Only $320?? But that’s a downwards trend!
Yes, it is… but I love it. I’ll tell you why in a minute.
First, let me tell you about the cool stuff that happened this month.
Cool stuff that happened in May
The biggest thing was that I spent a couple of weeks in Chicago visiting Harriet’s brother. Just like that, I took two weeks off from work, which was both good and bad, depending on your point of view.
It was bad because I barely published new articles or did any social media outreach. That means that traffic dipped and I made less money – check out how much affiliate sales I made…haha!
The good part was that it allowed me to take a step back and really think about where my business is going. I really needed that, as blogging can quickly fill up all your time, leaving you little time for looking at the bigger picture.
I also got to meet up with Matt, from Distilled Dollar and his fiancee, which was awesome! Being a blogger from Spain who writes in English is a weird combination. Sure, the language choice allows me to target a larger audience, but it also means that there aren’t many people around here doing what I do.
Being a blogger from Spain who writes in English is a weird combination. Sure, the language choice allows me to target a larger audience, but it also means that there aren’t many people around here doing what I do.
That’s why it was awesome to meet face to face with one of the friends I’ve made through blogging. If you want awesome money content, definitely check out DistilledDollar.com.
New Project
The biggest business thing that happened while I was in Chicago was that I had an idea for a new project.
You see, when I started Escaping to Freedom, I took the blogger route. I pumped out content, promoted said content, and just took any opportunities that came along.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a great way for many businesses to get started, it just hasn’t been as productive for me as I had hoped.
That’s why I’m changing gears a little.
I’m starting a new website in the fitness industry, which will sell a course from day one. I’m doing this for 3 reasons:
- I love fitness. I’m currently on a summer “cut” and it marvels me how moldable human bodies are. Eat less and lift more and you can see it transforming within days. I’ve been learning about it for the last 12 years and I really want to share my knowledge with the world.
- I want to build a business outside of the “make money online” niche. I feel like I need to prove that I can build a successful business in a different niche.
- I really want to create a course and everything that goes with it: sales funnels, autoresponders, ads, and of course…money!
The goal is to finish the course and set everything up before I go on (another!) holiday at the end of August. I’m definitely going to take the “shoot first, ask questions later” approach here. I’m prone to suffer from analysis paralysis and keep delaying stuff because it’s not perfect… none of that now!
I think this will be great for EtF as well, as I’ll be writing about the entire process of starting a new business! Stay tuned.
Ok, with that out of the way, let’s dig into the income report!
What’s The Point of Income Reports?
When I was working in my last 9-5 job I used to listen to lots of podcasts about online business and marketing. That was when the idea for Escaping to Freedom started to brew – without those podcasts and great blogs, this site would never have existed.
My favourite part of any of these sites, however, were their income reports. It showed that what they were talking about really worked, as they were putting it into practice to some degree of success.
Ok, but what does this mean to you?
Income reports are helpful because they prove to aspiring bloggers and entrepreneurs that earning money from an online business is possible. It’s great to talk about the theory of things, but nothing is as effective as data. #science!
In my case, by showing you this data I’ll hopefully appear more transparent to you and to my future readers. From a selfish standpoint, it will also make me more accountable because, let’s face it, being this open is scary!
May 2017 Income: $320.42
Remember, this is gross income, so I haven’t accounted for taxes or expenses.
Escaping to Freedom Income: $0.00
What?! NOTHING?!
Yeah, that was a bit of a shock.
I made no money from EtF in May. In previous months I had always at least made something, be it an affiliate sale or a sponsored post.
Maybe it’s because I stopped blogging consistently. Maybe it’s because nobody cares about what I do anymore.
Most likely, however, it’s because these things happen. Sh*t happens.
It’s easy to see some of the bigger entrepreneurs and think that it was a steady climb to the top for them. Unless they got super lucky, I’m sure it wasn’t. Things are very slow to begin with – especially if you take as many holidays as me haha!
That’s why, in a way, I love that my income is decreasing – it will show future readers and aspiring entrepreneurs that everyone starts at the bottom and slowly works his/her way up.
Marketing Income: $0.00
Last month, I launched my new marketing side hustle, which I’ve named Equinox Marketing. I’ve even made a pretty cool website for it – check it out!
As you know, I’m looking to secure a couple of clients who need help with their online marketing and blogging. I’ve learned lots by creating and running EtF – article writing, SEO, social media management, website design… – so I really feel that I can provide lots of value to small businesses.
I still haven’t landed a client, but this is an ongoing process.
If you know of anybody who’s looking for help with their digital marketing, you’d be doing me a favour if you asked them to email me! Thanks!
Other Income: $320.42
These are my other sources of income. While they aren’t directly related to Escaping to Freedom, I think they both exemplify two of the most common topics I talk about: side hustles and investing.
Kindle Publishing: $70.18
I started publishing e-books on Amazon Kindle while I still had a 9-5 job, with a plan to grow this income until I could cover all my expenses. I would then quit my job.
I ended up losing my job way before that and, soon after, I decided that I didn’t want to spend the next 35 years in engineering – so I took the leap to become an entrepreneur!
Kindle publishing has been a great little earner for me, even after months without even logging into my account. I just keep getting monthly payments from Amazon, which just rocks.
If you’d like to learn how to earn passive income by publishing on Kindle, I highly recommend the K Money Mastery course. It covers everything you need to know to start earning money in the next few days – it’s really that quick!
Dividends: $250.24
I love this type income because it’s 100% passive. I didn’t have to go to work and do “X” task to earn “Y” amount of money. I just did my own thing and my investments paid me dividends. 🙂
During May, I got paid by 8 different companies, including CVS Health, Verizon and Colgate-Palmolive. This was a better month than April, but still small compared to the behemoth of a month that June is going to be!
Expenses & Net Income
I want to be fully transparent with everything, as always. There’s no point in saying I earned $400 if I spent $399 to make it – that’s why I’m also sharing my business expenses.
Most businesses take some initial capital to start up, especially if there’s physical inventory involved. Luckily, an online business can be started with a very small amount of money, so it’s an amazing option for anyone looking to make a few extra $100 on the side.
Just take a look at my expenses this month:
- Hostgator: $17.49 – This is how much I pay for hosting, domain name and WhoIs guard. I pay this yearly, but this is the equivalent monthly cost.
- GetResponse: $15 – This is the service I use to run my email list. It’s a really great service and a great bang for your buck. If you’re a blogger, you need an email list!
- BoardBooster: $5 – This is what I use to automate my Pinterest pinning. It’s a set-and-forget kind of program, which is awesome.
Total Expenses: $37.49
After some seriously complex arithmetic, the net total comes to…
Net Income: $282.94
Well, that’s not too impressive, but it’s still a sizeable amount. This can cover most of my bills and food for the month. When you start looking at money based on how many of your expenses it can cover, your perspective starts to change.
A $10 bill might not seem like much unless you see it differently. Maybe a few tasty, nutritious, homemade meals?
Well, that wraps up the May income report – I’m excited about June’s report, as it’ll be the highest so far! 😀
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