How To Build A Portfolio Career
Welcome to the first Career Hustle & Flow Blog of 2026!
If you’re new here, hi, I’m June. Former Meta & Google Recruiter, and Career & Business Strategist. I help people reposition themselves, build personal brands, and create careers that actually fit their lives.
This year, I’m bringing this newsletter back to document what it really looks like to rebuild. The messy, non-linear, worth-it kind.
It Started With a Layoff.
I didn’t have a dramatic “I quit” moment. I got laid off from Meta. Instead of panic-applying, I paused. I went on a trip with my family to the Philippines and it was not only a vacation, but a reset I needed.
Being in my home country and fully immersed in my culture reminded me why I’m so proud to be Filipino. That trip also grounded me in a powerful way. It showed me that my success isn’t just about what I’ve achieved.
I met so many locals in the Philippines who were humble, hardworking, and living minimalist lives, yet they carried a deep sense of fulfillment. It reminded me that I don’t need “big Meta money” to feel successful. What truly makes me feel rich is the work I’ve always loved: helping people discover who they are, understand their worth, and realize what they’re capable of.
Coaching. Developing people. That was always the thread.
I came home knowing what I wanted to build and what I was willing to say no to in order to build it.
I Declined a Six-Figure Offer to Bet on Myself. Going into 2026, I had a good offer on the table. The safe, obvious post-layoff move.
I turned it down.
I nstead, I enrolled in UGC Academy to learn the foundations of a creator business and monetize my creativity. Not the flashy move but the right one.
Because content creation isn’t really about going viral. It’s about connection. And connection is exactly what great coaching is built on. UGC is my launching pad back to the work I love most.
Last Month, I Lived the Portfolio Career in Real Time.
Here’s what that actually looked like:
I joined the coaching bench at Better Work sitting with people in hard moments and helping them find their footing.
A resume company hired me to write an article and create a video teaching what I know while building my brand.
I taught a workshop at my alma mater, Golden Gate University in a room full of people ready to figure out their next move.
And I taught my hip hop step classes. That last one matters more than people expect. What happens in that room, the music, the movement, the callouts, that energy fuels everything else I do.
None of it was random. Every stream connected back to the same core strengths: coaching, teaching, creating, bringing people together.
That’s what a portfolio career looks like when it’s working.
What Is a Portfolio Career?
It’s when your income comes from multiple aligned streams, not one employer who holds all the leverage.
Not doing more. Doing the right mix of things that use the same core strengths.
Mine: coaching, content creation, workshops, and community. Each piece feeds the others.
How to Start Building Yours
Don’t rush back to familiarity. The panic after a layoff is real but the first offer isn’t always the right one. Pause before you decide.
Reconnect with what you actually loved. Not what paid well. What made you lose track of time? Start there.
Invest in a skill that unlocks multiple doors. Find the one that connects your strengths to real income. That’s your launching pad.
. Turn your expertise into offers. Coaching, workshops, freelance, digital products—your experience has value right now, as is.
Build in public. The messy middle is what people trust. Share the process, not just the wins.
Choose 2–4 streams that complement each other. Same core strengths, different angles. That’s the whole model.
The Real Win
A layoff can feel like an ending. Sometimes it is.
But it can also be the thing that finally forces you to stop building someone else’s dream and start building your own.
I declined the offer. I flew to the Philippines. I enrolled in a creator academy. I coached, taught, created, and danced my way into 2026—building a business I actually love.
You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to take one honest step toward what you actually want.
You’re not starting over. You’re repositioning.
Ready to build your next chapter? Contact me and let’s BUILD!