December Business Income: How I Earned $12,160 That Month

December was a solid month. It wasn’t quite as strong as November, but I’m pleased with the results—especially since I spent a fair amount of time away from my laptop.

Now that it’s January, I have a fresh month and a fresh year to build on.

I’m preparing for my first full year as a self-employed business owner.

In December 2013 I earned $12,860 in business income before expenses. After fees and expenses are deducted (approximately $700 for virtual assistants, PayPal fees, and other costs), and accounting for a rent payment from my sister and her boyfriend, my take-home business income for December was roughly $12,160.

Recently I’ve felt a bit stagnant and know I need to ramp up my efforts. I haven’t been as disciplined as I should; I’ve taken more time off than planned, which I partly blame on being very busy for the past few years and now letting some laziness creep in.

We also sold our beautiful 1961 Chevy Apache in December. While that sale provided a nice chunk of money and even a profit, it’s not counted in these business income figures because it isn’t part of my business revenue.

I didn’t think this income level was possible.

Last December I earned $5,770 in extra income. That was great, but the progress since then has surprised me. When I started blogging I read income reports from people like Pat at Smart Passive Income and Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff and assumed those earnings were out of reach. I treated other bloggers’ success as motivation, even when it felt unlikely for my situation.

It turns out I was wrong—and I’m glad. I’m not at Pat’s or Crystal’s level yet, but I keep working every day to grow my business.

Figure shown is for December before fees and expenses; expenses that reduce this amount include roughly $700 (VAs, PayPal fees, etc.). December’s total also includes a rent payment from my sister and her boyfriend. After fees and expenses, I earned approximately $12,160. These figures include only my personal earnings from services I provide, not revenue from sites I help run that goes to other owners.

This is still a job.

Although this is business income now, it’s important to remember I work many hours every day. This is not passive income—at least not yet. For a long time I invested full-time hours into my side projects without earning anything. Taxes will take about 30% of this income, which many people don’t account for; I plan to write about self-employment taxes on my Diversified Finances site soon.

Yes, I operate under an LLC. My background as a business valuation analyst helped me set up and run the business properly.

To be clear: I didn’t quit a job just to do nothing. I work a lot, but I’ve improved at streamlining tasks and hiring help where needed, which has made managing the workload possible. For a while I worked a full-time job and ran my business on the side, which led to many sleepless nights. Fortunately, I enjoy the work and our goals keep me motivated. You can find my 2014 goals update on my site, and past income updates are available on my Extra/Business Income page.

If there are specific items you’d like included in next month’s income report, let me know.

Blog News

Making Sense of Cents is continuing to grow. Lately I’ve written more about lifestyle design—posts like “Do you make excuses for why you’re not following your dream?”—and I enjoy exploring those topics. My sister’s blog, FITnancials, is doing well too, and I hope to help her promote it more. My self-employment and financial independence blog, Diversified Finances, is also growing and gives me a useful place to discuss self-employment topics and get reader feedback. If there are specific self-employment topics you want me to cover, please comment.

If you’re starting a blog, check out my step-by-step post on how to start a blog. One of my most popular posts last month was “How To Make Money Blogging,” which may be helpful if you’re trying to monetize your blog.

What about progress after FinCon 2013?

Many readers ask what I learned at FinCon that I’m applying to the business. I made a list in my post “My Plan For the Future,” but I haven’t been as active as I should be in implementing changes. I need an action plan and better follow-through.

Planned actions (in no particular order):

1. Start an eBook – It’s not a top priority right now, but it may happen later.
2. Build my brand – I haven’t done much here and am still figuring out the best approach.
3. Promote more – I’m improving in this area and will continue focusing on promotion.
4. Accept more interviews – I did two interviews in December and remain open to more opportunities.
5. Speak at a conference – Not likely in 2014, but a conference talk could be a goal for 2015.

Staff Writing

I didn’t add any new staff writing gigs in December, though I also didn’t intensely look. I still want more writing work; I enjoy writing and have over 100 ideas saved for future posts. If you need a reliable writer for ongoing or one-off posts, I offer writing and quick turnaround. I wrote an article titled “So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer?” that covers the topic further.

Buying websites

I purchased my first website in November 2013 and have started adding content and using a virtual assistant to help. I believe it was a good purchase and plan to grow its traffic and readership. I’ll share more about buying and improving websites in future posts.

Update On My Blog and Social Media Management Services

I’ve expanded services around blog and social media management. Many blog owners hire me to manage their sites while they’re on vacation or need a break. I understand how personal a blog can be and aim to make any temporary handoff smooth. My services include managing comments, monitoring uptime, handling emails when needed, replying to comments, ensuring scheduled posts publish, writing posts (including ghostwritten content), and growing and engaging social media followers.

If you need a blog or social media manager for a short or long period—one week, a month, or any other time—get in touch. If you’re interested in becoming a virtual assistant, check out my posts about how to become a VA and what VAs do.

Affiliate income – Still room for improvement

Affiliate income has been weak lately, and I feel bad because readers have asked for product reviews. I’ve been postponing these in favor of other work, but one January goal is to review my affiliate offers, decide which deserve attention, and create a review schedule. I’m considering starting credit card reviews since we plan to use cards more strategically.

Offline side hustles

I haven’t prioritized offline side hustles recently; I’m focusing on growing the online business for now. What offline side hustles are you working on?