Making “Cents” of Your Portfolio Career (Pt 2)

Since we last met, you’ve managed to cultivate a successful portfolio career! Finding the ideal mix of teaching, performing, and exhibiting has you artistically fulfilled, but not having a steady paycheck is making even the simplest financial goals difficult to navigate. Are you sure you’ll make rent this month? How about that credit card payment?

With a portfolio career, fluctuations based on busy seasons, holidays, or that unexpected and lucrative opportunity often make month to month planning tricky. When your income is variable but your bills are consistent, it can be really easy to fall behind. You need to give yourself a fighting chance to stay in the black. Now this is going to sound way too simple, but trust its simplicity – each month track of your income on a spreadsheet. Religiously documenting this for a year or two will accumulate enough data to help extrapolate your future earnings. It can give you concrete information about each job in your portfolio, like how much each “JOB A” earns in December vs. July, when “JOB B’s” lucrative season is, or how much “JOB C” earns over the entire year. 

Here’s an example of a spreadsheet designed for Phil, a freelance trumpeter, an educator, and on the side an event photographer. His sheet is simple to use – every time he received a check, Phil would find the correct month using the bottom tabs and then enter the information (Date, client, amount, memo, tax info, and portfolio) of the corresponding payment. The spreadsheet will automatically calculate both the summary stats and the “Year at a Glance” tab. The amount of info can seem daunting but check out how Phil made sense of it.

Phil told me, “I was aware that Christmas and Easter are both extremely busy times of the year for my performance schedule, but after several years of documenting my income, I realized just how crucial those two holidays were. Those two seasons account for over 50% of my yearly performance income! It makes me pretty glad I didn’t go on vacation last Christmas!” Phil also knows that his work as a private teacher takes a hit during the summertime. With the help of his spreadsheet, he was able to pinpoint exactly how much less he can expect to make from teaching each summer (usually between $1500 and $2000). Since this discovery, he’s expanded his photography business during the summer by partnering with some wedding photographers. This way he can strategically make up for that lost income.

Having a portfolio career requires a little bit more “life admin,” but overall, it’s a small price to pay. Take the 30 seconds to document your income on a spreadsheet -- that data will end up being the foundation for the financial goals you set.