It’s income report time. And 2016 started off with a bang!
I’m now in my second year as a full-time freelancer / webpreneur and am excited as ever to achieve my audacious business goals!
Half of the month was spent on a workation in SPI, Texas. We’re still here and most of February will include the same. This means I work (and still quite a bit), but I’m trying to dedicate more time to being outside (hello ocean, sunshine and getting a tan!) and building sandcastles with the fam!
A Little Freelance Income Report Backstory
I keep a profit-and-loss statement for each month, as well as a rolling total for the year. I enter in income as it is received (rather than as it is billed) and do the same for expenses.
2015
2014
I started looking into freelancing in April, 2014. I launched this site in May and secured my first client in June, 2014. My total income was $16,512 – $3,782 expenses = $12,730 total profit for 2014. During this time, I also worked full-time at my day job.
Additional Deductions
Taxes: 25% of net income
I continue to transfer 25% of my net monthly profit into a separate savings account for taxes. Fully Booked VA was established as an S-corp last May and we recently began payroll practices. (Guess we’re legit, huh?)
Tithing: 10% of net income
I split my tithe to our church and this missionary family in Costa Rica, both of which are extremely important to me. The latter makes a direct impact into the community – they recently established a daycare to take care of migrant farm worker’s children, so their parents don’t have to bring them with to pick coffee beans, which surprisingly can be very dangerous!
January’s Results
Gross Income: $18,381
An 11% increase month-over-month and less than $150 shy of my best month yet!
Business Expenses: $8,591
I sure know how to spend money, huh?
Net Income: $9,790
(After expenses, but before tithe/tax.) This is an 18% increase month-over-month.
Income Breakdown
This was another solid income month for me. My focused efforts are continuing to payoff.
- Writing: 11%
- Virtual Assistance Work: 22%
- Course Sales: 47%
- Coaching: 17%
- Other: (Affiliate, MM Svc, etc.): 3%
Services (writing/VA work):
The services side of my business continues to be status quo. I did pick up one new writing client, but haven’t been paid yet, so that will be reflected in February’s report.
Course Sales
The products side of my business continues to grow thanks to my affiliates, my free email course and being consistent with my marketing efforts (guest posting, etc.). We’re continuing to work on increasing my sales pages’ conversion rates and should be debuting a new sales page for 30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success shortly.
Coaching
My coaching earnings are growing too. Part of the big jump was due to the Mamapreneur’s Mastermind, a paid mastermind group that my girl Ariel Rule and I just launched. The group is especially for mama entrepreneurs (but any female can join) ready to do big things in 2016. Although enrollment is closed currently, I think we’ll be opening a few spots in March. (Interested in joining us? Hop on the waitlist here!)
I’m currently taking on individual coaching clients by invitation only (click here to learn more). If you’re interested in a 1:1 coaching relationship with me, book an initial 20-minute session to start. We’ll use that time to analyze your current business, answer any and all of your freelance-related questions and I’ll give you specific advice to take your online business to the next level. We’ll also see if we’re a good fit going forward.
I’m also mentoring for Brennan Dunn’s, Double Your Freelancing Clients course again, which started in January. He switched over to a new payment provider, so I actually haven’t received payment for that yet.
Other
Yay, my own affiliate earnings continue to grow as well! I actually received my biggest affiliate paycheck in January, which was for $452. It felt great!
In February, I should be receiving an even bigger affiliate paycheck due to 7 Days or Less to Branded Website Success, a free 7-lesson course hosted on my website to help newbies start and launch their own blog and website quickly.
The best part about the tutorial that my friend Daryn and I put together, is that people are having fantastic results building and customizing their own sites. They’re empowered to do it on their own and we’re around to troubleshoot along the way. (If you already have hosting and a domain registered, you can still work your way through to improve your own site for free!)
Expense Breakdown
January was another really expensive month.
I’m in the midst of trying to scale and reinvesting a lot of my profits into future growth of Fully Booked VA and my products. So far all of my investments have yielded a positive ROI, it just scares me how easy it is to spend money in this business.
Note: I could keep my expenses fairly minimal (like less than $200 per month if I wanted). But if I did this, I would have to do almost EVERYTHING myself and likely wouldn’t be able to grow as quickly as I have been.
What’d I spend it all on?
- Tools (Subscriptions, Books, Training): 1%
- Advice (Coaching, Marketing): 26%
- Support (VA, Writing, Website): 26%
- Affiliate Payouts: 35%
- Fees (PayPal/Stripe): 5%
- Miscellaneous (Travel, etc.): 7%
2016 Goals Progress
My ‘A’ Goal: $250k+ gross income ($18,381 YTD)
My 3 ‘B’ Goals:
- Pay-off land loan (2/1/16 – $22,557)
- $20,000 in savings (2/1/16 – $8,000)
- 20,000+ newsletter subscribers (2/1/16 – 3,099)
Remember, We’re Totally in This Together
If you’re currently hustling to build a freelance business, we’re in this together. I’d love to support you, if you’re willing to do the same.
Leave a comment letting me know we’re in the trenches together or a place that I can go to support you. Fan my FB page, connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest or Google+ to stay in touch! We’ve got this!
Did 2016 start off with a bang for you too? Leave a comment and tell me what went well!
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