Welcome to my 10th freelance income report – for the month of June, 2015.
This month marks the first month that I grossed more than $9,000 in revenue! I had a goal of just maintaining, but some things came together to make it pretty spectacular.
A Little 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.
Here’s what it’s looked like since I started:
- 2014: Income $16,512 income – $3,782 expenses = $12,730 total profit for 2014*
- January: Income $5,080 – $753 expenses = $4,327 profit ($4, 327 YTD profit for 2015)
- February: Income $5,272 – $978 expenses = $4,294 profit ($8,621 YTD rolling profit for 2015)
- March: Income $6,595 – $1,084 expenses = $5,511 profit ($14,132 YTD rolling profit for 2015)
- April: Income $7,503 – $2,471 expenses = $5,032 profit ($19,164 YTD rolling profit for 2015)
- May: Income $7,368 – $865 expenses = $6,503 profit ($25,667 YTD rolling profit for 2015)
*I started looking into freelancing in April, 2014. I launched this site in May and secured my first client in June, 2014. So really the 2014 total is for June-December (or seven months). During this time, I also worked full-time at my day job. I’ve since quit my job and have been freelancing full-time since the first of the year.
Additional Deductions
After a meeting with my accountant (and an amended 2014 return in our favor), I now take 25% of my net monthly profit and transfer it into a savings account for taxes. I set up an LLC turned S-corp in May and will begin payroll practices later this year.
I also believe in tithing. Since I sold my business, I’ve decided to tithe to our church on that income and continue to support the missionary family in Costa Rica on my freelance income for 2015.
It makes a direct impact into an amazing mission (they’re setting up a daycare to take care of children, so their parents don’t have to bring them with to pick coffee beans, which surprisingly can be very dangerous!). It’s also a fun reason to try to make more money!
June’s Results
Income: $9,431, a 28% increase month-over-month!
Expenses: $3,248, VERY high, but I took some risks and made some investments in my business this month that I hope pay off!
Net Income: $6,183 (after expenses, but before tithe/tax). This is a 5% decrease month-over-month.
Income Breakdown
Writing: 11%
Virtual Assistance Work: 42%
Course Sales: 38%
Coaching: 9%
Other: (Affiliate, etc): 0%
Consulting (former office): 0% (This has officially ended)
Expenses
My base expenses are about $300 per month. Here’s what it includes:
- Job Board Membership $20
- FreshBooks $20
- Coaching $200
- Website Support $35
- MailChimp Subscription $20
You’ll notice that my expenses are much, much higher than $300. Here are the business investment decisions I made in June, 2015:
- Affiliate Payouts $225 (I’ll pay these all day long, as it’s a win/win for us both)
- Plane Tickets $625 (for a conference in VA in September)
- Marketing/Website $650 (this was for both May/June and will help me with some new initiatives)
- LeadPages Pro $477 (an annual account)
- Conference Ticket $350 (It’s in Mpls in October, how can I pass it up?)
All in all, these expenses should be worth it. They might not pay off until down the road, but I feel confident in investing in a business that I’m passionate about. I’m also using the funds from my business to reinvest in it.
Of course, there are still those pesky fees when getting paid, but I’m continuing to try to limit them as much as possible. Last month they amounted to ~$220, which is 7% of my total expenses. I certainly could find another way to spend that money, couldn’t you?
Thoughts on the Month
June was a pretty epic month. My goal for 2015 is to end the year grossing $10,000 per month. I came pretty close this month already and the year is just half over!
I had a few one-off copywriting projects which I really enjoyed. I didn’t take on any new regular writing clients, but do have some people I’m waiting to hear back from.
My 30 Day or Less to Freelance Writing Success course sales are what put me over the edge. I hit my singular-focused goal from last month and sold 77 courses total in June (my goal was 50). I also received some really great (unsolicited) testimonials about the course as well. Sometimes that means more than money!
Goal for July
Since I had so much luck this past month, I think I’m going to stick with the singular-focused goal this month.
One of my large expenses from April was an email list building course (I dropped the MOST I’ve ever spent on a course – $1,000). I’ve been working on growing my platform and the “internet marketing” side of things.
When I started the course in April, my list size was ~470. Right now it’s 978. I’m going to dig back into the course this month, launch an EPIC giveaway (seriously, you’ll want in on this) and focus on taking my list from ~1k to 1,500 by the end of September. That would be a HUGE jump in two month’s time, but I’m a believer in thinking big and going for it.
What’s the worst that can happen? I don’t meet my goal, but come close to it and have a larger list than I would have if I didn’t focus on it? I can handle that!
Concerns
It’s no secret I’ve been working a lot. One of the reasons that I wanted to make this move and build my own freelance business was the freedom of time and flexibility of schedule. But I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always take advantage of that.
So I’m concerned that I work too much. I enjoy it, so I’ve got that going for me, but my family is UBER important to me and I need to continue working on “living in the moment” and being the best mother and wife I can be. Maybe implement a half day during the week and take them on a date or something?
Don’t get me wrong, I give them LOTS of attention. I love that I come in for lunch most days to eat as a family, before laying both of our toddlers down for their daily naps. I just find my mind preoccupied with work when Bob the Builder is on or we’re playing cars or something. Or maybe I just don’t like those things… 😉
Keep Taking the Next Right Step
If you’re currently hustling to build a 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!
How did June go for you? Share in the comments!
Photo credit: Julia Caesar via Unsplash
