January Income Report $39,015
HOW I MADE $39,015 IN JANUARY
Plus what my strategy and goals are for next month. BONUS: Questions & Answers linked at the end of this article!
While putting together this income report I realized that I just hit $900,000 in overall gross income which is pretty incredible. For me running a successful business is so much more than just a simple number and how much I make but has everything to do with creating a dependable income that allows me to do what I am wildly passionate about every single day while also giving me financial security and freedom of time to pursue a life I love.
January was great, I felt really in control of how everything was going, inspired by shooting more, excited about my upcoming move to Hawaii. I overshot my overall income goal a little bit for this month which was a great way to start of 2017. I'm guilty of setting big goals, sometimes a little too big and then struggle with not getting all the way there. One of my personal goals for this year was to not over set goals, as much as goals are important it's just as important to be realistic about them and then celebrating them as they come and go.
In addition to my income report, I also go into a little more detail on how I like to use different social platforms to grow my business. I had so many questions about it and wanted to be sure to include that information in this report.
So if you've been dying to find out how I use them then you'll love reading Januarys report. I know they are all really long so take your time to go over it.
I'm sure you all are ready to read about this months income report, here's a little bit about me for those who are new...You are totally welcome to skip this part, haha.
I am a mother, wife, business coach, product creator, and photographer who specializes in naturally styled portraiture. I started Modern Baby Photography & Modern Bride Photography with a passion in documenting real moments. My passion grew more and more over the years, and I realized that I also loved creating products to help make it easier for me to run my business. I started sharing these products with other photographers, and that's when Modern Market came about. It's now the largest online marketplace for professional photographers around the world with products ranging from pricing tools, marketing templates, blog themes, educational resources and so much more. I love dreaming big and helping fellow creatives turn their dreams into a reality through personal online business coaching.
Once a month I take the time to go over my personal business finances. I write down what I made, as well as how many expenses I had. It's a great way for me to hold myself accountable in reaching my personal goals and showing others that owning your own business by doing something you are incredibly passionate about is absolutely possible.
In addition to writing down my income and expense report, I will also go over what strategies I plan to implement, what I am currently focusing on, as well as my goals for the upcoming month. By reading these income reports, you'll get a front row seat to watching me run my business, so that should hopefully be interesting. Hopefully, I don't put you to sleep with talking numbers and showing you graphs.
Important Notes:
The following numbers are gross income from my entire business which includes sales from my online store, my portrait, wedding, and product photography. I look at my business as a whole and have used the same business success steps and marketing strategies for all aspects of my business; these are the same strategies teach to other creatives in my Business Success Class.
Let's get started!
JANUARY GROSS INCOME: $39,015
Gross Sales: $36,981 (Net Sales $36,263)
Photography Business Class: $1,985
Affiliates: $46
JANUARY TRAFFIC REPORT: 52,847
Visitors
I wanted to add this display graph to show you how increased traffic = increased sales. The problem isn't usually that people don't know how to make more money, they just don't know how to increase what's working and have that translate directly to their income. If you look at what you are currently doing and think to yourself; If I could DOUBLE everything that's working, it would certainly increase your income right? It comes down to being a numbers game regardless for what industry you are in. If you can increase what's working, increase traffic, it will in the end also increase your outcome.
JANUARY EXPENSES: $15,264
Vendors: $1615
Paypal Fees: $1,039
Website Payment Fees: $269
Facebook: $9,698
Pathwright: $239
RetargetingApp: $2049
Post Planner*: $19
GoDaddy: $2
Rare.io: $39
Pixieset: $50
Social Login: $2
Privy: $24
Adobe: $10
Quickbooks Bookkeeping: $29
Accountant: $290
(Anything with an * next to it is an affiliate link)
GROSS INCOME TO DATE $900,485
(income in graph below is only for January 2015 - now)
FACEBOOK, E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST GROWTH
- Facebook: 94,762 +2402
- E-mails: 49,919 +6719
- Instagram: 6814 +625
- Pinterest: 5204 +169
TOTAL GROWTH: +9915
It was important for me to add this information into my income report because I do use social media to grow my business. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and e-mail subscription is what really made it possible for me to build my business so quickly. If you compare starting a business to the time before social media was in our life, it was hard. Someone had to open up an actual store business to be found and then count on foot traffic and phone books to be found by potential customers. We live in an incredible time where we have tools such as social media to make it easier than ever to connect to the right people. For me, using these social platforms has helped me grow my businesses and reach hundreds of amazing clients & customers. Below I'll go over how I personally love to use each platform. They each unique, and I have different things I love using about each of them.

MY STRATEGY AND GOALS FOR NEXT MONTH:
E-MAIL STRATEGY
INSTAGRAM STRATEGY


PINTEREST STRATEGY
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SCHEDULING AHEAD
I have been writing my heart out with the goal to finish writing helpful/inspirational posts for 365 days straight. Sound time-consuming? Oh yes, it is, but post planner helps me schedule those posts a little faster. I have days where I could write all day (like today) and others where I sit at my desk staring at a blank page. I think tha'ts just part of running your own business, you have on days and off days. A great way I have made up for my off days are optimizing my on days. When I have a day where I feel inspired to write, I usually will put my other tasks aside and work on as much writing as possible. Then I'll use that content on days I need it.
I still make sure to stay on top of all my important work but let's be real, there are a ton of tasks we have to get done. Some require that creative mind, and the other just need to get done. I don't have to feel inspired or creative to reply to emails or work on updating important information, or create a budget for the next month. But I need to feel inspired to write something that will inspire others.
So with that said, when you feel creative or inspired, write, draw, create. Use that work on the days you don't feel creative.
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CREATE A FREE LIGHTROOM CLASS
I'm super excited about this but have to find the time to complete it. It probably won't be as perfect as I want it to be, but what it will be is incredibly helpful for someone who feels a little bit overwhelmed by using Lightroom for their editing. I've already recorded going over how to import, export, in lightroom and covered all the important tools I personally love using in Lightroom. I'm thinking of making some sort of private facebook group and upload the videos there. This way if anyone has any questions along the way they can easily ask me. LR has really changed my workflow and I know it could help others as well. I also know how hard it was to make the jump from photoshop to lightroom and hoping that this free class with help those who are new. Information on this class will be posted on facebook, so if you're thinking 'YESS! I NEED THIS!' Then keep an eye out for the announcement!
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SELLING OUR FLORIDA HOUSE
It's February, which means our closing date on our house is happening this month! We spend the end of January clearing out the house and selling literally everything we had. Once we are done with closing at the end of the month our plan is to wait for spring break and then fly over to Hawaii. You can read all about that adventure on the personal section on the blog. HERE.
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FINISH ALL FLORIDA SESSIONS & PREPARE FOR HAWAII
I have my last sessions scheduled this month before making the big move. So sad that I can't pack all my amazing clients with me. Looking back on the past few years I've had such an inspiring time creating sessions for those clients. Each of those clients and sessions is special to me and the feeling of appreciation is something I will be bringing with me to my next home.
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TAKE TIME TO RELAX
Something I have been trying to do every day is to proactively take a few moments to myself. It's amazing how quickly time can go by and one of the first things I often allow myself to give up on is my own time. Between a busy work time, having two kids, making dinner, going to the playground, conversations with my husband the one thing that's often at the bottom of the list is just a few minutes to myself to relax and disconnect. Put everything away, including my phone and just let it all go for a few minutes.
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RELEASED NEW LIGHTROOM PRESET COLLECTIONS
For those that follow me on facebook probably saw that I released two new lightroom presets. They are an absolute dream to use. Creating LR preset collections is something I have a lot of fun doing. Editing photos for me feels like therapy and as much as I wish I could help everyone in the world edit their own photos, creating lightroom presets allows me to at least share my adjustments with the world.
You can see all my lightroom preset collections HERE. For the last two I recently released you can also see a video click through of each preset.
Here are some of my favorites, edited with the Lightroom Preset - The Pure Collection
BONUS: CLICK HERE TO READ THE QUESTION & ANSWER SECTION
That sums it up for this months income report and Q&A. I had a lot of fun answering all those questions so if you have any at all, feel free to leave a comment below, or in a comment on facebook, or message me personally on facebook, so I can be sure to answer it in the Question & Answer post!
GET FULL ACCESS TO MY PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS SUCCESS CLASS TODAY FOR $37! |
Turning dreams into reality is my specialty! I teach photographers and creatives how to build their dream business. With strategies they can implement right away to build a striving business that has an income they can count on! This class is for photographers who are truly ready to build the business of their dreams and learn the important steps in developing a strong business, brand, and client base. When I first start my photography business I had to learn a lot of important things by trial and error. After years of building a business of my own I'm excited to share all my business knowledge with those of you that are ready to build something you are truly proud of. Something that will make you independently strong as a person and as a business owner. If you have a dream and are willing to work hard at it then you'll absolutely love this class -- It will completely pay for itself over and over again after implementing my business plan and strategies! |