Hey hey hey Profiteers! Welcome back for this month's income report. March was a great month, and I'm excited to look back at how everything came together to see where I can draw out lessons to help us all find bigger and better success in our online and offline finances. Let's dive in!
What's the deal with these income reports?
Money is a big taboo for many people, which means we rarely talk about things like our savings, investments, and how much we earn from side hustles and projects. One of my biggest goals at this site is to help you reach your own financial dreams, and I believe that being open and transparent with my successes and failures can help you learn to build your own income streams.
Starting in 2012, I have reported my online and side hustle income on this website every single month! Check out my online income tracker and click through to the monthly posts to see a breakdown every month starting when I made $739 online in January 2012 to my first $10,000+ month in October 2016 to my current six-figure income I earn from the comfort of my own home office. Only eight years of hard work and I was an overnight success! But using what I learned the hard way, I hope to help you do the same far faster.
This blog started as a little side hustle project back in 2008, and it completely changed my life! Thanks to my online business that started right here, I now make more money than ever before, work fewer hours, have full control over my schedule, and love my entrepreneur lifestyle. If that sounds like something you would enjoy, follow along with my income reports each month, along with my free Personal Profitability Bootcamp, podcast, videos, and other goodies.
In-depth guides for new readers:
- Complete Beginner Guide to Budgeting
- Complete Beginner Guide to Credit
- Complete Beginner Guide to the Stock Market
- Complete Beginner Guide to Freelancing
- Complete Beginner Guide to Travel Hacking
- 137 Side Hustle Ideas
Update from Profitability HQ
This month started feeling a little overwhelmed with a big backlog of articles to write and a trip to Denver for the Passover holiday. Like always, I just need to have more faith in myself and my work abilities, as I was able to work through most of the backlog while still enjoying a great visit with my family and a fun holiday away.
I'm slowly moving into the summer season, which historically has not been so great for my online business, and I'm hustling to keep up the client load and $10,000+ revenue. February was a close call but I did great in March. Hopefully, I'll keep up the trend and stay above $10,000 for all of 2018. Last year I fell short a couple of times, but it was close!
This month also had me off to Atlanta for a trip to meet Clark Howard, his awesome team, and sign the deal on a new project writing for Clark's website with a small team of other top freelancers from the credit card space. I can't share too many details on this one, but look out for my byline on new articles at Clark.com coming on a regular basis!
I'm working on and recently released a few new projects here at Personal Profitability. Be sure to check out my 100th podcast episode and new Personal Profitability Bookshelf, complete with video reviews.
No big news on the projects front. Moving forward with Swivel Money, Community Sharer, and Mastermind Hunt. Stay tuned for updates and details in the coming months!
On a personal finance front, I've noticed a big string of large expenses at home lately. From some big yard work to adding a new home security system, I've been spending too much! Time to rein that back in and get to saving.
Side Hustle and Online Income Report
I know the real reason you show up here is to see how much money I make. I get it! I'm a big fan of income reports too. You can view every monthly income report back to 2012 here.
MARCH 2018 RESULTS
REVENUE
Personal Profitability Income – Advertising
- Affiliate Marketing – $159
- Click advertising – $0
- Direct Ad Placements – $0
Freelance Income
- Speaking fees – $160 – MY FIRST SPEAKING FEES! LIFE LIST ITEM CHECKED OFF!
- Website Support – $400 (a few projects here and there)
- Writing Services – $13,527
Side Hustles
- Product Sales – $0
- Flipping – $0
- Premium Plugins – $0
Gross Profit – $14,246
EXPENSES (Does Not Include My Paychecks, Taxes, or Health Insurance)
- Advertising and Promotion – $7
- Bank Charges and Payment Fees – $39
- Business Licenses and Permits – $0
- Computer and Internet Expense – $375
- Continuing Education – $0
- Conference Fees – $0
- Dues and Subscriptions – $0
- Meals & Entertainment – $0
- Swivel Money Related Expenses – $0
- SG&A – $0
- Outsourced Labor – $663
- Postage & Shipping – $1
- Professional Services – $0
- Telecom Expense – $95
- Travel – $65
- Total Expenses – $1,245
Total Revenue $14,246 Total Expenses $1,245, Profit Before Tax $13,001
March ended up as my third best revenue month ever! Thanks to keeping expenses low, it was my second most profitable. I am consistently making more than I did in my old day job as a Senior Financial Analyst, and have more control over my schedule at the same time. I call that a big win! I feel like DJ Khaled today!
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" — David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s. #personalfinance #personalprofitability #money #goals #finance pic.twitter.com/ugHjIykamN
— Eric Rosenberg (@EricProfits) April 12, 2018
Financial Planning and Analysis
This was an outstanding month for me, and I'm thrilled to look back and see that big profit number. It's easy to get complacent when things are going this well, but that is exactly the wrong attitude. I've learned the hard way, getting complacent means lower income in the future. Good revenue just means I need to work harder to grow it! We shall see what the summer months bring.
Until next time, stay profitable.