Fully Booked VA Blog

April, 2015 Freelance Income Report

Welcome to my eighth freelance income report – for the month of April, 2015.

Business continues to build and April treated me well. In fact, I earned over $7k for the first time this past month! Curious to know how? Read on!

A Little Back-story

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)

*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

I take 30% of my net monthly profit and transfer that into a savings account for taxes. I only set aside 20% last year and got killed by self-employment taxes (sucking up my savings set aside for 2015), so I’ve upped this significantly!

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!

March’s Results

Income: $7,503, a 24% increase month-over-month!

Expenses: $2,471, way higher than normal!

Net Income: $5,032 (after expenses, but before tithe/tax). This is a 9% decrease month-over-month.

Income Breakdown

Writing: 15%

Virtual Assistance Work: 60%

Course Sales: 10%

Coaching: 8%

Consulting (former office): 7%

Expenses

My base expenses are now about $300 per month. Here’s what it includes:

  • Job Board Membership $20
  • FreshBooks $20
  • Coaching $200
  • Website Support $35
  • MailChimp $15

You’ll notice that my expenses are way higher than $300. I made a huge investment in a course at the end of April, had a large affiliate payout, among other things. Here are a few of them:

  • List Building Course $1,020
  • Affiliate Payout $439
  • Marketing Support (March/April) $525
  • Website Help $91
  • New Business Cards $116

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 ~$130, which is 5% of my total expenses. I certainly could find another way to spend that money, couldn’t you?

Thoughts on the Month

April was another awesome month for my business. It’s always my goal to beat the previous month’s numbers and I was glad to be able to do that again.

My course sales weren’t as high (16 vs. 49 in March), but I did start some new coaching relationships. This was also the first full month of work for my new VA client, which accounts for a large part in the bump.

Overall, I’m ecstatic to have broken the $7k mark and see my income continuing to grow. Obviously, due to my large expense month, my take home is less, but I feel strongly in continuing to invest in my business and myself. And it’s not at the expense of my family’s well-being, so all is well!

Goals for May

My big goal for May is to maintain. To find a way to bring in about the same amount of revenue. This might be the month where things don’t continue to build – I hope not, but I’m mentally preparing myself.

Currently, I’m projecting ~$6k, not including any course sales (and there’s bound to be some!). I have feelers on a few new clients too, so I’m not too worried about being able to pull it together to come close.

I want to get through as much of the new course material as I can. I’m also planning on taking this weekend to be unplugged (no internet at the cabin!) and re-evaluate my business, where it’s currently headed and see if I need to make some changes and guide it another direction. I’m excited!

Concerns

I continue to feel like there’s more to be done at the end of each day. This is frustrating and a reality that I’ll just have to learn how to accept. My to do list will be ever-evolving, rather than finished at the end of any given day or week. It’s a hard adjustment for a type-A gal like me, but I’m working through it with my coach!

It looks like our epic RV adventure might be on hold until next year. Our dualing goals of taking the trip and paying off our second mortgage are coming to a head. The good news is that we’re on track to pay-off the second mortgage before year end, so we’re making progress.

I had pursued RV sponsorship and we came close, but no cigar. My intent was to trade the RV rental in exchange for blogging about our trip for the company. We are in talks with another company for the 2016 season. Fingers crossed!

Keep Your Head Down

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, follow me on Twitter or Google+ to stay in touch! We’ve got this!

How did April treat your business? Share in the comments!

By Leigh Kendell via Unsplash

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Gina Horkey

Gina Horkey

FOUNDER & CO-OWNER

Gina Horkey is a married, millennial mama from Minnesota. Additionally, she’s the founder of Horkey HandBook and loves helping others find or become a kickass virtual assistant. Gina’s background includes making a living as a professional writer, an online business marketing consultant and a decade of experience in the financial services industry.

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