The Portfolio Career Lab

This is a revisit of a very conversation I had with the lovely Anna Mackenzie this time last year wherein we explorde how portfolio careers have moved from niche to mainstream, accelerated by AI and changing attitudes toward work. It was a catalyst of a conversation that sent me on my trajectory to writing my book Polyworker which is why I've included it in this BTS series.
Give a listen to Anna and I's discussion about designing multiple income streams, balancing your newfound creative freedom with discipline, and the value of community and mentorship.
This episode is jam packed with practical topics including building a fractional practice, getting going with your Substack and content strategy, managing your first product launch, and both of our predictions for how work and public policy would adapt in 2026. You'll get loads of insights on building meaningful, flexible careers that combine creativity, stability, and personal fulfillment.
If you enjoyed this conversation, buy my book Polyworker on Amazon or Bookshop.org to kickstart your very own portfolio career: https://linktr.ee/BrieAbramowicz

In this week's episode of the pod I have brand strategist Mark Rukman on to talk about this concept of technofeudalism which I poke fun at in my book (albeit indirectly). 
The laptop class is having a moment right now in terms of it's digital discourse. Economic anxiety has shifted from "my boss is the worst" to "late stage capitalism sucks". So I brought Mark Rukman on to help me figure out if we're actually living through the collapse of capitalism or just a few bad  years economically speaking.
We get into why capitalism has always had a gravitational pull toward feudalism when wealth concentration goes unchecked, why  American knowledge workers are feeling particularly disillusioned, and what history might tell us about how to interpret this situation.
If you like systems thinking and lessons in history, you'll enjoy this episode a lot.
Buy Polyworker on Amazon or Bookshop.org: https://linktr.ee/BrieAbramowicz

In this week's episode of the pod I have MJ Halberstadt back on again to talk about a comparison I make in the book between portfolio careers and polyamory. We also dig into this idea of automatic thinking and a key concept from the later chapters of the book: the professional polycule!
Buy Polyworker on Amazon or Bookshop.org: https://linktr.ee/BrieAbramowicz
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

In this episode of the pod I chat with Ceres Chua, founder of The Money Mindset Lab about the feast-or-famine cycles that are a hallmark of running a small business, and how to build a financial system and money mindset that bolsters you when your business cash flows inevitably get lumpy.
If you're early in your polyworking journey, partway in and financially anxious AF, or on the fence about jumping ship to the land of independent work and wondering how the financial mechanics actually work, this episode is a brass tacks listen.
 
Buy Polyworker on Amazon or Bookshop.org: https://linktr.ee/BrieAbramowicz

What's the difference between a polyworker and a portfolio careerist? And why does it matter?
In this episode, I break down why I titled the book Polyworker and what it takes to build a career around your values while still operating inside capitalism. If you've ever felt like you were "doing the thing" but still had bad weeks because your business development pipeline was nonexistent or your cash got tight, this is a great episode to give you a little perspective.
Buy Polyworker on Amazon or Bookshop.org: https://linktr.ee/BrieAbramowicz
 

This is episode one of a little mini season of the show. (A whole mini season! I know. Bear with me.) It's going to be chock full of behind-the-scenes stuff re: my debut book Polyworker!
This particular episode gives you a closer look at the two companion films for the book — Corporate Fleabag and Planet Work . I sit down for a chat with SAG actress and the leading lady in both shorts Ally Condrath. Together, Ally and I field questions from fans about how the whole project came together: from first finding each other to building and then executing on the creative vision for each short.
If you loved listening to this episode and want to grab a copy of Polyworker right now, it's now available for purchase on both Amazon or Bookshop!

In this episode, I chat with Bhavna Devani about the generational reckoning happening in the culture of work and why so many of us feel like we’re navigating economic precarity and career chaos alone, when it’s actually a collective, systemic shift.
We talk about the skills this moment now demands—continuous skill gathering, communications and marketing as core economic competencies, and the practice of ruthless prioritization as you build a portfolio of work. Bhavna also shares reflections on “Mad Men working in a TikTok world,” the widening cost-of-living-to-earnings ratio (especially for parents), and why the future can’t just be “13 income streams.” We close with a shared product lens re: portfolio careers: MVP-driven experimentation, signals of fit, and what “person–market fit” looks like when YOU are the product.
 
Buy Polyworker on Amazon or Bookshop.org: https://linktr.ee/BrieAbramowicz

In this episode, I chat with Meg Scheding of Strategic Pivotery, a Slack-based community for women (not so quietly!) stepping away from confines of tech hustle culture and the idea that work defines our worth.We chat about the intense loneliness that tends to creep up when you step away from full-time work, how she built a community as a means of solving that problem, and who Meg believes needs to read Polyworker (hint, hint: it's not just millennials!).
 
Buy Polyworker on Amazon or Bookshop.org: https://linktr.ee/BrieAbramowicz

In this episode, I chat with Julie Fedele about the state of the corporate world and my upcoming book Polyworker. We explore the identity work that comes with starting over, and then wade into a harder question: if the social contract is broken, who is actually responsible for fixing it?

In this episode, I run back through my big portfolio-career predictions for 2025 and then I cast a little spell for 2026. You know, set the vibes, summon the universe, see what sticks. It’s reflective, kinda witchy… very on brand.