I can’t believe I’m writing my 18th online income report. This online business has certainly been a life-changer for me. I never thought I’d have quit my job to work from home. But here I am and I’m so happy with the way things are working out so far.
That said, I have no idea what’s next for my business. I feel like I accomplished such a huge goal for my business and my life in 2015 by building my business to the point that I could quit my job, so I really don’t know where I want to go from here.
Because of the uncertainty, I am in the market for a business coach to help me figure out a new plan and some goals for 2016. If you know of a good business coach, let me know. 🙂 But for now, let’s talk about my income from December 2015.
My online income for December 2015: $5,372.08
Here is a breakdown of how I earned my money:
VA/Blog Management Services – $3,052.08
Writing – $1,425.00
Advertising on both my sites – $550.00
Bonuses, Tips, etc.- $345.00
Last month I started sharing my expenses with you too so you can get a better idea of how much I spend to keep my business going every month.
The expenses listed below are only what I pay out of my business account each month. You won’t see a charge for internet in the expenses below because that is something I would pay for even if I didn’t have an online business. (But yes, I do get to deduct most of it now that I have an online business.) So keep that in mind.
Staff Writer, VAs, Tech Services – $489.00
PayPal and Other Fees – $43.92
Bonuses and Gifts for Contractors and Clients – $132.02 – This is a rare expense
Travel – $108.98 – This is a rare expense
Equipment – $130.67 – This is a rare expense
Total Expenses: $904.59
Income less Expenses: $4,467.49
I definitely think December was a month with more expenses than usual. Now that I’ve added it up, I don’t think my business expenses are usually that high.
However, last month I told you that in an effort to prioritize my health and my work-life balance, I did take on some additional help for my business. This month reflected the first invoice from that.
Even with these extra expenses, I still made almost as much as last month despite having cut clients and hiring extra help, and I did beat my income goal of $4,000.
As always, you need to know that I don’t count my online income until the month it gets deposited into my account, so this is from some work at the end of November through about mid-December. I have made some more since then, but it will be included on my next report since it didn’t hit my account until January 1st (or later).
Remember, that my online income has not yet been taxed, which means that about 30% of what I make is going to be taken by Uncle Sam. That “expense” is not included in the net figure of $4,467.49 listed above. Additionally, I’m saving some of my income to be used for FINCON16 and other business expansion projects in the future.
I’m going to set my January income goal at $4,200. This will be my highest income goal yet.
Here are some of my other online income reports:
- November 2015 – $5,062.21
- October 2015 – $4,190.15
- September 2015 – $3,372.10
- August 2015 – $2,357
- July 2015 – $2,502.60 – Last month as a side hustle!
- June 2015 – $2,130.25
- May 2015 – $1,873.40
- April 2015 – $1,691.51
- March 2015 – $2,131
- February 2015 – $1,534
- December 2014 – $1,503.50
- July 2014 – $285
For kicks and giggles I decided to average my monthly online income for the 18 months I’ve been freelancing. Even with the smaller months at the very beginning, my average monthly online income (gross) is $2,071.93. My 12 month (gross) average is $2,734.36.
Did you make any online income in December? Is there anything else you’d like to know about how I run my business or make income online? Let me know, I’d love to help you out!
24 Comments
This is seriously inspiring, Kayla. I’m slowing pushing toward $1,000 in side income. That’s how much I was earning from my second job from January – May 2015. But I was working 20+ hours a week. Now, I focus on much higher hourly rates. And I’m focused on adding quality clients. Keep up the great work!
Thanks Kate! I’m focusing on increasing my rates too so I can continue to earn more and work a little less. 🙂
Oh wow, this is huge! Crossing the $5K amount seems insane. Congrats! I am in a similar situation and realized last month I need to have a work-life balance because it’s pretty much been a work-work balance for the past year. While I like doing everything myself, there just isn’t enough time to grow my business when I am working a million hours a week to get everything done. I would love to side hustle less and work on more passive income with my blog 🙂
Yeah, that is something I’m working to improve this year. I want to earn a little more from my site if possible so I don’t have to work as much for other people.
Awesome progress! Way to go.
Thanks Kalie!
Always enjoy reading these! I like watching your journey. I’m sure you’ll hit your January goal.
Thanks Kara! I hope so. 🙂
Great job, Kayla! It’s awesome seeing how your business has grown. I have not used a business coach myself but I know that it can make a huge difference. I know that I can get stuck in my own head and having someone challenge some of my notions would be really helpful.
Definitely! I think having a biz coach might help me take it to the next level. 🙂
Congrats on the income Kayla! You’re doing amazing! Things were about the same for me last month despite taking time off to relax and celebrate the holidays which was nice. For your ad income, is that from a private advertiser or an ad network?
It’s awesome that you earned the same amount even though you took time off! The ad income is from private placements.
Way to kick butt girl! I’ve noticed that you’re just about everywhere I’m reading these days! Good luck with your student loans I’m paying off $191,000 and just getting started. Mostly Law School loans but also some consumer debt including cars. You’re lucky you live in the mid west! California is sooooo expensive and housing is just skyrocketing these days. Can’t wait to read more.
Thanks!! I actually don’t have too much student loan debt, most of mine is credit card debt. 🙁 But I’m kicking it to the curb this year!!
These are such inspiring numbers! Good luck on your hunt for a business coach!
Thanks!
I absolutely love these types of reports and find them really inspiring!
Thanks Michelle!
Hi Kayla,
Congrats on your December income! As far as a business coach, have you heard of Carrie Smith over at Careful Cents? I haven’t personally used her, but I’ve read many good things about her. My husband Is a part time freelance writer and he just signed up for her premium level Client Connection service. Excited to see how it goes!
Yeah! I love Carrie! She’s actually one of my clients, so I don’t think it would be appropriate for her to be my business coach, but she’s definitely a mentor of mine. 🙂
Congrats on all your success! I’m branching out on my own in a few months and it’s so inspiring to see others who have done the same! You go girl!
Thanks Sarah! I am so excited for you to be going out on your own. That’s awesome!
Thank you so much for sharing your income reports with us! So inspiring and motivates me to keep going. GREAT JOB!! I went and saw where you started from (which is about where I am right now.) AWESOME JOB!! I was wondering – how did you create that debt tracker in your sidebar? Is that a widget? I want to create something like that for a fitness blog I am working on with another gal. Please let me know. Thanks again!
Hey Rose! I actually just used an HTML code for my debt tracker in my side bar, but I bet there’s a widget for it somewhere too. 🙂