The Wealth You Really Need to Navigate Your Portfolio Career

It’s Not Just Financial Capital: Embrace These Four Essential Types

As entrepreneurs and hybridpreneurs, we often focus heavily on building financial capital. If you’ve left your corporate job, you might be wondering how to replace your cushy salary.?

Not receiving that monthly paycheck can be painful. And as freeing as it is to be out of the corporate box, you might feel lost on how to monetize your expertise.

If you’ve already transitioned into entrepreneurship, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about marketing, revenue generation, business growth, and sales—more than you'd like to. It's easy to get caught up in these activities crucial for financial health, but let’s not put all our eggs in the financial capital basket. There are three other types of capital that are equally important to build

1. Social Capital

Ah, networking. Love it or hate it, business has always been about relationships.?

Sure, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help facilitate and accelerate the process, but it can’t replace authentic human connection. In our post-pandemic world, meeting up in person helps cultivate deeper relationships.?

So, make an extra effort to attend industry events and conferences. Pro tip: Prepare virtual coffees before the event and in-person meetings during the event. Go for fewer, quality connections instead of random small talk.

Takeaway: Your time is your biggest asset. Invest it in building meaningful relationships, not just collecting business cards.

Remember, it's also important to consider the composition of your network.—what percentage of your current network has authority and decision-making power? How many people can actually write checks? While it’s comforting to connect with your “like-minded peers,” ensure you also network with your target audience—who you can truly help and transform.

Always be doing business development, even when you have lots of work to deliver. Have a strategic networking strategy to build up your pipeline of opportunities. Generate demand so you don’t have to deal with feast and famine cycles, or take on clients that aren’t ideal or that don’t energize you. We went on this entrepreneurial journey to have fun, didn’t we?

Takeaway: Networking isn’t just about who you know; it’s about who knows you and what value you bring to the table.

2. Intellectual Capital

What are you really great at? And no, binge-watching Netflix doesn’t count (unfortunately).?

Information is commoditized in today’s world, so being an expert isn’t all that rare anymore. In fact, you can become obsolete extremely quickly these days, especially in hot industries like AI. Focus on not just being good at one thing, but being a unique combination of a few different hats that align with you and your values. What’s your secret sauce?

Before starting Ripple Impact, I did some market research throughout 2020 and found the intersection of what I was good at, what I loved, and what others would pay me for. As a forever student, I’m ever-evolving, and so is my company vision. Staying informed about your market position is crucial. Make strategic pivots and proactive reinventions when life throws you a curveball. Market research has to be ongoing to stay relevant.

Takeaway: Stay curious and keep learning. Your intellectual capital is your competitive edge.

You need to be on top of your industry, especially if YOU are your business. Become the expert of your business, not just in your business.?

This means knowing where you stand in the market compared to your competition. Then, you’ll be able to develop a stronger business and pricing strategy and achieve product-message-market fit.

Takeaway: Don’t just work in your business; work on your business. Know your market and stay ahead of the curve.

3. Emotional Capital

This one is the most underrated. Not everyone can develop the emotional resilience needed to succeed and enjoy this path. But many people already have it, buried by stories, trauma, or mindset blocks, and so can you.?

If you’re recovering from burnout, take the break you need to fully recover and feel inspired to continue on this path.?

Sure, getting out of your shell can be terrifying and feel self-promotional, especially if you’re dealing with imposter syndrome or fear of rejection—but remember it’s crucial for success.

Takeaway: Emotional resilience is your secret weapon. Take care of your mental health and well-being.

Having the right support system, your solidarity squad, or your personal board of directors, is key. Getting the right coach, and often a therapist, can also go a long way.?

And while knowing yourself and what you’re good at is important, you should also know? what you’re not good at, so you can delegate wherever you can. When you’re wearing many hats, find the right balance between doing, dealing, and delegating.?

Remember, your brilliance brought you here, but your support system and team will help you accelerate toward where you want to be.

Takeaway: You don’t have to do it all alone. Build a support system that lifts you up and helps you grow.

4. Financial Capital

?Before setting on your entrepreneurial journey, draw out your product/service roadmap. Consider these questions:

• What’s your ultimate goal??
• How much do you want to earn each year??
• How do you want to invest your time between different revenue streams??
• How many hours do you want to work each week??
• Why do you do what you do??
• Are you building to sell, or building to last??
• Are you shifting into advisory or thought leadership work such as speaking and writing?
• What’s your pricing strategy??
• How well are you articulating your value?

Takeaway: Be strategic with your finances. Plan your revenue streams and manage your time wisely.

Consider options like consulting, fractional roles, or coaching to help you make strategic investments toward where you want to go. Also, look for ways to “productize” yourself and package your offerings to over-deliver value to your customers while standardizing as much as you can to reduce the risk of an unhappy client.

But that’s not all.

As you put together your ideal revenue amount for the next few years, factor in operational costs, R&D, and personal/professional development expenses.

Patience is key for this path, as it usually takes longer than expected to get the desired results. However, there are ways to accelerate your path to achieving your goals and dreams.

Takeaway: Financial capital is important, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. Balance it with the other types of capital for long-term success.

Remember, if you’re doing what you are passionate about and what makes you happy, despite all the risks, you are already successful.?

Now as you develop these four types of capital, be strategic with your time and effort to build . a balanced portfolio of capital to thrive in your entrepreneurial journey.

With gratitude, Saleema

P.S. : In the comments below, let me know which one(s) are you strongest and weakest at.