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$11,927 in October Business Income – I Finally Left My Job

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 94 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Find out how I earned $11,927 in October 2013.Hey everyone! Welcome to this month’s blog income report.

In October, I finally left my day job.

You are probably wondering why my business income is lower in October when I left my job and I had more time to work on my business than previous months/years. Well, I’m not sure why it went down, but I’m of course not upset.

I still had my day job for almost half of October, and I have been spending a lot of time relaxing. Probably not the best idea for when I first make the switch, but my excuse is that I spent years working (or attending school attending school at the same time) for over 80 hours each week. I was tired!

It has been a nice couple of weeks, but I do need to get back in the hang of everything. October was a great month, not only job and money wise, but I also worked on improving many of my family relationships – and I was successful in doing so. More on that in my October Goals Update post.

October was a good month. It’s one of my highest months ever, and it makes me really excited for November. November will also be my first full month as a self-employed person, so I am excited to see what next month’s income report will be like.

 

Plenty of progress in the past year.

In October, I made $13,127 in business income, before expenses.

Just last October, I made $3,700 in extra income. I am definitely happy and proud of my progress.

I never thought that I would be anywhere near this amount, and I’m sure many of you feel the same about your “extra income.” However, when I first started blogging, I would read income blogs such as Budgeting in the Fun Stuff and occasionally Newlyweds on a Budget would publish income posts as well, and they both got me hooked. I didn’t think their levels were possible for me, but it turns out that I was wrong.

My side income in September of 2012 was my first big jump in side income, so it was definitely still fairly large for “side income.” However, my progress over the past year just seems unreal.

I know that this is a lot of “extra income” (or business income as this is what all of this is to me now), but please keep in mind that I spend many, many hours every single day on my business.

This is definitely not passive income, although one day I hope that much of my income is passive. I have also been growing this for quite some time, and for around one year I was not making a single dollar, but I was still putting full-time hours into my side jobs. Taxes also take approximately 30% to 40% of my extra income. This is something that not everyone thinks about.

As I say every month in my income update posts as a reality check: this is still work. This is my full-time job, and for a few years I was working my full-time job while having my business as well. There were many sleepless nights!

Luckily, I do enjoy what I’m doing so it’s not like I’m dreading anything. The goals that we have are also a great motivator. Right now our main goal is saving for long-term travel. Read further on my Extra/Business Income page.

As always, if you have any questions about my monthly business income that you would like me to include next month, please let me know.

 

$11,927 in October Business Income - I Finally Left My Job

This is for the month of October and before fees and expenses (expenses that lower the amount above include approximately $1,200, which includes payments for staff writing on my blog, work with FITnancials, PayPal fees, etc.) being taken out.

October‘s number above includes a rent payment from my sister. So after all expenses and fees, I made approximately $11,927. In the amount above, I do not count the amount that I bring in to blogs that I help run, I only include the amounts that are my actual earnings from my services.

You can find my 2013 goals update here.

All of my past income updates can be found here as well.

Blog News

Making Sense of Cents is still doing well. Or at least I think so 🙂 . If you have any questions or tips, please leave a comment and let me know. Many of you ask me each month if I enjoy blogging, and I truly do. I have met so many awesome people and have learned so many new things. If you are thinking about starting your own blog, do so now!

My sister’s blog is still doing well also. Please subscribe to FITnancials if you haven’t yet. Lots of new things are happening to her, and she is planning a move to Chicago soon.

My newest blog Diversified Finances is doing well also and I am so glad that I started this website. Being able to talk so much about self-employment and getting direct feedback from readers is great. I recently published an article over there about how self-employment is going for me in the first couple of weeks so far.

If you are looking to start a blog, don’t forget to read my post How To Start a Blog. It gives step by step instructions on starting your own blog. Also, one of my most popular posts this past month was How To Make Money Blogging.

 

I need a better schedule.

Lately, I have really fallen off my schedule and haven’t had a very efficient routine. I plan on setting an alarm from now on and attempting to not just work from my bed 24/7. I feel that when I sit at my desk or at a table, that I get a lot more done.

 

FinCon 2013

FinCon was in October, and it was a lot of fun. I learned so many things and I plan on applying much of what I learned to my business. I made a list of things that I need to do in my post My Plan For the Future.

My plans include (in no particular order):

  1. Start an eBook.
  2. Build my brand.
  3. Promote more.
  4. Accept more interviews.
  5. Speak at a blog conference one day.

 

Staff Writing

I have added a couple more staff writing gigs, and I am still looking for a few more.

Last month was one of my highest months for staff writing in a long time. Up until October, I wasn’t really staff writing because I just couldn’t find the time for it. However, in October I actively started seeking out staff writing positions, and found a few. I’m hoping that I can pick up a few more in November as well.

Here’s my monthly shameless plugin: If any of you need a staff writer or just a one-time content writer, let me know. Whether you need a couple of articles every week, or just a single post with no ongoing relationship, I am your girl. I can write regular content, content to fill in gaps in your writing schedule, content for advertising and so on. My turnaround is fairly quick and I am reliable.

I created an article titled So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer?, so please read further about this topic if you are interested in staff writing as well.

 

Update on my newest side hustles – Blog and Social Media Management

My website and social media management services are still doing well. I manage different aspects of several different blogs, and that is what has helped me ramp up my business income in the past couple of months. All of my new services are a lot of fun, as I really enjoy blogging and social media, and all other areas of managing a website.

If you need a blog or social media manager, please let me know.

I can manage your blog for a short period of time as well. If you just need one week, one month, or some other time period off from your blog (such as for travel, to unplug, a vacation from your website, to start a family, to start a new job and so on), I can help with this. E-mail me with any questions.

Also, I am still thinking about starting a niche site. However, in the past month I have read articles from other bloggers who have said that they are getting out of the niche site business. Is there a reason that so many people have said this in the month of October?

Are you interested in becoming a virtual assistant? Don’t forget to also read about what exactly a virtual assistant does.

 

Affiliate income – I really need to start working on this.

I haven’t done anything related to affiliate links or income in quite some time. Each and every month I say that this will change, but I really want to start working on this in November.

What affiliate sites do you use? I have been receiving a few e-mails every couple of weeks from readers asking which affiliate sites are best. Since I don’t do much with affiliate, I’m never sure what to say what is the best. Leave a comment if you know of any please.

 

Offline side hustles.

I have been thinking about offline side hustles a lot lately. W and I have been thinking about a couple of things. Nothing that will make us a ton of money, but just little things that we enjoy doing that we could possibly make a little money off of. We are hoping to start this soon, and we do think we could be somewhat profitable in the service that we plan on offering.

What offline side hustles do you have?

 

$11,927 in October Business Income - I Finally Left My Job

Business and Extra Income in October (after expenses)

  • Staff writing – $760
  • Website-Related (managing other bloggers’ websites, my blogs – direct advertising & Adsense) – $10,442
  • Affiliate Income – $400
  • Virtual Assistant tasks – $0
  • Selling Items From Our Home – $67 (although this is not included in the amount above, as this was a credit to the store)
  • Miscellaneous (not related to blogging and online income) – $0
  • Mystery Shopping – $0
  • Rent (we rent a room in our house to my sister) – $325

 

Comparisons and 2013 Business Income total (after expenses, but before taxes)

  • Total extra income for October: $11,927
  • Income in September: $12,334
  • Difference: -$407
  • Total so far in 2013: $90,972

 

 

How did you do in October? What are your extra/business income goals?

 

Related Posts

About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  3. Liquid says

    Congrats on another great month. With more time to focus on your own business now I think 5 figures every month is now the norm for you. It’s smart that you’ve been tracking all your numbers to date because it helps to be organized for when you do the income taxes next year 🙂

    Reply

  4. MMD says

    Wonderful job on the business income for October! Have you thought about starting your own LLC or small business to try to offset some of your personal income taxes? I’m not an expert in these areas. But I have heard other people talk about how one has tax advantages over the other.

    Reply

  6. FI Pilgrim says

    That’s unreal, good for you. And just like you stated above, your earnings statements are an inspiration to those of us who didn’t think that earning money from a blog would really be possible. Keep up the great (self-employed) work!

    Reply

  7. DC @ Young Adult Money says

    I’ve done social media management in the past and it can be a really fun side hustle if you have time. I did it when I was in college when I would have frequent breaks between classes and a job that allowed me to spend time on social media and surfing the internet. Today I’d be more likely to hire out my social media management than take it on as a side hustle.

    I have and always will love your income updates, definitely inspires me to keep hustling. Hope you had a great weekend!

    Reply

    • Michelle says

      That’s awesome that you used to do it as well. I enjoy doing it. I could probably add on some more clients but I do charge more than others for my social media services.

      Reply

  8. Well Heeled Blog says

    You are doing such an amazing job. Congratulations on taking the step to self-employment and for kicking ass at it! 🙂

    Reply

  11. Alexa says

    October was awesome for you!! I love reading about your progress! I have actually been thinking about trying to work on other sites more and rely on staff writing less. I still like writing but I have so much more fun working on websites! I am not going to make any big decisions though. I still have plenty of time to fill in my schedule so I could fit more sites and more writing in there.

    Good luck to you in November! No doubt this will be your best month yet!

    Reply

  12. John S @ Frugal Rules says

    Another great month Michelle! I had my best month ever last month which is encouraging to have happen. We’ve started to add more clients to our business because of the blog which is cool to see. Good luck with the schedule – it took me a little while to get that down and it has helped me immensely in terms of being more productive. For affiliate, I use Commission Junction and Link Offers mainly.

    Reply

  13. Connie @ Savvy With Saving says

    What a great month! I think you’ll see your income grow in November but don’t feel guilty about taking a break, you deserve it!

    Reply

  15. Tanea says

    I’m so happy for you! You are so inspiring. I’m working on getting to the point where I can quit my job. My side income is not where it needs to be, but I’m working as hard as I can.

    Reply

  16. This Life On Purpose says

    Wow congrats on the side income, although I guess it’s no longer side income and now it’s main income! How did you get started with the side income on your blog? I’m just getting started and I’m interested in knowing what your path was like.

    Reply

    • Michelle says

      Yes, it’s main income! 🙂

      I saw that others were able to make an income online, and that is really what started it. I bothered Budgeting in the Fun Stuff and Newlyweds on a Budget a lot and they were so helpful.

      If you have any questions, please e-mail me 🙂

      Reply

  24. lesley says

    that is awesome, michelle. enjoy being self-employed! that has to be such a good feeling. work is work, but being able to be your own boss is going to be great. can’t wait to hear all about it.

    Reply

  31. writing2reality says

    Awesome, truly awesome! An inspiration to anyone who has desired self-employment and pursued it with wild abandon.

    As you’ve alluded to above, setting a routine will be extremely important so you can stave off distractions and maintain motivation during the “extra” time you’ve just gained from being self-employed. Best of luck!

    Reply

  33. Jacob says

    Nice work, once again! Also, it was great meeting you at FinCon, and it sounds like your to-do list is as full as mine!

    Glad to hear you’ve had a chance to CHILL for a bit, much needed and much deserved. Now get out there and KILL IT! 🙂

    Reply

  35. Grayson @ Debt Roundup says

    It is always nice to see you blowing it up over here Michelle. You are one of the people that inspire me to earn more, but the time is a problem for me. I wouldn’t mind doing it when I didn’t have a child, but the baby makes it tough to keep a solid schedule.

    Reply

  36. Lisette says

    WOW! Congrats and a big hug to you!

    Recommendation? Look into Lijit ads for this “little” blog. They’re CPM ads based on pageviews. Easy money for you 🙂

    Reply

  38. E.M. says

    Nice job! I am sure you will do really well in November. If I worked from home I think it would be really tempting to work from bed… it sounds so nice, but I think I’d also be more productive at a table or desk. Good luck on setting a schedule for yourself!

    Reply

  41. moneystepper says

    Having established my site last July, Making Sense of Cents is one of the sites I aspire to become and seeing those revenue figures is a true inspiration. Keep up the hard work – your success is thoroughly deserved!

    Reply

  42. Jim Wang says

    Congratulations on making the plunge!

    You have a solid base and a great plan, I have no doubt you’ll continue to grow. Amazing how far it’s gotten in a year huh? Inspirational — keep it up!

    Reply

  43. Jim Wang says

    Congratulations on making the plunge!

    You have a solid base and a great plan, I have no doubt you’ll continue to grow. Amazing how far it’s gotten in a year huh? Inspirational — keep it up!

    Reply

  45. The Warrior says

    First, congrats on continued success and your new independence.

    Second, if you could go back and make 2 changes to your process to reach your financial/job independence faster, what would they be? Just looking for some inspiration/guidance.

    The Warrior
    NetWorthWarrior.com

    Reply

    • Michelle says

      Thank you!

      I don’t know if I would do much different. I guess if I had less in student loans then that would have definitely made the whole thing happen much faster!

      Reply

  47. Charles@gettingarichlife says

    Michelle,
    Is your income in an LLC or is it regular? An S corp or LLC would lower your tax rate. Congratulations on your income!

    Reply

  49. Lisa E. @ Lisa Vs. The Loans says

    You go girl!!! These posts never fail to inspire me 🙂 Can’t wait to hear about your first full month!

    Reply

  50. Erick says

    Hi Michelle!

    I just came across to your site from SPI and it’s a great discovering, congratulations for quitting your job! and for your upcoming wedding too =)

    About your writting services are you using Elance or another website to do this? I’m actually using some writting services from elance, and I’m looking for inspirational stories for my site of people who have succesfully quit their stressfull / boring / unfulilling jobs to be happy doing something else, please let me know if you are interested in share your story in my small blog. And thanks again for sharing =)

    Reply

  53. Dominic says

    Michelle, you are an inspiration! It’s because I stumbled on this blog that I started my website, http://www.everydaybroadway.com. Thanks for the tips and advice, and I hope I can build my brand enough over the coming years to warrant a less hectic lifestyle. Visit the site if you have time and give me a shout out to drive traffic if you are able! (I definitely used your Bluehost affiliate link for my site!) Thanks!

    Reply

  54. DNN says

    Hey Michelle,

    this is beautiful news to hear that you’re making such a wonderful income 2 years after starting your blog and finally quitting your day job. I’m striving to get up to par on my email marketing because I know there’s a lot more affiliate revenue potential in that. Now that my SEO is greatly improving, I look forward to learning from you and others about transitioning successfully to “side hustle millionaire” status. 🙂

    Reply

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