Q4 2020 Business Income Report

Let’s open up the money talk, shall we? While money is often a taboo subject and can be a hard conversation to navigate, I feel like it’s so important to talk about, especially as an entrepreneur who is just starting out and looking to scale and grow their business. I believe that money doesn’t have to have a negative connotation and that transparency around a money mindset and growth in our businesses doesn’t have to be an off-limits topic.

This series is bearing it all. I am going full-on vulnerability and transparency with my experience in running a small business and navigating the unknown territory of making money from your passion project(s). Is this scary? Absolutely. Am I going to do it anyway? You betcha. With these income reports, I hope that you can feel one step closer to turning your dreams into realities!

This series is inspired by Paige Brunton and Haley Burkhead and their transparency around finances that has propelled me forward in building my own business and trusting the process.

Personal News

What better time to start income reports than the quarter that I decide to leave the financial comfort of my full-time job and jump into working for myself FULL-TIME. 

December 2, 2020 was my last day at my corporate job and I’ve been working for myself ever since. The whole month of December felt wonky because 1) we are still in a pandemic, 2) the holiday season, and 3) I wanted to be productive but honestly I was freaking exhausted from the last two months of my corporate job that I really allowed myself to rest for most of the month. But man, what a blessing it has been to have the freedom to schedule out my days.

A highlight of the quarter was meeting Kendall Cherry with the Candid Collective! We connected through Instagram (seriously, one of my favorite ways to meet people) and instantly hit it off when we realized we had very parallel paths in life. We both were in high school band, graduated from Texas A&M, worked in the corporate world, and left a comfortable salary in order to work for ourselves full-time. Not only is she so freaking smart and seriously incredible at what she does (helps entrepreneurs set up tech systems within their business!), but she has some really exciting projects coming up that are making me v sad that I don’t live in Austin, TX.

Business News:

Aside from the massive news that I now work for myself full-time (!!!), the biggest pieces of news from Q4 are that… 

1. I officially hired an accountant. I was actually raised by two accountants (yet can’t do mental math to save my life) and have been SO grateful for my dad to help with all things business and taxes the past few years, but with officially becoming an LLC this year and taking this gig full-time, it just felt right to hire an accountant to handle everything for me and help me track my financial growth. Trust me, I still have a spreadsheet where I keep track of everything because I feel like it’s important to know everything that comes in and goes out of your business in the beginning, but it’ll be nice to get monthly reports when tax season comes around.
2. I opened up my business bank accounts FINALLY. Honestly this took way longer than it should have. I will say, I have my personal finances very well organized in a Google Sheet so keep track of it that way worked out okay, but it’s really nice to be able to have it separate now.
3. I sponsored the RD Real Talk podcast (and the first sponsored episode aired on December 18! Heather Caplan, anti-diet dietitian and podcast host, and I worked together to rebrand her private practice and the RD Real Talk podcast!

Traffic Numbers:

Truthfully, I have Google Analytics linked but have very little insight into how best to use it as a tool. I’ll be adding “watch tutorials on how to use Google Analytics as a small business owner” to my to-do list for Q1 2021. Or if you have a tutorial you like, drop it in the comments below! But regardless, here are the numbers for Q4 2020 that I’m sure I’ll be thankful to come back and reference some day.

Income Report:

Income:

• Customized Branding + Web Design: $3,698
• Weight Inclusive Business Academy: $1,291
• Total Q4 2020 Income: $4,989

Expenses:

• Books & Education: $16.00
• Legal & Accounting: $166.07
• Design Tools: $210.93
• Course Expenses: $117.00
• Business Systems: $188.25
• Total Q4 2020 Expenses: $698.25

There ya have it! That sums up 2020 Q4. If you want to see more behind-the-scenes in running a business, come hang out on Instagram!