November was a pretty busy month, but I’m excited to share what I earned from working online in my spare time.
If you are a new reader, each month I share the income I earned from working online aside from the work I put in at my full-time office job. I started side hustling in February of this year just a few months after I started my blog in the hope of earning some extra money to meet some of my financial goals quicker.
I just can’t stand the thought of having debt for years and years so I decided to be proactive about earning extra money to get rid of it quicker and I truly believe almost anyone can do the work I do and earn a decent amount each month.
It can be scary to post your income online for anyone to see, but I’m hoping my income reports answer some of people’s questions about working online, inspire others to start side hustling as well, and offer a deeper insight as to how I’m making my financial goals and dreams a reality.
So without further adieu…
RELATED: How Much Does it Cost to Run a Blog?
Table of Contents
In November, I made: $2,260
That’s $695 more than last month! This is income that I actually received in November and not just money I earned. I have clients who pay my all throughout the month so there is some work I completed in November that I might not receive payment for until the end of this month.
Also, since I’m responsible for paying taxes on this income, I set aside about 30% of whatever I earn from online work each month.
In this income report, I’m going to break down how much I earned, explain how I earned it, show how many hours I spent working each week and evaluate my goals for next month.
Here’s How My Total Income Breaks Down:
Freelance Writing: $1535
Virtual Assistant Work: $495
Affiliate Sales: $130
Sponsored Posts: $100
Ads on my website via Google Adsense: $0 (booo… in order to receive a payout from Google Adsense I need to reach a threshold of $100)
eBay Store: $0 (I listed some items in the middle of November, but I need to work more on this)
How I Earn an Income from Online Work
As you can see, most of my income comes from freelance writing. Shortly after I started this blog I started pursuing freelance writing gigs because I love to write and wanted to earn some extra money by working at home at night and on weekends while my son sleeps. That way, I don’t have to put in a lot of time and effort at a part-time job and deal with the hassle of securing a babysitter.
After I worked with a writing coach, the leads just started pouring in, literally. I met a lot of other bloggers who were freelance writers as well and were kind enough to pass on leads to me and refer me for jobs. I also found the confidence needed to send out cold pitches to prospective clients which landed me a few gigs as well.
Mind you, none of this probably would have ever happened so quickly if I didn’t start my blog. My blog is like an online portfolio for my writing and allows me to share more of my thoughts and personality as opposed to my social media profiles. You can only say so much on Twitter with an 140 character limit.
If you are serious about earning money writing, you must start a blog. Check out my simple tutorial to help walk you through the steps of setting up a self-hosted blog, hassle free.
In November, I was approached by a popular financial website to write reviews on specific financial services and identity theft products along with a current client of mine who needed me to transcribe some periscopes. I also received a few referrals for virtual assistant work and did a paid trial with a client along with sending out a cold pitch in the hopes of being able to write for another website. All of these actions contributed to my increase in income from October.
How Many Hours I Worked
I started tracking my hours spent on blogging and side hustling last month and I did it again this month just to get a better picture of how much time it takes me to get the work done properly. I’m also hoping that tracking my hours will motivate me to keep finding ways to work more efficiently.
Just note that in November, I did a lot of extra work for clients and my own blog in the hopes of getting ahead for a few weeks so I can take a much needed break in December. So while these hours may look like a lot, December’s hours will be a lot less.
November 2-8: 17.5 hours
November 9-15: 20.5 hours
November 16-22: 23 hours
November 23-29: 19 hours
November 30: 3 hours
Total: 83 hours
RELATED: How to Start Side Hustling and Making Extra Money
Goals for my Blog and Online Income
Start earning at least $2,500 per month in extra income by the end of 2016’s first quarter: Since I already surpassed my goal of earning at least $1500 per month, I feel like it’s time to set the bar again. While earning at least $1500 per month is a bare minimum. Earning $2,500 per month would allow me to cover the entire amount I wish to put toward my student loans next year even after taxes are deducted. It will also put me at the halfway mark for my goal I set to participate in Sarah’s challenge.
Come up with a new content strategy for my blog: I feel that as I’m growing and evolving, my blog should as well. I have some great ideas for how I’m going to take the content to the next level on this blog next year and need to start writing my ideas down. I’m sure other freelance writers know how it can be so difficult to consistently come up with fresh content ideas for your clients AND your own blog but I’ve learned that while my ideas are flowing, I need to stop and write them down because sometimes I get stumped.
Continue to lower my Alexa rank and boost my social media followers: I haven’t done much for this yet so I really need to pick it up. This goal is all about building up my blog even more along with my own personal brand.
Secure at least one new client: I’m still hiring 🙂 and even though I won’t be working that much on my side hustle in December due to the holidays, I’d still like to pitch and secure at least one new client so I can start the new year off with them.
That’s enough goals for now, are you looking forward to the new year? Have you already decided how you want to increase your income in 2016?
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Kristin says
Oh wow, that’s a huge jump in income, congrats! I probably should track my hours better, it would let me know how productive I am. Great job!
Choncé says
Thanks Kristin! Tracking my hours was a big eye opener for me.
Latoya says
Amazing work, Chonce:) I’m definitely looking forward to January and I have a lot I want to accomplish in December so I can start 2016 off with a great start. I know for sure that I want to increase my freelancing income through writing. I’m open to blog management as well, so we’ll se how that goes. I also need to begin tracking my time also. This will help me make sure I’m not spending too much time on social media.
Choncé says
I’m sure you’ll rock those goals for the rest of the month and 2016! Let me know if you ever need anything 🙂
Latoya says
Thanks:) I actually could use your advice on something. I’ll send you an email this weekend!
Choncé says
Sure. Email me any time!
Tonya @ Budget and the Beach says
That’s amazing!! I don’t know how you are finding the time to do it all but good for you!
Choncé says
I usually clone myself then divvy up the work 🙂
lovetteorleavette says
Way to go Chonce! That’s great that you were able to surpass your goal!
Choncé says
Thanks Shirria!
My Urban Family says
A huge congrats to you!! Each month you impress me 🙂 I’m so happy to see things moving in a wonderful direction for you! And I’m with you on putting in a ton of hours to step back a bit later this month. Next week is going to be crazy but hopefully I can start to slow down after that!
Choncé says
Yeah my supposed break at the end of the month is a huge motivation to push through these next weeks.
Jason @ TheButlerJournal.com says
Congrats on that increase. You’re #balling over there :).
Choncé says
Haha, thanks Jason!
DC @ Young Adult Money says
$2,500 is a solid goal, and congrats on your success so far! I also am trying to formulate a content strategy plan for my blog, but I’m also trying to plan a redesign so it’s tough to know which to prioritize. Anyway, here’s to a great 2016 for both of us!
Choncé says
Sounds like you have your plate full. Content is huge for me because I want to make sure I’m always offering value so I’m excited to work on a new strategy for 2016!
Cat@BudgetBlonde says
Nice job! I’m super proud of you and I can’t wait to see where you go from here. 🙂
Choncé says
Thanks Cat!
Michelle@shopmyclosetproject says
I love these types of reports!! I am so excited and proud of you. Keep up the good work Chonce 🙂
Choncé says
Thanks Michelle!
Christina @ Embracing Simple says
Wow Chonce, AMAZING job. You are seriously doing awesome at your side hustle. I love that you track your time too – I’ve always done it for my freelance work since I complete most of it at an hourly rate, but just recently started tracking my time spent blogging a month ago and it’s been game-changing! I realized how much time I was spending on things that weren’t really super productive and it’s been good practice for me to try to get my hourly rate up.
Choncé says
I combine the time spent on working on my blog with work I do for clients since I tend to do them both one after the other. But which ever way you choose to track hours, it definitely helps!
Christie says
I’m so excited for you ! Congrats.
Choncé says
Thanks Christie!
Choncé says
Thank you so much and thanks for stopping by and reading!
T. K. Stewart (@tkstaxlady) says
Very awesome! I especially like how you share the time it takes. Sometimes 24 hours feels like it’s not enough, so better efficiency in 2016 is a big goal for me. Have a prosperous new year!
Choncé says
Thanks and same to you!