Fully Booked VA Blog

January, 2015 Freelance Income Report

Welcome to my fifth freelance income report – for the month of January, 2015.

Looking Back

I’m keeping a profit-and-loss statement for each month, as well as a rolling total. 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:

 

  • April-June: $0 income – $205 expenses = -$205 profit (-$205 rolling profit)
  • July: $805 income – $191 expenses = $614 profit ($409 rolling profit)
  • August: $1,540 income – $264 expenses = $1,276 profit ($1,685 rolling profit)
  • September: Income $2,280 – $555 expenses = $1,725 profit ($3,410 rolling profit)
  • October: Income $3, 480 – $595 expenses = $2,885 profit ($6,295 rolling profit)
  • November: Income $4,155 – $1,066 expenses = $3,149 profit ($9,444 rolling profit)
  • December: Income $4,252 – $966 expenses = $3,286 profit ($12,730 total profit for 2014)

Additional Deductions

I take 20% of my net monthly profit and transfer that into a savings account for taxes. Since I now do this full-time, I plan on setting up and paying quarterlies.

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!

January’s Results

Income: $5,080, an 19% increase month-over-month!

Expenses: $753, a bit higher than I’d like.

Net Income: $4,327 (after expenses, but before tithe/tax). This is a 32% increase month-over-month!

Income Breakdown

Writing/Editing: 23%

Virtual Assistance Work: 39%

Course Sales: 16%

Coaching: 2%

Consulting (former office): 20%

Expenses

My expenses were more in-line with where they should be. My base expenses are about $300 per month (for job boards, coaching, basic website support, etc). I paid for January and February’s coaching this month, which made them a little higher than “normal.”

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 ~$115, which is 15% of my total expenses. I certainly could find another way to spend that $100, couldn’t you?

Thoughts on the Month

January was a good month. It’s always my goal to beat the previous month’s numbers and I was glad to be able to do that again.

You’ll notice that I’ve added a consulting section. This accounts for the work I do with my former office. It won’t last forever (probably not much more than a month or two), but I decided to include this in my income report, as it takes up a portion of time and made the most sense to me in how I track things.

This was my first full-time month as a freelancer and we spent a week or so traveling (which always screws with my work schedule). I also had to figure out when to work, where to work and how to stay focused. It’s not perfect, but I’m getting better at it!

Goals for February

I spent a lot of time in January revising my course and just recently raised the price from $30 to $47. I beefed up all of the lessons and added two new ones as well. I’m working with a web marketing guru to help me get the necessary components in place to track traffic and sales, as well as to launch an affiliate program.

I’m excited about the affiliate program. As long as we can find the right tool/platform to use, it’s my goal to offer a 50% commission split to any affiliates. Basically, if you wanted to sign up to become one and someone bought the course through your link, you’d earn $23.50 and I’d get $23.50. Not too shabby for one sale, huh?

In addition to launching my affiliate program, I’ll be continuing to work on embracing an effective schedule, taking on a new client or two and trying to build more traffic to my website. I’m excited to see what this month (and this year) brings to Fully Booked VA.

Concerns

One concern that I have, is that my course sales will go down since I’ve increased the price. I’ve continuously received feedback that the course is worth way more than the current (or intro) price. I’ve always wanted to make it affordable, so that virtually anyone could afford to take it – without breaking the bank.

I think that should still be the case, so I’m not too worried about it. I believe in it and worked really hard to bring quality information and advice to the table. I just need to continue to market the heck out of it!

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!

Photo Credit: TangoPango via Compfight cc

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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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