Unbundling your job

Why do we have jobs? Jobs provide us with a bundle of many things, which is why they’ve been around for so long:

• Predictable cashflow: cover lifestyle costs, plan for the future
• Benefits: 401k retirement accounts, health and life insurance, paid time off, access to new capital such as mortgages
• Purpose: creative outlet, sense of accomplishment, contribution towards something bigger than yourself
• Identity: personal and company branding, access to opportunities and people that would not otherwise be attainable
• Social Interaction: friendships, human contact, collaborating with others towards a shared purpose

I’ve been starting to lightly consider what it would look like to unbundle these components of work, particularly the predictable cashflow component. Are there other vehicles that might provide a better source of predictable cashflow that we don’t typically consider investing in as ‘normal’ retail investors?

A couple of areas that I’m starting to explore, beyond dividend focused public markets investing are below:

1. Franchises: one idea could be investing in / running franchises which can have quite low initial investment costs, fast payback periods and decent margins which can lead to predictable cashflow. You would need to diversify the type of franchises to invest in so you’re not over-indexed on specific sectors e.g. boutique fitness or fast-food.

2. Real estate: a diversified real estate portfolio which focuses on yield is another interesting avenue – I’m currently exploring fundrise and potentially cadre to learn how each of these work.

This is currently just in the idea stage, and I’ll publish more on this if/when I develop my thinking beyond this initial idea.