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.

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?