Hey there Profiteers! It’s time for my July 2018 income report. If you’re new here, that mean’s it is that time of the month when the books are closed and we can look back at what went well, what didn’t, and how to improve in the future. Follow along my side hustle to full-time freelancer journey with my newest income report!
What’s the deal with these income reports?
Money is a big taboo for many people, which means we rarely talk about things like our savings, investments, and how much we earn from side hustles and projects. One of my biggest goals at this site is to help you reach your financial dreams, and I believe that being open and transparent with my successes – and failures – can help you learn to build your own side hustle and full-time income streams.
Since 2012, I have reported my online and side hustle income on this website every single month! Check out my online income tracker and click through to the monthly updates to see a breakdown every month from $739 online in January 2012 to my first $10,000+ month in October 2016 to my current six-figure income, which I earn from the comfort of my home office. Only eight years of hard work and I was an overnight success! But using what I learned the hard way, I hope to help you do the same far faster.
This blog started as a little side hustle project back in 2008, and it completely changed my life! Thanks to my online business that started right here, I now make more money than ever before, work fewer hours, have full control over my schedule, and love my entrepreneur lifestyle. If that sounds like something you would enjoy, follow along with my income reports each month, along with my free Personal Profitability Bootcamp, subscribe for free to the podcast in your favorite podcasting app, subscribe (and click the bell) to catch weekly videos on YouTube, and grab some other goodies along the way.
In-depth guides for new readers:
- Complete Beginner Guide to Budgeting
- Complete Beginner Guide to Credit
- Complete Beginner Guide to the Stock Market
- Complete Beginner Guide to Freelancing
- Complete Beginner Guide to Travel Hacking
- 137 Side Hustle Ideas
Update from Profitability HQ
I’m in the short period between my two biggest conferences of the year: Podcast Movement and FinCon. I came home from Podcast Movement on the tail of the summer slow period and things took off like a rocket! As kids go back to school and summer vacations end, people get back online and the world of digital marketing picks back up. That means more assignments and projects coming my way!
Freelancing – Things are busy, but good busy. I’m on track for a great August result and have hit the $10k mark every single month this year after missing it in December – the month I had a baby while evacuated for a major wildfire. I’m nearing that point where my assignment load is full. I produce a lot more than many writers, but even I have limits!
Mastermind Hunt – Mastermind Hunt is scheduled to go live any day. The migration to the live server is underway and things are looking very promising. We are planning for a big launch at FinCon 2018 in September! Join the email list at MastermindHunt.com to get notified when we go live so you can create or join your own mastermind group! Check out this article I wrote on how masterminds can help your income and business goals.
Community Sharer – Community Sharer is live! I’m still working on some bugs and adding new features, but it works! More news to come. Feel free to give it a try if you are a freelancer, community manager, or blogger, Community Sharer helps you automatically share or curate posts to your social channels from any favorite blog or news outlet. It’s pretty cool! Right now it just works for Twitter. Facebook and Pinterest coming soon! I’m taking this slowly as a very soft launch. Not putting a lot of effort in right now as I’m focused primarily on freelancing and Mastermind Hunt.
Side Hustle and Online Income Report
Welcome to my 79th monthly income report! You can view every income report back to 2012 here. I’m seven for seven so far this year hitting my $10,000+ per month revenue goal. On average, I am ahead of $10k per month in net profits, my goal for the year. Let’s see if July helped me or harmed me on the way to that goal.
JULY 2018 RESULTS
REVENUE
Personal Profitability Income – Advertising
- Affiliate Marketing – $43
- Click advertising – $0
- Direct Ad Placements – $0
Freelance Income and Services
- Consulting / Coaching – $100
- Speaking fees – $0
- Writing Services – $10,900
Side Hustles
- Product Sales – $5
- Flipping – $0
- Premium Plugins – $0
Gross Profit – $11,048
EXPENSES (Does Not Include My Paychecks, Taxes, or Health Insurance)
- Advertising and Promotion – $7
- Bank Charges and Payment Fees – $4
- Business Licenses and Permits – $0
- Computer and Internet Expense – $771
- Conference Fees – $235
- Dues and Subscriptions – $0
- Meals & Entertainment – $105
- SG&A – $0
- Outsourced Labor – $1,240
- Partnerships – $0
- Postage & Shipping – $0
- Professional Services – $0
- Telecom Expense – $104
- Travel – $257
- Total Expenses – $2,723
Total Revenue $11,048, Total Expenses $2,723, Profit Before Tax $8,325
Financial Planning and Analysis
My single biggest expense during the last few months has been an SEO service. I know that these things take time, but I realized that the cost and focus there was too much and taking me away from other goals. To shore up the budget and improve overall profits, I decided to cut that one. Outsourced labor will go down quite a bit starting next month.
I’m trying to stay focused on two things rather than pull myself in lots of directions. There is a saying that one deep well is a lot better than a bunch of shallow wells. The same is true with side hustles and income streams. Sometimes, you have to focus!
Until next time, stay profitable.
How did you find writing gigs?
Great question! Most clients these days come through referrals or personal relationships built at conferences. Earlier on, I found clients on marketplaces like UpWork (then it was called ODesk) and the Problogger Job Board. Contena and Media Bistro are great places to find freelance gigs too!