You’ve just signed the mortgage documents. You’ve finally purchased your dream home and you’re surrounded by a small but growing, healthy family.

You’re secure in a “good,” stable, white-collar job, one that your parents are proud of, and you can even work from home two to three days a week.

But just as you’re getting comfortable and settling into your version of the American dream, one Slack message changes everything:

“I regret to inform you…”

And just like that, your dream vanishes in an instant. All that you’ve worked so hard to build and achieve, has been snatched away by an employer chasing AI and efficiency.

Another 9,000 tech workers lost their livelihoods this week, at one of the most enviable Big Tech firms–Microsoft, making it the third and largest wave of layoffs this year from the global tech giant. Other employers, like Bumble, Google, and Intel, have already reduced their workforce in the first half of this year, according to TechCrunch.

Every year since the pandemic, there has been wave after wave of layoffs–partly spiraled by the aftermath of 2019’s global health crisis, and partially fueled by the AI boom and politics (tariffs and DOGE-induced federal cuts this year).

All of these workforce reductions scream loudly: The concept of job security is dead.

So, what’s the alternative solution?

Enter portfolio careers.

How To Future-Proof Yourself From Layoffs

A portfolio career is when you have multiple streams of income, and are able to leverage your skills in several ways, reducing your dependency on one income source for survival. This provides several benefits:

  • It multiplies your earning potential significantly
  • Reduces the need to panic in the event that you’re laid off, or one business venture or idea falls through, because you have several plan Bs
  • Pushes you to develop your skills further and master your craft
  • Allows you to access several growth opportunities

I spoke with Glassdoor’s career pivot strategist Janel Abrahami, who explains:

“To achieve the ‘American dream,’ you need a career that is based off of multiple projects, clients and income streams as opposed to the more traditional, one corporate 9-5.” This reduces your dependency on your full-time job.

When I asked Abrahami what would constitute a good mix of income streams, she suggested the four C’s:

  1. Coaching and courses
  2. Paid community
  3. Consulting
  4. Content

These four C’s unlock your earning potential, and with the below ChatGPT prompts, you’ll eventually be in a position to make $1,000 and even more, each week, using the same skills your employer tossed aside in favor of “restructuring.”

4 ChatGPT Prompts To Make $1,000+ Outside Your Primary Job

Here are some ChatGPT prompts to use which leverage each of the four C’s listed above:

ChatGPT Prompt #1

I’m launching a course online to teach [type of professional] how to do [end outcome that you’ve already achieved]. Here is my experience [share highlights or attach your resume]. Create the outline for a self-paced course priced at a reasonable price to begin with. The goal is for it to be sold online with minimal hands-on delivery and it should convey how I do [XYZ] step-by-step in very practical, tangible ways. List how many modules and topics would be covered, and how long would the video lessons be for each.

ChatGPT Prompt #2

You’re my business consultant. My skill and industry background is in [name your expertise or work area], and I would like to launch a paid community as an extra source of income on top of my job. List all the types of paid communities I could attach to my area of expertise and provide me with ideas for what to include in the monthly subscriptions. My goal is to attract at least 50 members within the next 90 days, leading me to achieve and exceed my $1,000 a week target in a maximum of six months. Help me design and structure the paid community.

ChatGPT Prompt #3

You’re a [name of specialism consultant like an HR consultant] with X years of experience. Create a consulting package for [target audience] that is high-ticket and solves [a highly specific niche problem] which is specifically for business clients and key decision makers.

ChatGPT Prompt #4

Give me a 90-day content plan and perks to include in my paid Medium/Substack newsletter for [area of expertise] Also include suggestions for tiers for subscription pricing of the monthly newsletter subscription.

How To Make $1,000/Week Outside Your Job

Should you start with all four ideas at one time? Abrahami doesn’t think that’s wise. However, she suggests that you start with the one that’s easiest and most natural for you to implement. So if you find that creating an online course is the easiest option for you, jump into that first. If conducting consulting or coaching calls is less time-consuming and easier for you to start with right away, do that instead.

Follow these steps to scale your income beyond your 9-5:

  • Jump into one idea first and give it all your energy and focus
  • Give that idea some runway for a few months
  • Then layer with the other three C’s, one at a time

Using this approach, you can scale in a way that’s natural, reasonably paced, and not overwhelming or time-consuming. You can also build passive income (through paid content, communities, and courses). And now, you can see just how realistic it can be to earn $1,000 or more every week, purely from one skill that your employer would no longer pay you for.

FAQs

Can I make $1,000 in a week?

While you may not be able to earn $1,000 this week, you can certainly scale your income to the point where you’re raking this figure in (and a whole lot more) every week consistently, after a few months. Find out which of the four C’s you’re going to commit to as you start your freelance journey, and scale using automation.

How can ChatGPT make me money?

ChatGPT is a Gen AI tool that allows you to multiply your impact, reach, quality of work, productivity, and revenue generation. There are so many use cases for ChatGPT when it comes to making money, especially online, from content production, to digital marketing, to outlining your business plan, to providing you with entrepreneur advice and ideas, to ideating and development of your digital products.

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