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I’ve decided to follow in the footsteps of some freelancers further along the journey than me. Why reinvent the wheel completely, right?
I’ll be sharing my freelance income report at the beginning of each month, for the previous month.
Why am I doing this?
Three reasons motivate me to publicly display my freelance income.
Accountability
There’s something about saying you’ll be posting something online that makes it more real. As a procrastinator, I know that by needing to make write an income report for my site, I’ll actually sit down and crunch the numbers each month.
That’ll be important when tax time rolls around! I need to know what I made, and this knowing that this post needs to be written will help.
Encourage me to hustle more
I want my numbers to go up! I’d love to bring my husband home with my writing, so I need to get busy. Seeing the numbers out there for everyone to look at encourages me to get moving.
They are motivation to pitch more, to get up early, and to write. The more I write, the better I’ll get.
Remind me of my progress
These posts will stay on my site. That means I can go back through them, and see my progress. I can remember the joy it felt to make my first profit (this month!)
I can document my journey as I go—an online business diary of sorts. As I reflect each month, I will add to my journal, to help the future me even more.
I think it’ll also be neat to look back and see how my craft has improved. To watch my writing develop over time.
I launched Lisa Tanner Writing in late July of 2015, but didn’t receive any of the income until August. I’m going to post my income and expenses as they enter and leave my accounts instead of when I bill. That’ll help me keep everything straight!
July 2015:
Income: 0
Expenses: $55.20
Net Profit/Loss: -55.20
August 2015:
Income: 176.93
Expenses: 193.13
Net Profit/Loss: -16.20
September 2015:
Income: 709.03
Expenses: 346.17
Net Profit/Loss: 362.86
YTD Net Profit/Loss:$291.46
I’m now in the black baby–no turning back!
Some additional insights:
Expenses:
Classes & Membership Fee
Business License
Website
PayPal Fees
Income
100% from freelance writing
(I’m working on developing an online reading course with the local Title Teacher–my mom–that we’ll launch in January, so at some point my money won’t all be from actually writing!)
The good news?
I just submitted a project today worth $750–a single project worth more than I made the entire month of September!
October should be a good month–I’m looking forward to watching my business grow!
How’s your freelancing going?
Lisa Tanner is a former teacher turned homeschooling mom with 11 kids. She's also a successful freelance writer. Lisa enjoys helping other busy moms find time to start and grow a side hustle of their own.
