One pieces of my Portfolio Career that surprises people most: I worked On-Demand at Target.
I’d been running The Pledgettes, managing our rental properties, and freelancing. I loved the work, but it could feel lonely and isolated. I kept saying I missed being part of a team.
So I started as seasonal help and stayed on as an On-Demand team member. It was a great run and a great experience. And one that I would consider again in the future. It was sort of my Barista FI/RE job.
Here’s how it fit, and what it gave me.
How it fit around everything else
On-Demand meant I wasn’t on the regular schedule. Each week I emailed my manager my availability, then picked up a few four- to six-hour shifts. I could also check the app for shifts that people were dropping or additional shifts Target was offering.
I worked as a cashier, at the Guest Service desk, stocking shelves, and fulfilling drive-up and online orders. When we traveled, or a client project ramped up, I didn’t need to request time off. I just didn’t offer shifts that week.
That flexibility is what made it a portfolio piece instead of a second job competing with my first.
What it gave me
A team again
This was the part I loved most. I loved the small communication at shift change: picking up a fulfillment cart someone else had started, or giving a coworker a quick brief on how I was stocking the Bullseye’s section.
Those handoffs are the same skill I use on big agency projects, just at a smaller scale. And between tasks, I got to hear about my coworkers’ dreams, goals, and lives. That connection was exactly what I’d been missing.
More focus for my other work
“If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” With shifts on my calendar, I had fewer hours for other work, but I used them far better. When I sat down at my desk, I was motivated, energized, and focused to dig into The Pledgettes, our rental properties, or some freelancing.
A paycheck for Future Us
I earned $17.75 an hour. It wasn’t a money-maker, and it was never meant to be my main income. Because I didn’t rely on it, I sent 80% of each paycheck to my 401(k), with a 5% employer match on top.
That’s the quiet power of a portfolio: one stream can be fully dedicated to your future self.
Benefits I didn’t expect
- Therapy and coaching. Through Target’s benefit, I received eight therapy sessions and eight coaching sessions each year and definitely used them!
- The discount. 10% off everything and 20% off wellness products. I thought I’d shop more being there so often, but the opposite happened. When my shift ended, I was ready to leave.
- Movement. I was on my feet instead of sitting at a desk all day.
What it taught me as a financial coach
Standing at a register shows you how people really spend, especially around the holidays.
Some guests had to leave a few items behind because they didn’t have enough. Others were checking out huge hauls. Seeing both, sometimes minutes apart, gave me a deeper understanding of consumerism and shopping habits than any budget spreadsheet could. It makes me a more grounded coach.
I also learned what happens to the things we return:
- Food is thrown away. Any returned food item goes in the trash.
- Pet hair means defective. Clothes or bedding returned with pet hair are often marked defective.
- So does packaging that won’t close. If it can’t fit back in the box, it’s often defective too.
My rule now: only buy what you plan to keep. And if you can, skip the things you don’t need, resist the impulse buy.
How it ended
When I took on a full-time project as an Account Director at CPG Agency, I didn’t have the time or energy for Target shifts.
Then as that project wound down, I checked whether I could pick up a shift again. My employment had been turned off because I hadn’t worked in a few months. I took it as a sign to keep moving forward instead of going back.
That’s how a portfolio career works. Each piece does its job for a season, and when it’s done, it makes room for the next one.
If you’re building a portfolio career, don’t overlook flexible hourly work. It won’t be your biggest income stream, but it can give you a team, structure, and a paycheck you can send straight to your future self.
I dug into the numbers a bit more in a post in The Pledgettes community.
