November 2016 Freelance Income Report

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November ended on a solid note for my freelance writing and virtual assistant business! I knew it’d be a good month since part of the income I was counting on last month got bumped in payment to the middle of November. But it’s always good when your income is more than you were planning on!

Taking It Slow

I’ve been taking it slow in my business this quarter so I could focus on my college courses. I’m excited to say that I turned in my last final paper this past Saturday, and I am done! Once my transcripts are available, I can pay Washington State some money and renew my teaching certificate for another five years. Woo-hoo! Big goal crossed off my to-do list.

But I’m still not going to add too much to my work schedule. That’s because we’re expecting baby number eight in early 2017. I know my last few months of pregnancy are tiring, so I don’t want to over commit. I’ll save room for the best fit opportunities, but won’t be throwing out my pitches as often as I have in the past.

A Look at the Numbers: November 2016

So how did November’s numbers end up? Let me show you the ins and outs of my income and expenses.

Income

I count the money as it actually enters my bank account opposed to when I earn it. Here’s what came in during the 30 days of November:

$1775.00

Here’s the breakdown:

Virtual Assistance: 11%

Writing: 89%

I really love the writing portion of my business. It’s easier to schedule around my crazy life, and is something I’ve just been getting faster at. That means it’s easier to earn more opposed to my fixed rate VA rate.

I’m still working the VA side of my business, and I’m not ready to give it up yet. I’d definitely add another client if the position was a great fit. But, I’ve really been pushing the writing side and enjoying it.

Expenses

As with income, I count expenses when the money actually leaves. November is when the domain and hosting fee for my Maggie’s Milk blog are due, so like October, it’s another more expensive month.

$498.42

Here’s What I Spent Money On:

• Domain & hosting expenses
• A 4-week blog coaching program
• My work email through Google, and ConvertKit membership
• Images for this blog
• A much needed blog makeover for Maggie’s Milk (Blogelina did a great job!–aff. link!)
  Beautiful, Affordable Custom Blog Design Service
• Annual dues for the local Chamber of Commerce (still not sold that this is worth it, but I do like the little town so I’ll probably continue…)
• A book on Facebook growth
• A PicMonkey annual membership renewal
• Mailing a package for a VA client (which I was reimbursed for in December)
• And of course, PayPal fees

Whew! That made me tired just writing it all out. Definitely not a typical month’s worth of expenses! But, I took advantage of some Black Friday deals, and really want to improve my blogs to diversify my income even more.

The Final Number

So after expenses, my income is $1276.58. That’s right in the range I wanted it to be, even after all my crazy expenses! I’m so thankful for the opportunities the Lord has brought along to make money online.

I’m excited to make a larger than normal payment towards my student loan debt in December. Especially since it’s currently deferred since I was in school full-time. More goes towards principle, and less towards interest! (Thank you subsidized loans!)

Paying off some a large chunk of this final debt is a remaining step before we can officially begin the process of becoming missionaries to Missionary Acres, so it’s definitely a blessing.

Looking Back

As I was reviewing my past income reports, I came across this one from November 2015. A year ago, I brought in a measly $489.99. Then I had my expenses: $293.85.

And I was working a whole lot harder for that money back then. Most of my articles were for $15-20 instead of the $100-200 I now earn.

It’s been an amazing year of growth for me! I’m now working fewer hours and earning more. Can’t complain about that.

Looking Forward

My new content editing gig for an online school has begun, and I’m excited by this $10K-$14K contract. (The range is because there’s a potential on-time bonus for each lesson. Definitely want to ensure I hit deadlines–that’s a $4K swing!)

But, because it’s an educational institute, the payment is a little slow. They work on a 30-day schedule, which means my first big payments for my first few edited lessons will come next year in January. I’ll get my training money in December though.

So that’ll take some adjustment to get used to, but is definitely manageable. Just a reminder to check out payment details for every client so you don’t wind up surprised!

December should be another solid month–I’ve got about $1000 worth of writing work already scheduled and am planning on picking up some more as the month goes by. I also have some bookkeeping to do for a VA client, and of course my content editing. And my expenses should be much lower, especially since my new client will pay via direct deposit instead of PayPal!

Here’s to a great end to 2016, and a prosperous start to 2017!

How did your November numbers look?

Was it a good month for you? I’d love to hear how it went in the comments.