Welcome to my September 2013 freelance income report!

This is the fourth post of my freelance income report series where I share my monthly progress with my freelance business. I’ll first cover the important happenings of the month that may have effects to my earnings. Then, I’ll break down the sources of my income and conclude the post with what I have planned for the future.

I choose to do these posts not only to help myself keep track of my freelance business’s progress, but to also show other freelancers what’s working and what’s not working for me.

I believe in complete transparency in my writing, and hope that it can give you some inspiration.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave those at the bottom of this post or shoot me an email to chat in private. Thanks!

Important happenings in September

I'm not going to lie... last month's income report was hard to share. With making less than $300 in an entire month, it was a blow to my self-esteem. Here I am coming off like I'm a well established freelancer, yet I'm making next to nothing.

But it were the few comments I received on that post that picked me back up.

Oh, August is a bad month everywhere! I'm joining the choir of voices that feel good to know that aren't alone in the roller coaster of income inherent to freelance life! – @dinamgbarbosa

Honestly I love that you posted this months income report despite the low earnings, it makes me feel like I'm not the only crazy freelancer with crazy drastic earnings. I totally agree with you that we're doing it for the sake of love and that 'money and fame would be the last goal on my mind'. – @belindalovelee

Thank you to those that take the time to reach out to me via comments, tweets and email. You don't know how much it means to me.

And while I'm in this lovey mood, I have some amazing news to share...

‍On September, 20th I got engaged! My new fiancé, Anita and I have been together for 9 years and I couldn't be more excited for my future spent with her by my side!

Like I've always said, I'm all about the happiness in life. Even though some months I just barely scrape by, I stay happy and motivated to better myself.

‍A realization I've made since freelancing is that money is beneath me... it comes and goes – that's the end of it. Happiness is always there as long as you choose it. My passion and efforts will pay off eventually. I'm here to do what I love, be as happy as I can be, and share my experiences with those interested in listening. :)

‍With the life update and happiness rant out of the way, I want to share with you a few other important happenings...

Remember in July's income report where I shared this photo of JT Woodruff from the band Hawthorne Heights, reppin my Stay True shirt at Warped Tour in Cincinnati? Knowing that I have experience in t-shirt design, JT reached out to me with an opportunity to design a few shirts for their new 2013 tour, Scream It Like You Mean It. I ended up designing their entire new line of shirts for the tour!

Once I get some awesome photos of everything I'll write-up a case study with my experience, but for now, there's a photo of three of the five shirts I designed.

Another really big milestone last month is that I launched my first ebook, "Kickstarting The Next Big Step In My Freelance Career"!

‍It's FREE, so why not give it a download? All I ask in return is that you give it a share. I put in a lot of effort to polish a free resource and a handful of close supporters generously purchased the ebook. I'm truly grateful for the support! :)

Lastly, I updated the Your Freelance Career landing page with a free chapter sample of "Start Your Freelance Career", my next ebook. It's going to be an amazing resource for freelancers, so check it out and sign up for free updates!

With all of that said, how were my earnings affected by this month?

My Freelance Income Report for September 2013

Disclosure: some of the links in my report below are affiliate links that I may earn commission on if you choose to click and purchase through them. If you do, I greatly appreciate it, and if you ever have any questions about the products or services, please feel free to contact me!

Also, I think it’s important to mention that my business expenses do not include the amount I personally save for my business taxes.

• Freelance Services: $543.90
• Client Projects: $543.90
• Previous Month: $272.12
• Difference: +$271.78

• Kickstarting The Next Big Step In My Freelance Career – Ebook: $33.54
• Previous Month: $23.40
• Difference: +$10.14

Gross Total in September: $577.44

• Previous Month: $295.52
• Difference: +$281.92

• September Expenses
• Freshbooks: $20.11
• Bigcartel: $9.99
• Pulley App: $6.00
• Total Expenses for September: $36.10

Net Total in September: $541.34

Important notes about this month’s earnings: As you can see, the diversification of my earnings lacked both this and last month, and I'm still way below what I should/need to be making, but it's the moments and opportunities of the month that have made it amazing.

You've also probably noticed a lack of posts here every Monday. That's been one of many realizations I've had over the past few months. I've spent a ton of time creating content, and while I enjoy it, it's resulted in me earning less...

The content I create to share helps get my name out a bit, but it doesn't pay like client projects do. There's obvious monetization efforts that can be made, but at the level I'm able to produce alone won't earn me much. That's one reason I'm working on Your Freelance Career. More on that soon! Sign up for updates here.

Plans for October

I know this report is a bit delayed... We're two weeks into October, so I can give you an idea of how it's going.

Taking some time to reevaluate my efforts has been paying off. Already I've almost met September's earnings, so I hope to continue doing this well for the rest of the month.

I'm still working hard on Your Freelance Career. If you're signed up you should be getting updates about every other week on it's progress. I hope to have the new blog ready for 2014, with my next ebook, "Start Your Freelance Career" launching soon after.

I have some major updates coming soon around here as well, so stay tuned!

...

‍I want you to try something.

Writing these monthly reports has honestly done so much for me. Reviewing and documenting my business (and life) in detail shows my fears, success, and growth. I want you to give it a try. Just once! And you can continue if you'd like.

Write a blog post in detail about the happenings of your month and what your plans are for the next. You don't have to share your income, because I know I'm crazy for doing so, but just share what's been happening.

‍Feel free to share a link to your post in the comments below! I'll be sure to take some time and leave a comment. :)

Sincerely from the bottom of my heart, thank you for your time.

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