insights, culture, possible futures and even businesses. But I wouldn’t dare suggest anyone listen to advice I’d have to offer. Except that I suspect that whatever it is that you are thinking – it’s probably at least partially right.

I’m also a big fan of the minimum viable product idea – what is the least you can do to get your idea working. We’ve all done it – spent a fortune on a website, business cards, and marketing collateral in order to be ‘professional’. It’s a lot of wasted money for nothing. It could all have been done for free (a simple off-the-peg website, simple text only business cards etc.). For the most part all that stuff is just an expensive distraction (in terms of finance, energy and time) from doing the actual work.

When I opened the café I had an espresso machine. I could make coffee and tea. The espresso machine ran on bottled water, and I washed up in a bucket. The entire set up was temporary. It cost as little as I could get away with. But people loved it – rustic charm I called it! And they adored watching and being a part of this little business – watching it, and me, grow. My biggest insight from this is that my customers aren’t paying for the coffee I’ve just served – they are paying for me to be there tomorrow – they are investing in tomorrow’s cup of coffee!

Anything else you want to add?
It seems to me that the most secure occupation is the one you create for yourself. It’s unlikely you’ll find yourself such a terrible employee that you’ll fire yourself – I hope you’d be forgiving enough to give yourself another chance…!

This was the last in a 6 part guest blog series by Simon Strong.

View Simon Strong’s LinkedIn profile:
http://https//uk.linkedin.com/in/simonstrong

View the Human Zoo web site:
http://www.humanzoo.biz/

What could your portfolio career be made up of? Find out what your transferable skills are by downloading our free report:
http://careerstrategies.co.uk/changingcareersreport/