Recommended Resources for Building Encore Income
Tools, books, and resources that actually help corporate professionals build supplementary retirement income.
Look, I'm not going to recommend a bunch of garbage just because someone offered me an affiliate commission.
Every resource on this page is something I've actually used, read, or tested. If it's here, it's because it provides real value for professionals building Encore Income streams.
No fluff. No "passive income" fantasy products. No courses promising you'll make $10k in 30 days.
Just practical tools and honest guidance for people who need to close their retirement income gap.
Career & Self-Assessment
Get Clear Career Assessment
Why it matters: Most career books are garbage. This one isn't. Coleman helps you understand how you're actually wired—your talents, passions, and mission—so you can stop wasting time on income opportunities that will drain you.
Who it's for: Corporate professionals who need to be surgical about where they invest their limited time building supplementary income.
What I like: It's 160 pages, not a 400-page doorstop. Takes 15 minutes to complete the assessment. No rah-rah "follow your passion" nonsense—just practical clarity about who you are and what will actually work for you.
How it connects: You've calculated your Freedom Number gap. Now Coleman helps you identify which income opportunities will energize you instead of drain you while you close that gap.
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Consulting & Advisory
Million Dollar Consulting (6th Edition)
Why it matters: Most consultants bill hourly and stay broke. Weiss teaches value-based pricing—charging for the transformation you deliver, not the hours you work. This is how you build consulting income that actually closes your retirement gap.
Who it's for: Corporate professionals who want to monetize their executive experience through consulting but don't want to trade hours for dollars like a contractor.
What I like: Weiss has been consulting for 30+ years and built a $2M+ practice. He doesn't theorize—he shows you exactly how to position yourself, set fees that reflect your value, and attract clients who pay premium rates. No fluff, just the playbook.
How it connects: You know your Freedom Number gap. Weiss shows you how to package your decades of corporate experience into high-value consulting engagements that can close that gap in 5-10 years instead of 20.
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Professional Development
Never Split the Difference
Why it matters: Whether you're negotiating consulting fees, client scope, or partnership terms, you need to know how to navigate high-stakes conversations. Voss was the FBI's lead hostage negotiator—if his techniques work with terrorists, they'll work when you're setting fees that actually move the needle on your retirement gap.
Who it's for: Professionals who need to get comfortable negotiating their worth, setting boundaries with clients, and closing deals without leaving money on the table—money that could be closing your Freedom Number gap.
What I like: No academic theory here. Every technique comes from real hostage situations where lives were on the line. Tactical empathy, mirroring, calibrated questions—these aren't cute tricks, they're battle-tested strategies that actually work.
How it connects: You've calculated your retirement gap. Now you need to negotiate fees and terms that actually make progress on closing it. Voss shows you how to do that without apologizing for your value.
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Financial Planning
The Simple Path to Wealth
Why it matters: The financial services industry wants you confused and dependent on their fees. Collins strips away the complexity and shows you the straightforward index fund strategy that actually builds wealth. Over 1 million copies sold, foundational to the FIRE movement.
Who it's for: Professionals who want to understand investing without getting fleeced by financial advisors charging 1-2% annually to underperform the market. Every dollar you save in fees accelerates closing your retirement gap.
What I like: Collins doesn't sell anything. No courses, no coaching, no affiliate schemes. Just honest guidance on low-cost index funds, the 4% rule, and how to achieve financial independence. It's the antidote to financial industry BS.
How it connects: Building supplementary income through Encore Income is one side of the equation. Collins shows you what to do with that money so it compounds and actually closes your Freedom Number gap instead of getting eaten by fees.
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Productivity & Time Management
Deep Work
Why it matters: You don't have 60 hours a week to build supplementary income. You have 6-8. Newport shows you how to make those hours produce work worth $100-150/hour by focusing intensely on cognitively demanding work instead of drowning in distraction.
Who it's for: Corporate professionals who need to produce premium-quality deliverables in limited time—the kind of work that justifies $125-175/hour consulting fees, not $50-75/hour contractor rates.
What I like: Newport backs everything with research from psychology and neuroscience. No motivational fluff. Just evidence that deep, focused work is becoming rare and valuable—which means if you can do it, you have a massive competitive advantage in building supplementary income.
How it connects: Shallow work in 8 fragmented hours produces mediocre results and takes 20+ years to close your retirement gap. Deep work in 6 focused hours produces exceptional results and closes that gap in 8-12 years. That's a 10-15 year difference from focus alone.
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Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
Why it matters: You can't build supplementary income by adding more to an already full plate. McKeown shows you how to eliminate the non-essential so you can invest focused time on the ONE income opportunity that actually closes your retirement gap.
Who it's for: Busy professionals who've been trained to say yes to everything and now realize that trying to do it all means accomplishing nothing that matters—like closing a $300K-$900K retirement gap.
What I like: McKeown doesn't sell productivity hacks. He's making a philosophical argument about living deliberately in a world of infinite options and limited time. The book is honest about the social cost of saying no, but clear about why those costs are worth it if your priority is financial security, not popularity.
How it connects: Non-essentialists spread 10 hours across 5 opportunities, generate $15K-20K annually, get overwhelmed, and quit. Essentialists focus 6-8 hours on ONE opportunity, generate $60K-100K annually, and close their Freedom Number gap in 10 years. Less but better.
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Atomic Habits
Why it matters: Motivation fades. Systems last. Clear shows you how to build the habit of investing 6-8 hours every week on supplementary income—not through willpower, but through systems that make consistency automatic.
Who it's for: Professionals who've tried to build supplementary income, worked hard for 2-3 weeks when motivation was high, then quit when life got busy. If that's you, you don't have a willpower problem—you have a system problem. Clear fixes it.
What I like: Every concept is backed by research from psychology and behavioral economics. Clear also provides the 10-year perspective corporate professionals need: Year 1 you earn $20K, Year 10 you earn $75K-100K annually. Not from heroic effort. From consistent 6-8 hour weekly blocks powered by systems, not motivation.
How it connects: Motivation-based approaches generate maybe $15K-20K annually before you quit. System-based approaches generate $60K-100K annually for 10 years, building $750K-$1M+ in assets. That's the difference between hoping your 401k is enough and knowing you've closed your retirement gap.
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Entrepreneurship for Professionals
The Win Without Pitching Manifesto
Why it matters: Most consultants chase clients and compete on price because they don't know how to position themselves. Enns shows you how to position as THE specialist so premium clients come to you asking "when can you start?" instead of "how much do you charge?"
Who it's for: Corporate professionals who hate "selling" and want to attract premium clients through expertise-based positioning instead of pitching and competing on price.
What I like: It's 128 pages—short, punchy, no filler. Twelve proclamations that flip conventional consulting wisdom on its head. Enns has been there, built a successful agency, and distilled it into a framework that makes premium fees possible through positioning alone.
How it connects: Weak positioning means competing on price and taking 15+ years to close your retirement gap. Strong positioning means commanding premium fees and closing that gap in 7-10 years. That's a 5-8 year difference from positioning alone.
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Company of One
Why it matters: The online business world pressures you to scale, hire, and build an empire. Jarvis makes the case for staying small, profitable, and sane. This is the anti-hustle manifesto for corporate professionals who want supplementary income, not a second full-time job.
Who it's for: Professionals who want to build $50K-$100K in part-time consulting income while keeping their corporate job, not gambling their career on building a startup.
What I like: Jarvis doesn't just theorize—he's built a successful one-person business and shows you why "better before bigger" is the strategic path. No team. No office. No VC pressure. Just profitable, sustainable, part-time income that actually closes your retirement gap.
How it connects: You don't need to scale to seven figures to close your Freedom Number gap. You need 3-5 premium clients generating $60K-$100K annually. Jarvis shows you why staying small is your advantage, not your limitation.
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Built to Sell
Why it matters: Most consultants become slaves to their clients—available 24/7, doing custom work for everyone, burning out in 18 months. Warrillow shows you how to build standardized processes so your consulting runs in 6-8 hours weekly instead of consuming your life. Whether you ever sell is optional. Building it right from the start? Essential.
Who it's for: Corporate professionals who want sustainable part-time consulting that doesn't require constant availability. Also valuable for late-career professionals who might want the option to build and exit.
What I like: The book is about building a sellable business, but the real value is the systems thinking. Standardized service offerings, documented processes, and scalable delivery—these make consulting sustainable whether you keep it or sell it. Plus, for those considering a late-career exit, realistic math: an $85K practice can sell for $170K-$255K.
How it connects: Custom work for every client = 15-20 hours weekly, burnout, quitting after 18 months, retirement gap stays open. Standardized processes = serve 4-5 clients in 6-8 hours weekly, sustainable for 10+ years, gap closes. That's the difference between a hobby and a strategy.
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Profit First
Why it matters: Most consultants generate $75K in revenue but end the year with nothing invested. The money came in. It also went out—eaten by business expenses and lifestyle creep. Michalowicz shows you how to ensure your consulting income actually closes your retirement gap instead of just subsidizing a more expensive lifestyle.
Who it's for: Corporate professionals who are generating consulting revenue but not building wealth. If you're making $50K-$100K annually from part-time consulting but your investment account isn't growing proportionally, you need this system.
What I like: This isn't theory—it's behavioral finance applied to small businesses. The five-account system (Income, Profit, Owner's Pay, Tax, Operating) makes wealth-building automatic instead of aspirational. Set the percentages (15-20% profit, 40-50% owner's pay, 15-20% tax, 15-25% operating), allocate every dollar that comes in, watch your retirement gap actually close.
How it connects: Traditional "invest what's left over" approach generates $75K but builds $156K over 10 years. Profit First allocation generates same $75K but builds $300K-$400K over 10 years. That's the difference between hoping your 401k is enough and knowing you've closed your Freedom Number gap.
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The 1-Page Marketing Plan
Why it matters: You don't need a 40-page marketing strategy, viral social media presence, or thousands of followers to get consulting clients. You need 3-5 decision-makers who have the problem you solve. Dib shows you the simplest path to reach them—no social media circus required.
Who it's for: Part-time consultants who need clients in 60-90 days, not 12-18 months. Professionals who have limited time and zero interest in daily LinkedIn posting, content creation, or building an audience.
What I like: The framework is a single page divided into nine boxes covering before, during, and after the sale. Fill in the boxes. Execute. Get clients. Dib's approach is anti-complexity: targeted outreach to specific companies through direct channels (referrals, associations, strategic networking), not mass marketing. Perfect for "I need 3-5 premium clients generating $75K annually."
How it connects: Complex marketing funnels and social media strategies take 12-18 months and massive time investment. Dib's one-page plan: identify 30 target companies, reach 5 decision-makers, convert 2 clients in 90 days. That's the difference between theorizing about marketing and actually having paying clients.
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More Coming Soon
I'm constantly testing tools, reading books, and evaluating resources that might help corporate professionals build Encore Income.
When I find something worth recommending, I'll add it here.
No spam. No junk. Just honest recommendations for things that actually work.
Start With Your Freedom Number
Before you buy any books or tools, calculate your retirement income gap. Know exactly what you're working toward.
Calculate Your Freedom NumberThen Discover Your Superpowers
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Take the Assessment (Free)A Note on Affiliate Links
Some links on this page are Amazon affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them (at no additional cost to you).
Here's my promise: I only recommend products I've personally used or thoroughly researched. I don't recommend garbage just because someone's paying me.
If it's on this page, it's because I genuinely believe it provides value for corporate professionals building Encore Income.
Your trust matters more than any commission.
Fortune favors the bold. But fortune also favors those who invest in the right tools and knowledge.
— Scott Fulbright