Welcome to This Month’s Income Report.
Last month I made $31,271.12 working from home. I believe transparency frees. Because of this, I have decided to provide my readers with a detailed monthly report of how I’ve turned my dream into a profitable reality.
But remember, this was not easy. I have put in thousands of hours to make this work. My goal is to offer you a few shortcuts, help you see your blind spots, and hopefully get you building your very own profitable company, blog, or product.
Below, you’ll see I share everything from how I make money and where it comes from, to my monthly expenses and even my learnings.
A Little History
The previous 10 years of my life have been spent creating large companies with several employees and millions in revenue.
The previous 10 years of my life have been spent creating large companies with several employees and millions in revenue.
“But I didn’t own my companies, my companies owned me.”
Over the past year, I’ve shifted my philosophy to creating a lifestyle business around five non-negotiables so I could spend more time with my family.
My 5 Non-Negotiables:
1. My work must have purpose.
2. My work must offer me freedom.
3. My work must have strong revenue potential.
4. My work must require few employees.
5. My work must allow me to be geographically independent.
2. My work must offer me freedom.
3. My work must have strong revenue potential.
4. My work must require few employees.
5. My work must allow me to be geographically independent.
A point of clarity: This report does not include any earnings I make from my traditional companies, like Sevenly or my rock climbing gym . I am not currently drawing a salary from these companies so my earnings are typically spread apart and in larger chunks. This report also does not include income from my upcoming book People over Profit to be released in May 2015.
Important Happenings From October
Launching a New Business is Difficult
I haven’t launched a new business in a few years, and to be honest, it’s hard. StartupCamp.com will be the first time I’ve started a company as a father and full-time blogger. I’m finding myself working at night after everyone is asleep (which I don’t like) just to finish out my daily task lists.
I haven’t launched a new business in a few years, and to be honest, it’s hard. StartupCamp.com will be the first time I’ve started a company as a father and full-time blogger. I’m finding myself working at night after everyone is asleep (which I don’t like) just to finish out my daily task lists.
What am I’m learning from all this? Life cannot and should not be like this for long. I must define a finish line for this season to end and return to my normal schedule. The question is, when?
If you have a business idea but don’t know where to begin, signup for to be notified for StartupCamp here.
Online Events Are Highly Lucrative
Blogcamp was an experiment. A two hour online webcast to help people learn how to start a profitable blog people will read. I had never hosted an online event before and was unsure if the idea was capable of producing strong revenue.
Blogcamp was an experiment. A two hour online webcast to help people learn how to start a profitable blog people will read. I had never hosted an online event before and was unsure if the idea was capable of producing strong revenue.
My Strategy: I put up a simple splash page explaining the event and offered three price points: $79, $99, and $149 all with varying perks. 64% of people ended up purchasing the $149 package. But we didn’t allow people to just buy tickets on the spot. Every attendee had to apply by filling out a form explaining why they should be accepted, their potential blog topics, where they lived, etc. As planned, this tactic of scarcity (limiting the ability to get in) not only drove the level of intrigue through the roof, but refined the quality of users who actually attended the event.
Once attendees were accepted we placed them into a sequence of 12 strategic emails educating and urging them to purchase a ticket. This is where I learned the most. Email automation is a really powerful marketing tool. This series of emails converted at 56% and in just 60 days we had over 275 paid attendees at $32,112.00 in revenue. Wow!
The event was a huge success and we plan on both reselling this event’s content and hosting a new event in the near future.
I’m Finally Done Speaking for 2014I hopped on 46 airplanes this year. And while I love the act of speaking, I am not loving the travel as much anymore. This month, I was lucky enough to have my last two events for the year here in Oregon at the Bend WebCam Conference and the Socality Summit in Portland (seen below). Next year, I have limited the number of speaking engagements to 10 in hopes to focus more on family and StartupCamp.
Family Photos Are More Important Than I Thought
We did our first family photo shoot and I learned a few things. First, there are few things that are a better investment then family photos. Second, family photos should be completed every single year. With kids growing so fast and even us adults changing quickly (gray hair :), adding this to your family’s annual plan is smart. Here are four of my favorites from our session.
We did our first family photo shoot and I learned a few things. First, there are few things that are a better investment then family photos. Second, family photos should be completed every single year. With kids growing so fast and even us adults changing quickly (gray hair :), adding this to your family’s annual plan is smart. Here are four of my favorites from our session.
Still Expecting Low Revenue for November & DecemberAs I stated in my last month’s income report, I will be expecting lower revenue for October, November, and December. I have decided to cut way back on consulting and launching new products to focus on StartupCamp.com. This will likely take my regular $40-50k per month income down to $20-25k per month. If everything goes as planned, I expect income to rise back up in January and February.
October’s Business Learnings
Learning #1 – The Money is In Making Your Product A Part of People’s Daily Routine:A mentor once told me if I could make my product, service, or content become a part of people’s daily life, the revenue would follow. At the time, I was thinking toothpaste or gmail, but then I launched “The Daily Positive” and I’m beginning to understand what he meant. Additionally, a friend launched a company called TheSkimm. A daily email (M-F) which curates the day’s most important world happenings. They now have millions of people opening their emails every morning. Do they make money? Not much… yet.
Critical Question: How can you make your product, service, or content a part of people’s daily routine?
Learning #2 – Leverage Your Archive For Platform Growth & Revenue: I have written over 200 articles on The Daily Positive. A mix of content for building a great life and business. I try to release a new article 2-3 times per week. But what about past articles? What about the great pieces of content from last year? A few weeks ago, I started usingMeetEdgar.com to reshare my archive of past content. Now, you will see my old (but good) articles again on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
What has this done for my traffic? 42% increase in just 4 weeks. This means more email captures, more followers on Facebook and Twitter, more ad revenue, and no extra work. Sounds like a good strategy.
Critical Question: Do you have old content that is just sitting there? How can you build a schedule to reshare past content on a regular basis?
Learning #3 Starting Points Drive Quick ConnectionWhen people land on your site, do they know where to begin? For me, this is where I have failed. I’m learning that getting people into my funnel requires a clear starting point. Maybe it’s a page with a title at the top “Create The Life And Business You Want With These 4 Steps”…
Step #1: Signup for The Daily Positive email
Step#2: Download my free e-book on creating the life you want
Step #3: Follow these people, blogs, and thought leaders (including my social media accounts)
Challenge: Offer them something physical to make the first step into what you’re promoting.
Step#2: Download my free e-book on creating the life you want
Step #3: Follow these people, blogs, and thought leaders (including my social media accounts)
Challenge: Offer them something physical to make the first step into what you’re promoting.
This is a far better strategy than just sending people to an article or your about page. It’s on my list of things to create in the coming months.
Critical Question: Where is the first step in your customer funnel? Have you clearly defined it? If not, how can you and what will it consist of?
This Month’s Cool Tools, Articles, & Books
Article: 14 Social Media Marketing Tools Recommended by The Pro’s:This was the best tool tip article I’ve read all year. If you’re a marketer and blogger, you can thank me later.
Tool: Quill Engage: Over the past few years, I have dabbled in Google Analytics. Like most people, I understand the basics but I’ve never been able to really leverage the data to make informed decisions on how to grow my traffic. Quill Engage is a free app you hook up to your analytics account that provides you with an incredible layman’s term report on your trends, shifts, and points of interest. A must for any blogger or web based business.
Book: Essentialism: Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin? Do you simultaneously feel overworked and underutilized? Are you often busy but not productive? This book will help you define what’s really essential to a successful life. Get it here.
My Earnings in October:
Red = Lower Than Previous Month
Green = Higher Than Previous Month
Black = Stayed the Same as Previous Month————————————Google Adsense: $2,880.02Beacon Ads: $758.80Bluehost Affiliate (my personal recommendation for web hosting): $7,280.00Amazon Affiliate: $253.30Shareasale Affiliate: $99.00
Premium Blog Posts: $0.00Corporate Business Consulting: $9,500.00One-on-One Skype Consulting: $3,494.00Paid Social Media Advertising: $4,820.00
Speaking Engagements & Webinars: $2,686.00
–Total Gross Revenue: $31,271.12
Green = Higher Than Previous Month
Black = Stayed the Same as Previous Month————————————Google Adsense: $2,880.02Beacon Ads: $758.80Bluehost Affiliate (my personal recommendation for web hosting): $7,280.00Amazon Affiliate: $253.30Shareasale Affiliate: $99.00
Premium Blog Posts: $0.00Corporate Business Consulting: $9,500.00One-on-One Skype Consulting: $3,494.00Paid Social Media Advertising: $4,820.00
Speaking Engagements & Webinars: $2,686.00
–Total Gross Revenue: $31,271.12
My Monthly Expenses:
Server Costs: $152.00
Chartbeat (Website Analytics): 9.99
Dropbox: $9.99
Aweber (Email Marketing Subscription): $704.00
Social Media Automation (Hootsuite): $14.99
Viral Tag (Pinterest Automation): $4.99
Freshbooks (Accounting Software): $29.95
PO BOX: $24.00
ShoeBoxed (Receipt App): $9.99
Store (Shopify): $14.99
Google Apps: $45.00
Independent Contractors: $4,440.00Speaking Agent: $1,554.85
Travel: $308.00
–Total Expenses: $7,322.74-Total Net Profit: $23,938.38
Chartbeat (Website Analytics): 9.99
Dropbox: $9.99
Aweber (Email Marketing Subscription): $704.00
Social Media Automation (Hootsuite): $14.99
Viral Tag (Pinterest Automation): $4.99
Freshbooks (Accounting Software): $29.95
PO BOX: $24.00
ShoeBoxed (Receipt App): $9.99
Store (Shopify): $14.99
Google Apps: $45.00
Independent Contractors: $4,440.00Speaking Agent: $1,554.85
Travel: $308.00
–Total Expenses: $7,322.74-Total Net Profit: $23,938.38
————————————
How Many Hours I Worked Per Week
As I stated above, stewarding my time is not only critical, it’s a struggle. Making great income is nothing if it took you 60+ hours per week to do it. True financial success is making more income with less time. This month… I didn’t do so well.
Don’t get too busy making a living, you forget to make a life.
October Week 1 = 37 hours
October Week 2 = 35 hours
October Week 3 = 41 hours
October Week 4 = 29 hours
Total Hours Worked: 142
October Week 2 = 35 hours
October Week 3 = 41 hours
October Week 4 = 29 hours
Total Hours Worked: 142
My October Website Traffic Report:
Total Visitors: 685,012
Total Page Views: 978,289
Most Popular Life Post: 4 Signs of A True Gentleman
Most Popular Business Post: 4 Types Of People Who Never Succeed In Business
Total Page Views: 978,289
Most Popular Life Post: 4 Signs of A True Gentleman
Most Popular Business Post: 4 Types Of People Who Never Succeed In Business
My October Social Media Growth:
Facebook Fans: 30,397 +2,395 new fans this month
Twitter Followers: 143,774 +7,551 new followers this month
Instagram Followers: 18,469 +968 new followers this month
Tumblr Followers: 242,337 +304 new followers this month
Pinterest Followers: 735,320 +8,006 new followers this month
TDP Life Category Email Subscribers: 65,536 +2,139 subscribers this month
TDP Business Category Email Subscribers: 13,064 +2,984 subscribers this month
Twitter Followers: 143,774 +7,551 new followers this month
Instagram Followers: 18,469 +968 new followers this month
Tumblr Followers: 242,337 +304 new followers this month
Pinterest Followers: 735,320 +8,006 new followers this month
TDP Life Category Email Subscribers: 65,536 +2,139 subscribers this month
TDP Business Category Email Subscribers: 13,064 +2,984 subscribers this month
