I’ve spent some time thinking about whether or not it would be a good idea to share my initial freelancing income. I know that there are several different schools of thought concerning sharing income earned or developed through online endeavors. I personally really love reading people’s income posts and a general break down of how they earned their (I don’t need a super exact one) so that I get a vague idea of the potential earnings trajectory working in this way.
I am competitive to a certain degree and consider those earnings posts as a call to action. Challenge accepted. I love those posts because it shows that the kinds of earnings I would love to make are possible. I’ve also noticed that each person who shares their income earned has different ways of making that money.
The other school of thought that I’ve seen concerning sharing income is that it can trigger a feeling of “what is it that they are doing and making happen that I’m not?” I find that to be a deeper issue of self-confidence and owning and being proud of what you’re making happen for yourself. If you make $150 dollars more than what you’ve made a month ago-what’s wrong with that? Shouldn’t you applaud those efforts? What if you had never tried something new? You would still be in the place that you were in before.
Another school of thought that I’ve seen is that people are being bragadocious about their earnings. I would say that to a certain degree that’s true, but if I worked my butt off and made thousands over what I used to make I would be feeling pretty damn good about myself and want other people to read what I was doing and work hard to figure out the formula that works for them.
So, with all that I am saying that I am mindful of the emotions that sharing income can trigger. My goal is to encourage people to figure out their money making composition and rock their side hustle or freelancing goals. I also want to show how much incomes can fluctuate up and down from month to month. Here it is!
Freelancing Income Update:
February-$150
- I returned to Denver on February 24, 2015. I made $50 that night doing a quick and fun side hustle. Yes, I did a side hustle the night that returned. A little crazy but I was serious about making this work. I also received some miscellaneous money that month so money flowing in was around: $150
March-$1850
- First month truly looking for virtual work and growing my business. I did sign on a couple of clients BUT would be paid for most of my work in April. I didn’t really begin working until about the middle of March. Please refer to my post on Freelance work and timing. I talk about the timing between pitches, working, and payments. I also received a tax return so money flowing in totaled: $1850 with the majority of that being tax return money.
April-$700
- Second month of freelancing. I am now receiving payments for work done in March. I only had 2 clients at that time. In the month of April I have continued to sign on more clients. I also have a very large payment that was for a side hustle (think LARGE) that has been delayed. So my earnings in May will reflect that delayed payment. Money flowing in for April: $700 (clients/freelance writing). This is fun to look at because I have been working basically full-time hours for at least the past 3 weeks and won’t receive the majority of that money until May. *I also lost a client*
May- $4300 or Where the Magic Begins To Happen (hopefully)
- Estimated amount of money flowing in (including the delayed payment) around $4300. I should mention that this amount is more than what I was making at my old job. The key is to see how I can continue to grow my business and maintain a high level of consistent service for my clients. So, my goal May is to try and earn an additional $700 dollars on top of the projected income. Once I take the tax out I am still bringing home the amount of money that I used to.
Again, there is no guarantee that next month will stay as high as May is projected to be. My goal is to work as hard as I can, but you never know. I do think there is value in showing how money flows in when starting from scratch which is basically what I’ve done. Also please note that I haven’t worked since December 16, 2014 so I was pretty freaking motivated to get money flowing in.
Latest posts by Michelle (see all)
- How Work Policies Against Black Women Birthed a Love of the Soft Life - 20 March, 2024
- How Taylor Swift’s IP Victory Could Change the Business of Music - 28 February, 2024
- Why Don’t More Personal Finance Content Creators Talk About Policy - 16 January, 2024
My personal experience: People enjoy reading your income posts until you start making a lot more money than them. After that, it becomes a huge turn-off.
Personally, I like reading other people’s income reports. Like you, I see it as a call to action. I never feel like anyone is bragging. I always think, “Hey, I want that too!”
I’ve always read those posts and thought “How can I do this?” I don’t get angry I just try to figure out the magical “formula.”
wow, Michelle!!! Congrats. You are rockin this and I’m so glad you are sharing with transparency. I love that you don’t just share the $$, you’ve shared about the long hours, too.
It’s a lot of work, but I don’t feel stressed about the work in the way that I did when I worked at that university. It does help that I live in a place that understands the type of work that I’m doing so when I’m pitching it’s not that difficult for businesses to understand the value of the work.
Woot woot, that’s some HUGE growth. Congrats!
I’m not dating right now Stephanie and I want to eat-so I have a lot of time on my hands and I’m pretty focused LOL!
It’s great to see your money grow month to month! Congrats!
Well, I think it will be interesting to see if it can be sustained. Maybe there is a big spike and then it drops off. That’s always a possibility. Hopefully not, but we shall see.
That’s a huge goal Michelle. Good for you! I think I’m at a point where I can’t get my freelance income much higher due to time constraints. If I want to increase it anymore I’m going to have to find more time (aka – quit my FT job). Yikes!
I wish I could have scaled up my business while working my old job so that I could have had a smoother transition. Unfortunately, I just didn’t have any time even for myself-you guys saw that I was struggling! I still have a lot of time on my hands so I focus on work LOL!
Michelle, sounds good. And may June be even better than May :).
Thanks Maria-will be trying my best!
So proud of you girl and good luck with your May goal. I really enjoy reading other peoples financial reports for it motivates me and gives me hope that it can be done.
Thanks Petrish! I’m going to work my hardest and I hope I can meet the goal. We shall see.
Awesome Michelle! I love reading income reports 🙂
Thanks Michelle-yours were always very inspiring! We’ll see how it continues.
Michelle,
Progress looks good, keep it up!
I love reading income/expenses reports. They offer insight in other people’s lives or businesses, they motivate me to reach the same level, or they are simply plain fun to read.
Looking forward to what’s next for you.
Best wishes and a succesful May,
NMW
Thanks for the kind words. I think the key is to sustain the income. So, it’s great that this month looks pretty good (can’t wait for the payments to finally come in) but will I be able to sustain the business and level of income over the long-run? That’s going to be interesting to see.
Thanks for sharing! You have motivated me to set a monthly goal and work to it. I just have a general “make money while blogging goal.” It’s totally worthless. I need to write down a number and try to hit that goal! Thank you again and good luck!!!
I agree Crystal, have a more definitive goal. You’re a Rock Star so I’m pretty sure that you will kick the butt of any goal that you decide on. Let me know how it goes 🙂
Good for you Michelle! I think people perspective on these ”types” of posts depends on the person posting- I usually love reading them but definitely get turned off when I come across a gross arrogant one. Cheering for you 🙂
I don’t think it serves people well to be braggadocios (and I’ve read the arrogant ones!) I just want to be transparent about the amount of money being made and the ebbs and flows of the process.