portfolio careers

Transferable skills – where next? Part 3.

April 7, 2021 By // by Rachel Brushfield

This is part 3 of a 4 part blog series about transferable skills.

This blog is an extract from section 6 of our Energise career e course: https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/e-course/

Read part 1: https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/transferable-skills-where-next-part-1/

Read part 2: https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/transferable-skills-where-next-part-2/

How can you use your best skill in new contexts?

People often don’t know how the skills they use in one context could be useful in another context, job or career. We can only know what we know and it can be hard to be clear about what other career options are open to us.

One of the things that I do with my clients is help them understand how their minds work and the steps they take with solving a problem for example; then identify other contexts where this approach could be useful. It is amazing how skills are transferable to completely new areas.

Examples of skills that can be transferred:

From sales & marketing property to sales & marketing hotels as a place to stay
From insights about consumers to insights about people
From employed PA to self-employed virtual PA

From sales and marketing property to sales and marketing hotels as a place to stay

One participant of our Energise ‘Steer your career’ workshop had been made redundant from her job in the property industry, selling houses. At that time, the prospects of finding another similar job were almost non-existent. We helped her to see how her skills of sales, marketing and dealing with customers were very transferable. She reshaped her CV and achieved a fantastic prestigious job for Malmaison hotels, broadening her experience and marketability.

She missed the property world, so went back to it when more jobs became available, so her career revitalisation was temporary based on market conditions. As a result of working with us, she gained an increased awareness of herself, her values, her skills and motivations, so she knew that property was where her heart lay.

From insights about consumers to insights about people

Insight mining is one of my key skills and it is a combination of observation, analysis, making connections and thinking laterally. In the past, I worked as an account planner in the communication industry and a key part of my job was reading research, looking at trends and analysing information to mine insights that would help brands and companies to achieve a competitive advantage.

I now use those same skills with my clients in career revitalisation. Insights about themselves and what makes them unique, insights about what target employers or customers want, insights about how they can be different from their competitors. Different context, same skill.

From employed PA to self-employed virtual PA

Many companies have been making PAs redundant, partly to reduce costs to companies, but also because computers and technological advances make it easy for management to do their own typing and administration.

This is an example of huge change to what used to be an established career for life. At the same time as demand for this type of job is shrinking, more and more people have been setting up their own business. If you own a business and have no staff (usual when you start) it is hard to do everything yourself and makes a lot of sense to focus on what you are really good at. Having a virtual PA makes good sense.

The number of hours in each working day is finite, so it makes sense to be smart and use them wisely. If I am spending time in customer care lines to renew my domain name, not only am I feeling frustrated, but also I am not using my time in the best way which plays to my strengths!

Read my article about having a virtual PA on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whos-looking-after-you-rachel-brushfield-the-talent-liberator/

What next?

If you are at a major career crossroads and thinking about changing career direction, becoming self-employed or developing a portfolio career, we can help.

Why not get in touch to arrange your free no obligation meeting?https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/contact-us/

Save the dates! Coming soon.

Energise seminars to help you to market yourself.

10-12 Tuesday 11 May 2021 on Zoom: “Why me? What value do you bring?” https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/marketing-seminar-why-me-what-value-do-you-bring-tickets-149507654419

10-12 Tuesday 15 June 2021 on Zoom. “Marketing me: Proactive marketing.”

Variety is the spice of life

February 14, 2021 By // by Rachel Brushfield

Introduction

I have been running my own business Energise for over 24 years and have always enjoyed variety.

In 2011, I was lucky to read the book ‘The Shift’ by Lynda Gratton, a Professor at London Business School about changing work trends and what the world of work would be like in 2020.

I am so glad that I did, because having implemented its recommendations myself, I am now in a good position to help people at this challenging time in the world, with Covid-19 having accelerated a decade of change into 1 year.

What is a portfolio career?

A portfolio career is work/a career made up of multiple components, for example freelance work, a contract, a part time job, non-executive directorships, trustee and volunteering, rather than just having 1 job or running 1 business.

As a metaphor, a portfolio career is like choosing Dim Sum or Tapas in a restaurant, a variety of different dishes, rather than just one single main dish, giving you a variety of flavours and textures and a moreish combination.

Why are portfolio careers growing?

Portfolio careers have been growing for a while, because of 2 growing segments:

· The ‘want a portfolio career’ market – pre-retirees wanting a gentle ‘slope’ rather than a steep ‘cliff’ to retirement, and millennials (young workers) who have different career aspirations to previous generations.

· The ‘need a portfolio career’ market – this has grown massively because of the impact of Covid-19 on both the employed and self-employed sectors; shrinking markets, forced career change, reduced consultancy projects with greater competition, more people becoming self-employed, and a raised ‘bar’ of the standard required to secure a job or project.

How do portfolio careers vary?

Portfolio careers have been around for centuries – think holiday destinations with seasonal tourism, who need a different way of earning a living for the rest of the year.

Portfolio careers vary a lot, and they also change a lot!

They can be segmented into:

· Similar e.g. associate work with different companies

· Contrasting e.g. leadership coach and historical author

· Synergistic e.g. bee-keeper and dentist

A portfolio career isn’t the right career choice for everyone, so thinking it through carefully is essential. Working with an experienced career coach, specialising in portfolio careers can be invaluable.

A portfolio career is like a kaleidoscope.

You can adjust it and create new work patterns that suit you, as your needs change, and market trends shift.

Everyone is unique and so is each portfolio career!

What are the benefits of a portfolio career?

Benefits include:

· Variety

· More fulfilment and flexibility

· Constant learning

· Increased career agility

· Enhanced career resilience

· A future-proof career

· Reducing your career risk

What are the drawbacks of a portfolio career?

Drawbacks include:

· Constant change

· Less certainty and security than a traditional career

· Need to focus on trends and take stock regularly

· Must embrace marketing and networking

· Need to be super-organised

A portfolio career is like having a ‘safety net’.

Is it really a good idea to put all your career ‘eggs in one basket’ in an uncertain world?

What next?

To receive a free Energise report: ‘Discover Portfolio Careers’ including a free 15-question suitability questionnaire and/or to arrange your free 20-minute no-obligation meeting to explore whether a portfolio career is right for you, get in touch with Rachel Brushfield using this link: https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/contact-us/

Recommended reading

Lynda Gratton ‘The Shift’ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shift-Future-Work-Already-Here/dp/0007525850

Andrew J Scott + Lynda Gratton ‘The 100 year life’ https://www.amazon.co.uk/100-Year-Life-Living-working-longevity/dp/1472930150

Andrew J Scott and Lynda Gratton ‘The new long life’ https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Long-Life-Framework-Flourishing/dp/1526615169/r

More about Energise

View Rachel Brushfield’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/energiseliberateyourtalent/

Rachel Brushfield’s portfolio career

Inspiring Portfolio Careers https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/

EnergiseLegal https://www.energiselegal.com/

Energise LLClub – Inspiring Portfolio Careers for Women Lawyers. https://www.llclub.org/

PWHub – Inspiring Professional Women – a network for senior employed women, all sectors, with quarterly CPD style events. Rachel is a co-founder. https://www.pwhub.org.uk/

This blog was originally a guest blog for Oxfordshire Business Community Network: https://oxfordbusinesscommunitynetwork.co.uk/blogposts/variety-is-the-spice-of-life/

Ready to be put ‘out to grass’? Or not! Part 2 of 2.

February 11, 2021 By // by Rachel Brushfield

This is a 2-part blog by Peter Wilford about supporting Finance Directors (FDs) to consider about whether to retire or not, and how a portfolio career can be a good career choice for the pre retirement life stag.

This is part 2.

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

Read part 1

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/ready-to-be-put-out-to-grass-or-not-part-1-of-2/

How we help our clients

Success comes from a number of factors.

We help our clients to develop a Plan ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ for their job search and marketing activity.

Each plan is carefully crafted and the priorities assessed.

This gives the Financial Director (FD) confidence that he / she is not putting all their career ‘eggs in one basket’. This is especially important for the uncertain times in which we live.

We coach them at every stage and act as a sounding board to keep them on track.

Career plan ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’

Typically, career Plan ‘A’ might involve securing 2-3 pieces of paid consultancy work – often with an SME and where they were not likely to be seen as a threat to the incumbent CEO or Financial Director, but are able to add significant bottom line value.

Career Plan ‘B‘ might be to focus on obtaining some interim work, particularly if they have already worked in a sector where interims are required and / or in a Senior Finance project role.

Career Plan ‘C’ might be to set up their own business and to create a web site and look at building a portfolio career to include typically:

non-executive director (NED) work

mentoring of younger finance professionals

voluntary work

paid consultancy projects.

Also perhaps:

supporting a friend in their local area with their own business, to broaden their experience, leading to new future opportunities.

Age bias towards employing 50somethings

Securing a full-time role as a finance director (FD) in a large organisation in your 50’s is both difficult and extremely time consuming, unless you have a strong business network and very well-established head-hunter contacts.

Opportunities for an FD to get work more easily lie in the Small Medium Enterprise (SME) sector.

Finding your niche and how we help

One FD client, whose experience was both corporate and SME based, identified that his niche market was medical devices companies.

We worked together to write 2-3 compelling direct approach letters and he drew up a list of 50 SME organisations within an agreed geographical area.

The letter was strong.

His value add proposition was convincing.

We coached him to be thoroughly interview prepared.

The result was a series of interviews with the MD / CEO of medical device companies.

Proactively helping our clients

We are proactive in our approach, providing a bespoke service, unlike the large career management companies/outplacement organisations which can be ‘sausage machine’ in nature, and relying primarily on on-line career portals and a standardized approach. One size does not fit all.

Ways in which we help our clients

We go the extra mile at Energise for our clients. Ways in which we support them include:

Introducing them to relevant contacts in our own networks
Encouraging them to adopt a proactive approach to marketing, often in new areas and outside their comfort zone
Getting them to think ‘outside of the box’, for example to approach their Professional Institute e.g. ICAEW for possible mentoring
Encouraging them to attend industry conferences to broaden/widen their network
Sharpening up their technical skills
Pointing them to non executive director (NED) membership organisations.
Invited them to our local Institute of Director (IoD) group
Introducing them to local employers
Helping them build up their lists of head-hunters and to learn how to manage these conversations to the best effect

The result

All our clients have now been either placed or are enjoying a new phase of their working life.

Some have been introduced to our Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) contacts for fresh support with financial planning.

Several have kept in touch.

Our clients have told us that they would not have known what to do without our help, coaching, senior experience and reassurance.

More

‘The 100-year life’ by Lynda Gratton and Andrew J Scott: http://www.100yearlife.com/

‘The new long life’ by Lynda Gratton and Andrew J Scott: https://thenewlonglife.com/

‘Future skills for a life-long competitive advantage part 1’ for the award-winning Future of Work Hub: https://www.futureofworkhub.info/comment/2019/3/22/future-skills-for-a-life-long-competitive-advantage-part-1

‘Future skills for a life-long competitive advantage part 2’ for the award-winning Future of Work Hub: https://www.futureofworkhub.info/comment/2019/6/26/future-skills-for-a-life-long-competitive-advantage-part-2

A portfolio career is like a kaleidoscope

February 4, 2021 By // by Rachel Brushfield

A portfolio career is like a kaleidoscope.

Because it is made up of different components, e.g. freelance projects, a part time job, a contract, a non-executive director post, and volunteering, you can adjust it when you want to and create new patterns which inspire you.

You can learn new skills, knowledge and create new experiences.

This has a cumulative benefit over time giving you more options and possibilities in future.

You can create different patterns.

What would you like to see for your career?

More

Check out our inspiration page: https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/inspiration/

22 tips to create your successful portfolio career

February 4, 2021 By // by Rachel Brushfield

Creating a successful portfolio career takes thought, reflection, self-awareness and planning.

Here are 22 tips:

Be clear about your career horizon/vision
Learn from those who have one
Get an experienced career coach or mentor
Research market needs
Have self-awareness about your motivations, values, needs, wants and financial security thresholds
Make time to think, plan and reflect
Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ to the wrong thing
Invest in your skills and knowledge
Make time to market yourself
Define your personal brand
Keep an eye on changing trends
Build a high quality and diverse network
Know what makes you unique
Create and maintain a financial ‘cushion’
Stay ahead of your competitors
Avoid losing time e.g. politicking and gossiping
Have a good support system
Use technology to be expedient
Be open to unexpected and unplanned opportunities
Don’t be afraid to pivot/change your focus
Have a compelling verbal business card
Create case study examples of flagship cases and projects

What tips would you add?

More

Check out our Inspiration page for useful articles and reports: https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/inspiration/

Our blogs share insights and tips on various topics and clients examples: https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/blog/

PS Our web site has a search box to save you time and find what you are looking for. (top left under the e mail address on all web pages)

Why choose us? https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/talent-liberation/

Who are our clients? https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/clients/

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

Who is a portfolio career for? https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Why choose a portfolio career? https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/why-portfolio-career/

When is it time for a portfolio career? https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/when/

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

New – Energise podcast

August 18, 2020 By // by Rachel Brushfield

This podcast is about future – proofing your career.

It is approx 40 minutes long.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dhzkknh6vjepf2i/AADDpuP-9P8GWwF75s0MxXeHa?dl=0

There are 5 sections:

Section 1: How You Start To Create A Future-Proof Career

Section 2: Why People Need a Future-Proof Career and Who They Are For

Section 3: Examples Of Future-Proof Careers

Section 4: Asking Rachel About Her Own Career

Section 5: Benefits And Drawbacks of A Future-Proof Career

Hope you find it useful. Thanks!

Career Reinvention

June 25, 2020 By // by Rachel Brushfield

Many people at the moment, because of shrinking sectors are being forced to rethink their careers. They may have been with the same company or in the same profession for their whole lives, so this can feel very very daunting.

In times of economic growth, I help people change career direction because they want to, e.g. for better work life balance, to have more fulfilling work, or to turn an enjoyable hobby into paid work.

Experience of career reinvention

I also have alot of experience of helping people reinvent themselves, because they have to, i.e. redundancy. My company was one of the first to be awarded a contract to do ‘Steer your career’ workshops after the credit crunch in 2007/2008, so we have lots of experience to support people being made redundant at this time.

I have also done many career events and workshops for membership organisations including the Law Society, ICAEW and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) on portfolio careers, career reinvention, career strategy, personal branding to name a few.

Why I love career reinvention

I love career reinvention because it is helping people to see what they find it hard to see themselves as they are too close and seeing their confidence grow as they work out what they are going to do and how they are going to make it happen, with my support.

Career coaching is both practical and creative. One of my favourite client briefs is starting with a ‘blank sheet of paper’ i.e. a client who doesn’t know what else they could do, but do know that they have to or want to reinvent themselves in their career.

I have reinvented my own career. See my LinkedIn profile for detail: Rachel Brushfield’s LinkedIn profile

One trick pony

Often my career coaching clients feel that they are ’one trick ponies’ having done the same thing for years, when actually they have hugely transferable skills and just need help to see this and to market themselves, as they feel rusty, not having updated their CV or had an interview in ages.

Career transition client examples

My clients’ career reinvention transitions include:

An insurance broker becoming a teacher of children to learn the piano
A barrister becoming a company secretary
A direct marketing expert becoming a self employed photographer
A human rights lawyer retraining as a dance therapist
An education lawyer moving into music management
A project manager setting up a company doing cheese holidays in France

Common barriers to career reinvention

There are many barriers in people’s minds to career change, some actual and some perceived:

· Fear of change/uncertainty

· Resistance from partners, peers or parents

· Worrying about money, making the wrong decision or taking a step down the ladder having worked so hard to progress up it

· Not knowing what you don’t know

· Being in the dark about how to find out about new options

· Believing they are ‘too old’ to change

· Pleasing others e.g. parents living their lives through their children’s success instead of focusing on their happiness

· Lack of time

· Not wanting to let go of a benefit of the current job e.g. being admired at parties for being a Doctor

11 Tips to reinvent your career

1. Research employment growth areas; sectors and jobs

2. Think about when you have felt most alive and fulfilled in your work and how you can have more of this

3. Source examples of achievements and initiatives from outside your career to demonstrate your marketability

4. Think your career change through thoroughly and create a long term vision with small short term steps

5. Make time regularly to make your change happen

6. Research your options and ensure they will give you what’s important to you e.g. security, learning or challenge

7. Consider retraining and acquiring new skills to become more marketable

8. Analyse what makes you distinctive to other people in your field – that unique combination of your skills, qualities and life and work experiences – this is your unique ‘brand’

9. Speak to people already doing what you want to do to get inside knowledge

10. Be creative about how you can get experience to prove your capability and demonstrate the transferability of your skills in a new area e.g. do voluntary work, help out a friend’s business etc

11. Enlist the support of an experienced career coach

Get in touch

Client testimonials

“Energise helped me focus on my strengths at a very negative time for me, during redundancy. I found the whole process very rewarding.”

“Coaching has given me extra confidence. The process was very rewarding. The CV now looks punchier, and I feel ME again.”

“Coaching with Energise has given me choices, freedom and liberation.”

“Coaching gave me an objective, practical and understanding sounding board when I needed to get my life back in gear again. It really is a personal service that works around who you really are and what you really want to do. “

“Coaching gave me a positive attitude, confidence and insight. It has been instrumental in my success and by setting targets and deadlines it has speeded up the whole process of finding another job.”

More client testimonials

Exercising your entrepreneurial muscle

June 19, 2020 By // by Rachel Brushfield

More competition for jobs and consultancy work makes being entrepreneurial as well as resilient essential.

The word entrepreneurial can make people put pressure on themselves, as it is associated with entrepreneurs, and many people don’t identify themselves in this way.

Alternative words for entrepreneurial

Other words that you can use instead of ‘entrepreneurial’ that may feel more ‘you’ are:

Enterprising
Imaginative
Ingenious
Inventive
Pioneering
Resourceful
Creative

Coronavirus has forced entrepreneurial behaviour

The coronavirus has seen a massive amount of fast change and reinvention with on-line learning and teaching, for example.

Our local pub is planning to re-open in July re-organised to accommodate social distancing with an App to pre-book tables and pre order and pay for food and drinks. Food and drinks will be placed in a holding bay, for people sitting at tables to collect themselves, protecting the staff and minimising touch and risk of infection, instead of staff serving at the tables. This system will also enable more planning, and perhaps less waste, with prior knowledge of what ingredients are needed and in what quantity.

Invention and innovation

Entrepreneurial behaviour underlies the inclination to undertake invention and innovation, including the creation of something new, as well as the distribution and adoption of the new throughout society. Think Zoom and Team which are now the norm, when a few months ago, not everyone had heard of or used them.

Portfolio careers require entrepreneurial behaviour

Entrepreneurial behaviours are essential with a portfolio career, a career made up of different work strands, where you create different opportunities for yourself. As an analogy, just as with cookery, the more ingredients that you have – skills, experience, knowledge and contacts, the more ‘recipes’ you can create for yourself.

What are entrepreneurial behaviours?

Confident/’can do’ attitude

Proactivity

Learning

A mistake/failure is an opportunity to learn/relearn

Try different things

Curiosity

Assertiveness

Being inventive/enterprising

Resilient

A preference for change

Desire to change the status quo

How would you rate yourself currently on these entrepreneurial behaviours out of 100%?

Developing entrepreneurial habits helps to develop entrepreneurial behaviours.

10 habits of entrepreneurs

What are the habits of entrepreneurs?

1. Plan a day in advance

2. Get proper nutrition

3. Position themselves to serve others

4. Set clear S.M.A.R.T. goals

5. Take calculated risks

6. Know their strengths and weaknesses

7. Hire ‘A’ team players

8. Are constantly learning

9. Always look for opportunities

10. Evaluate their actions and priorities every day

6 tips to develop your entrepreneurial ‘muscle’

Block out time in your diary each week for personal and professional development
Diarise a half day or whole day away day every 2 months to think, reflect, plan and create
Read Charles Handy’s book The New Alchemists
Learn to coach yourself – ask yourself open incisive questions e.g. for a trainer: ‘What trends are growing in the tech sector that I could adopt for the training industry?’
Diarise ‘important not urgent’ tasks to make sure that they happen. According to Stephen Covey, author of the international best seller The 7 habits of highly effective people these tasks are:

Preparation
Prevention
Planning
Relationship building
Empowerment
Self awareness, learning, exploration & development
Learning new skills
Creative thinking
Networking
Prioritisation
Training & development
Exercise

6. Push out your comfort zone each week – do something that you have never done before

Get in touch https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/portfolio/connect/

How’s your career capital?

June 17, 2020 By // by Rachel Brushfield

Career capital is the value of competencies, knowledge and individual personality attributes and other career assets that you have to produce economic value.

In competitive markets, career capital is even more important than usual.

In times of redundancies with supply of workers outstripping demand, the market will be more competitive. If the quality of two candidates is the same, what will differentiate them to be chosen?

What is career capital?

Your career assets combined = your career capital; the sum total of your time, talent and potential. You need to consider it in terms of its present and future value when considering your long-term career prospects. If the internet is an ocean full of ‘fish’ i.e opportunities, you need the right ‘bait’ to catch the ‘fish’ you want, whether it is a job or a self employed project. Career capital helps you to do this.

What ‘fish’ do you want to catch e.g. employer or clients?

What will your ‘bait’ be?

Why is career capital important?

The market for workers is changing. In future, employers will have reduced permanent headcount and resource up on an as needed basis with individuals and employers rated transparently on-line.

Are you ready for this new world of work?

Differentiation and visibility on-line is critical.

Career assets

Your career capital is made up of multi-faceted career assets which accrue over time.

Accolades

Patents
Awards
League table rankings e.g. Chambers
Who’s who listing

Academic

Higher qualifications e.g. MBA, PHD, MSc/MA
Links with academia or prestigious universities e.g. guest lecturer

Endorsements

Client testimonials/employer references
Peer testimonials/endorsements

Published works

Articles
Chapters
Books
White papers

Talent

Multiple mastery areas
In-demand skills e.g. creativity, big data management
Languages
Good emotional intelligence e.g. empathy

Networks

Professional association involvement
Membership of respected clubs
Size & diversity of network
Quality of network e.g. senior decision makers, high net worths

Events

Hosting an event
Speaking at an event
Conference speaking
Conference chairing

Charitable

Pro bono
Trustee post

Career credibility

Prestige/trophy employers & clients e.g. FTSE 100
Senior leadership positions e.g. C-Suite

Miscellaneous

Personal brand

What would you add? How would you rate your career capital?

10 tips for healthy career capital

Create a career strategy and ensure your career capital is aligned with it
Define your ‘fish’ – i.e. target employers or clients
Make time to think about what ‘bait’ is the best to catch your ‘fish’
Audit your career capital quarterly and define career asset S.M.A.R.T. goals
Ensure you have insights about what is important to and valued by your target audience
Define your personal brand
Measure stats for your career capital so you can monitor progress
Monitor your reputation – e.g. set up Google alerts & track your name/brand on Twitter
Use/monitor LinkedIn stats to evaluate the quality and profile of your network
When, where and how will I make time to accrue my career capital?

Thought leadership is one of our specialisms. How can we help you develop yours?

Get in touch https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/portfolio/connect/

What do our clients say? https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/energise-client-testimonials/

10 tips for happy self-employment – part 3 of 4

June 16, 2020 By // by Rachel Brushfield

Self employment is on the rise. This is a 4 part article series sharing 40 tips for happy self-employment.

Read part 1 https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/10-tips-for-happy-self-employment-part-1-of-4/

Read part 2 https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/10-tips-for-happy-self-employment-part-2-of-4/

1. Follow up is key – don’t waste effort going for the ‘new shiny thing’

2. Be clear on your attitude to risk

3. Adopt smart tech to work expediently and plan IT reviews and updates

4. Create a financial ‘cushion’ for quiet times

5. Design your business and working environment around your personality type e.g. extrovert or introvert

6. Make the most of the quiet months (August/December/January) to think and plan, don’t worry that it is quiet – it is a gift!

7. Utilise the support of a Virtual PA – play to your strengths

8. Be honest with yourself – what do you really want, rather than what you think you should do?

9. Know the key words for your specialism – use Google Keyword planner

10. Define your personal brand and personal brand assets, e.g. avatar – this is increasingly important in the digital age

Get in touch https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/portfolio/connect/