So I mentioned Monday that I would be kicking off a new business practices series for the blog, and today is the first official post for it! I’m super excited to be covering the topic of money first because we all know that that’s one of the most important starting places and can be the most confusing. So, let’s dive in!
In Monday’s post I shared that I track my money for a couple of reasons – to set a budget for spending and to gauge how my business is growing! I track expenses ( especially those falling under the ‘learning’ category ) because it’s vital to see where you’re money is going. It’s no fun to get to the end of the month ( let alone the year ), see how much income you had, but see how little of it you actually saw. Just a few of the things falling under expenses: advertising, domain + hosting, learning. For me, learning is a big one. I love reading tips and tricks from others in my field and reading their stories, not to mention actually learning new skills. Since that’s such an important area to me, I keep track of everything I buy so that I can budget for the rest of the month and year! So, for example, I’ve spent a whopping $55 on eBooks ( of various topics ) this month, which means I probably will try not to spend anything else this quarter on learning.
I also mentioned that I track money to see how my business is growing. I’ll be honest with y’all. In January of last year, I never would have thought that I would have ended the year with such success. Tracking my income was a really great way to see how my business grew ( clients per month, income per month ). Tracking income will also give you big insight into trends in your income, and when to expect a lull or jump. A few examples: looking over my income from 2013 I learned two things: when I increased my prices I saw a jump in clients ( and income, obvs ), and one of my lowest income months was November ( no surprise as it led into the holiday season ).
For those of you bloggers that are making your money solely from blogging, these tips apply to you as well. You have expenses ( advertising ) and income, so be sure to track that, as well. Helena of Sweeter CPA shared that bloggers are responsible for reporting income just like small business owners, so please be informed on your resonsibilities!
To help you get a jump start on tracking your money, I’ve created a monthly printable for you! This may or may not cover enough ground for you ( I personally use something a little more detailed ); however, it will help you get into the groove of tracking what you spend and what you make as well as your income goals!