Portfolio People
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Events
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

Archive

January 2021
December 2020
October 2020
September 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
May 2018
September 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
December 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
April 2015
March 2015

15/6/2015 0 Comments

Northern America - A service industry for entrepreneurs?

Picture
I sometimes travel to the US and each time I go I observe what it means to be a server or behind the bar.  The first bar I entered in Seattle I met a barman who chose to work during his free-time instead of going out, which means he was earning about $100K a year (I hear that the type of establishment you work in plays a part though).  I also have a mate who only goes back to the US to work because you can truly earn that sort of money in a short space of time. Let's call that 'Binge Working!' For those of us in the know in the US service industry...such individuals do not get paid much in wages but they make their living through tips.

I was surprised when I heard that the state of Washington is in the process of introducing a minimum wage of $15 per hour for service staff by 2021. It is going up each year and soon will be above the living wage which is currently $8.77 per hour.  It hasn't been a popular policy.....call it partly culture, call it choice. The popular argument is that people sign up to work in the industry knowing what they are signing up to and on the whole, you receive great customer service led by the individual.  In the US Service industry culture, servers are like micro-entrepreneurs, each working for their own personal goals. Good service can and often does mean great tips, so good training and good careers for many.

I think that service staff are truly Portfolio People. In Vancouver I met an author in a dive bar who had been taken on by a known editor. He was however, still in need of an agent. The irony is that his muse has not yet been published, so he was leading the 'Portfolio Life' by working 'normal jobs'. With this comes the next issue...

"For those of you who don't know yet, a portfolio career is all about dividing your time between different jobs in which you see yourself more like a separate company providing a service than an individual employed under contract.  A Portfolio person has a flexible approach to work and life."  

Why do people think a Portfolio Life isn't as good as a traditional career? I mean... Having your fingers in only one basket could be risky given the economic outlook. Isn’t it better to have your fingers in many pies!?  A portfolio career is not a stop-gap. Though it is a complicated equation on whether it is best to have a traditional or portfolio career, as more and more jobs are becoming zero hours contracts or part time, it seems more sensible to have a portfolio career.  

Most people with successful and stable careers already have a portfolio, they have investments or they want and need to concentrate on their home life, a carefully balanced lifestyle. I thus urge you to take a look at your lifestyle (I would put money on the likelihood that it is already somewhat Portfolio) and analyse it further....by choice...not by need, and make it work.


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

+44 (0) 207 030 3141
Registered in England and Wales 8874676 
Copyright ©2014-2021 Portfolio People. All rights reserved. 
 Home     |     Blog  |   Contact