Business Income Archives - Page 18 of 18

Tips For A Better Work-Life Balance

December 11, 2013 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 53 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.

The other day I was watching True Life on MTV (I know, I know, what a great source of information for a personal finance blog!) and they showed a man who was ALWAYS on his phone or on his laptop. He did not have a good work-life balance at all.

His addiction was so bad that him and his girlfriend went to therapy because he was addicted to work and staying online.

He said he worked 100 hours each week. Whether they were eating, driving, having fun or finding out that they were going to have a child, he was constantly doing work online.

I guess since self-employment is still relatively new to me, I find myself online or on my phone all the time too.

And, just last night, W told me that I'm a workaholic.

That isn't new though. I've always kind of known that I'm addicted to work. [Read more…]

Making The Decision To Leave Your Job

December 9, 2013 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 55 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.

Hey everyone! I hope all of you had a great weekend. Lately, I have been answering questions that readers have been asking me. The other day I published Financial Changes When You Work For Yourself because many people have asked me how self-employment is financially different from working for someone else.

Surprisingly, many people I have talked to in person think that self-employment means that you are retired. Oh boy are they wrong!

I have been asked by several people whether I am happy with my decision to leave my job, and how I even knew that I should leave it. I definitely think that people should either go for their passion, or go for a job that allows them to pursue their passion in some form.

I'm not saying that everyone should go into work this week and quit their jobs. However, most of us have had a job though that we were not in love with. I recently read that around 30% of workers do not like their job. Also, around 75% of workers would actually LEAVE their job if they received a better offer from another company. That seems like a lot of people! [Read more…]

$13,387 in November Business Income

December 3, 2013 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 91 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.

November was my first full month of self-employment and it went very well. November was also my highest month for self-employment income yet. It was a good month but I do think that I can make December even better.

I want to end 2013 with a BANG.

In November of 2013, I made $13,387 in business income, before expenses. I'm hoping for a similar level or higher this month.

Just last November, I made $5,114 in extra income. Still a great amount, but each month I am still amazed by my progress.

Like I say every month, when I first started blogging, I didn't think this level of income was possible. I read (and still read) income reports from bloggers such as Pat at Smart Passive Income and Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff and I thought their levels were just completely unattainable for me.

I'm sure many of you feel the same about your level of “extra income” and that my story is just a lucky story. However, I read stories on other blogs and used them as motivation for myself.

I didn't think their levels were possible for me, but it turns out that I was wrong.

And, I'm glad I was wrong. No, I'm not at the levels of Pat or Crystal, but I will keep trying everyday to improve my business.

This is for the month of November and before fees and expenses (expenses that lower the amount above include approximately $1,500, which includes VAs for my other websites, a website that I bought, PayPal fees, etc.) being taken out.

November‘s number above includes a rent payment from my sister. So after all expenses and fees, I made approximately $13,387. 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.

[Read more…]

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

November 6, 2013 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 110 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.

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.

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.

[Read more…]

I want to end 2013 with a BANG.

Plenty of progress in the past year.

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