How to Build a Portfolio Career: Designing Freedom and Creativity Through Multiple Paths!

You’ve thought about starting a side hustle or even going full-time on your own… but where do you even start?

Thursday, March 27 @ 1pm PST

I’ll be hosting a live workshop where I’ll share the ins-and-outs of how I went from engineering manager to self-employed, building a career on my terms—and how you can, too.

Come Join Us If…

You are curious but hesitant about starting a side hustle or business.
You want more freedom, creativity, and fulfillment, but also have fears, questions, and limiting beliefs about what’s possible.

What We’ll Cover

Is a Side Hustle or Business Right for You? – More women in tech are exploring new income streams, but it’s not for everyone. We’ll talk about what’s possible and how to make the right choice for you.
How I Went from EM to Self-Employment – The real story of how I replaced my tech salary within 1 year of starting my business (note: I am not promising overnight successes and this wasn’t easy!), plus mistakes I wish I’d avoided—like undercharging, overcomplicating, and waiting too long to start.
What This Really Looks Like – I’ll be transparent about the trade-offs, how I structure my time, and the biggest gotchas—so you can start smarter and avoid common pitfalls.

Love from past talks

Screenshot of a LinkedIn comment. The commenter is a "Customer Success & Marketing Exec" and mentions how a workshop created positive changes for them. They thank someone named Sarah and reference a Mary J Blige song.

Text discussing a challenge and mentioning Sarah's empathetic approach.

A social media post by Kate Westlund Tovsen, advocating for Sarah Ing, emphasizing her as an excellent coach for women in tech seeking advancements. The post mentions a talk by Sarah about using LinkedIn, attended around three months ago, which left a lasting impact. Kate uses her pronouns (She/Her) and titles herself as a Connector of Dots and Communications Pro.

Text expressing gratitude for a perspective shift from connecting with talented women, leading to a job offer.

Text message expressing gratitude and excitement, addressing someone named Sarah, mentioning feeling energized and able to articulate value again.

Hi! I’m Sarah

I never planned to work for myself.

But after 10+ years as an engineering leader in tech, I started exploring other ways to use my skills. I swapped the 9-5 grind for a location-independent portfolio career, and to my surprise, it replaced her tech salary within a year. Currently, it looks like coaching and consulting, but in the past, it also looked like engineering, chocolatiering, and even audiobook narration (with dumpling making on the side).

This won’t be a typical “start a business” talk. I’ll share the real, messy, unconventional ways I figured out how to make a living on my own—without a perfect plan, a fancy website, or quitting my job overnight.

I’ve worked 20+ jobs (from chocolate making to journalism to tech leadership), and if there’s one thing I know, it’s this: your career doesn’t have to fit into one box. I’ll show you how to turn your skills into something that gives you more options, more freedom, and more fun.

Person wearing a pink fur-trimmed coat holding pink sunglasses.