11 months ago, I started this blog post series. The original post was titled: The Challenge: $6,000 a Month in Six Months As a Freelance Copywriter (and How I Plan to Do It).
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I had succeeded in reaching this goal… 8 months ago!
I know! I was shocked too!
I sat down to review last year’s revenue to get ready for tax time. I ran a profit and loss report. Lo and behold, the numbers revealed that I reached my goal last June.
I was calculating my success by how much money was paid into my bank account every month. When I send a project proposal and fee agreement for a larger project, I give the option of paying 50% at the start of the project and 50% when the work is complete. And clients don’t always pay their bills as soon as they receive them.
However, if I look at the total invoices for the month of June, 2016, I contracted for $10,270 worth of work, in that month, alone.
The money didn’t all come in that month, the work for the projects I invoiced was spread over a couple of months. I never realized that technically, I made my original goal, 4 months after I stated that goal.
That’s really exciting.
Yes, I realize that work invoiced and work paid are two separate things. But that doesn’t change the fact that I did achieve my original goal of bringing in $9,000 in a month so that I can pay one third of what I earn to the government and have $6,000 income, net.
In fact, when I look at the numbers, I’ve achieved my goal a couple of times. October also brought in about $9,000. And March, the very first month I established this goal, brought in over $6,000.
Why are these numbers important to me? (And let’s face it, I’m probably the only person who cares about these numbers.) Because it means that working for myself is sustainable. I can make enough money to pay myself, my business bills and my taxes.
As someone who is on full-time business #3, that’s a big deal. It’s an incredible feeling to know you can support yourself, your family and your lifestyle, doing what you love.
(For those of you who are just joining this series, I have spent most of my working life being self-employed and running my own businesses. I made costumes for 15 years, and was a touring musician for over 10 years. Now, I’m a freelance copywriter.)
It’s stunning to realize I reached my goal 8 months ago. My new goal is to make my income steady. I’ve had some months where I’ve done really well. And I’ve had some months where I wondered if I’d be able to pay my bills.
I want to set my business up so that I’ve got enough coming in every month to pay myself a regular salary, and still pay my taxes. That way I’ll have enough to cover the occasional lean month.
I’ll probably change the title of this blog post series, as I’ve reached my goal. I’ll figure out the new title next month. Meanwhile, I’m going to celebrate the fact that I reached my goal, and feel a little silly for not recognizing it sooner.
Yay me.
Happy Valentine’s day, and thanks, as always, for following along on my crazy journey as a freelance copywriter.