I traded 20 years of corporate work for a portfolio career

Here's what i've learned in the first month

Most of us will work our entire careers in a state of rental. Giving our time, energy and faith to brands that don’t belong to us. What we lack in equity they make up for in loyalty, right? RIGHT?!

Many elder millennials like myself have more frequently been coming to the realization that the “corporate life” we were sold from the brochure isn’t matching our careers 10, 15 or 20 years in.

I started to rethink things soon after COVID. I saw good people loose their jobs with little to no acknowledgement from the “family” like system the were devoted to. It was a good reminder that business, whether you like it or not, is just that, a business. And the only way I could guarantee job security is to work for the single most important brand I know: my own.

Here are the 4 biggest takeaways one month since leaving my full-time corporate role, starting consulting and building a portfolio career:

It's emotionally polarizing
I bounce back and forth between an immense sense of freedom and a constant hum of constraint. There is no better feeling than removing an entire inbox from your Outlook. May you find the peace that comes from eliminating Teams from your home screen. But the pressure I now put on my self to always be producing needs calibration. I know that will come in time, but the pressure to turn every ounce of time into money is not sustainable.

The brand crutch was real
I've had the amazing privilege of working with notable brands. Notable doesn't even do them justice. Like, off the charts dream level brand awareness alongside emotional connectivity that marketers dream about. Now I get less excited about the inevitable "what do you do?" question. I have to run down a gauntlet of 'if this, then that' factors before answering. Who's asking? What day is it? A portfolio career and brevity don't go well together.

Building in public is not for the faint of heart
It’s taking every ounce, every fiber of my being to not wait until my version of ready. I think it’s the curse of the millennial polish. Why show you the ugly parts now when I can show you a finalized and perfect version in 3 to 5 months? The cost is the discomfort of being seen before you’re satisfied with what’s being seen. But that’s showbiz baby.

Community is everything
I've loved hearing from the corners of my network. Your encouragement and support have been inspiring, and honestly the best part of this journey so far. The phrase "there's someone you need to meet" is my new love language. Working for myself has given me a new appreciation for my network that honestly I had partly taken for granted. Excited to continue building and watch the tide rise.