5 pm on a Friday and I’m about to jump on a Zoom.
For the record: I do not do Zooms on Friday afternoons unless a serious amount of money is on the line – which was not the case.
But I had a gut feeling I wanted to meet her.
At first, it was awkward. Two strangers staring at each other’s faces in a Zoom box.
We didn’t even know of each other’s existence a week ago, but Martijn—whom I recently met and immediately liked—insisted we connect. So, being the good girl I sometimes am, I did as I was told.
And then – there she was. Strong. Smart. Fierce. Stunning.
What followed wasn’t a polite networking chat. It was an unexpectedly warm conversation between two midlife rebels who had spent their careers in a man’s world (trading floors) and now found themselves in a different place.
Two women, one Zoom room, four kids on one side, two on the other, and forty years of corporate grit between us.
K. had just turned 40 when her employer dangled a bigger title and “even more money.” She said she wanted more time, they heard “more money.” The day they thought she’d accept a fabulous promotion, she resigned. No plan, just walked out.
Me? I was 40, eight months pregnant, very ill, and bored out of my mind (bed rest is not a concept I grasp). An old client called from my trading-world past: “Could you help set up a fund?” As long as I could do it from bed with a laptop, sure. I wasn’t planning to start a business, but the clients kept coming. And here we are.
So there we were. Two women who love writing and extravagant shoes, who traveled the world for corporate, spent decades in a world of men, and decided we’d had enough. We wanted to own our calendars, our energy, and our family time—“they’re only little once.”
What do you call what we’re doing?
It’s a portfolio career: consulting + coaching + advisory + writing + the occasional podcast + whatever the hell you want – stacked intentionally.
You don’t have to choose one box. You’re free to design your own.
Quote of the Week
“A career is a portfolio of projects that teach you new skills, gain you new expertise, develop new capabilities, and constantly reinvent you as a brand.”
Tom Peters
The Numbers
- The average age of successful high-growth founders is 45 (Harvard Business Review). Translation: midlife isn’t a curse.
- New entrepreneurship is strongest in the 45–55 band, with 55–64 close behind—and most are doing it by choice, not necessity (Kauffman Foundation).
- Women are still underrepresented in entrepreneurship, but participation is rising. In the EU, ~6% of women are actively building or managing new firms (vs. 8% of men). Your leap matters (OECD).
- Portfolio-style work (multiple roles/clients) boosts autonomy but needs boundaries—research shows multi-job setups without design can strain wellbeing. We design the work so it serves your life, not the other way around (IZA World of Labor).
What The Hell Is A Portfolio Career?
It’s a deliberate blend of multiple income streams that fit your expertise and season of life. Think: advisory retainers + one flagship service + a paid audit + thought-leadership (speaking, newsletter sponsorships, or a light digital product). No funnels required to start.
Picture this: three of four senior women at your next alumni meetup are already advising a founder, mentoring a rising leader, or getting paid for a “quick” diagnostic they used to do free at work. The fourth? She’s next.
Five proven portfolio “tiles” (mix two to start):
- Advisory Retainers (1–3 clients): Fractional CXO, strategy advisor, leadership coach. Scope: outcomes, not hours.
- Paid Audits/Diagnostics: Short, high-value assessments—great as a first paid offer.
- Done-With-You Sprints: Time-boxed implementations (onboarding rebuild, KPI dashboard, messaging pass).
- Authority Assets: Weekly newsletter, guest podcasts, or a monthly roundtable that attracts inbound demand.
- Teaching & Facilitation: Workshops, corporate training, or small group masterminds. Often overlooked, but one session can lead to repeat contracts.
Here’s the secret: you don’t build all of these at once. A portfolio career grows one project at a time.
Start with a single outcome you can deliver confidently, prove it with one client, and let the next opportunity layer on top. The stack builds naturally, without the chaos of trying to launch everything at once.
Own It
You’ve spent 15–20 years solving expensive problems.
It’s time to repackage that experience into a premium problem-solving service. Don’t tell me you can’t package a $5k outcome from two decades of corporate wins. I’m not buying it.
Like me and K., you don’t need courage upfront. You build it by doing. (Remember: they let you leave the hospital with a newborn and zero training. And you kept that tiny human alive.)
And if that’s not enough – ask yourself this: do you have the courage to keep living the same life until you’re 65?
That’s what I thought.
When you’re ready to design your stack, book your Strategy Call.
Let’s cut the golden handcuffs together.
Weekly Action Plan
- Offer-Build: Book your Strategy Call.
- Visibility: Post one “$5k outcome” you deliver (problem → fix → result) on LinkedIn.
- Pipeline: DM 5 warm contacts with: “I’m taking 2 clients for [Outcome]. Want details or know someone who does?”
- Mindset: Write a 1-sentence rule for scope creep and pin it above your desk.
To all the women designing lives that fit – keep going. Now I’m off for a coffee.
Your next move? Book your Strategy Call.
Claudia
