August 2017 Income At-A-Glance
Gross Income for August: $237,193
Total Expenses for August: $67,662
Total Net Profit for August: $169,531
Difference b/t August & July: +$32,337
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Entrepreneurs On Fire: August 2017 Income Report
Why We Publish An Income Report
This monthly income report is created for you, Fire Nation!
By documenting the struggles we encounter and the successes we celebrate as entrepreneurs every single month, we’re able to provide you with support – and a single resource – where we share what’s working, what’s not, and what’s possible.
There’s a lot of hard work that goes into learning and growing as an entrepreneur, especially when you’re just starting out. The most important part of the equation is that you’re able to pass on what you learn to others through teaching, which is what we aim to do here.
Let’s IGNITE!
**We’ll receive a commission on the affiliate links below. If you click on my affiliate link and sign up for the products and services I trust and recommend, then I will earn a commission.
Josh Bauerle’s Monthly Tax Tip
What’s up Fire Nation, my name is Josh Bauerle. I’m a CPA and the Founder of CPA On Fire, where we specialize in working with entrepreneurs to minimize their tax liability while keeping them in line with the ever-changing tax laws.
I’ve been working with JLD & Kate at Entrepreneurs On Fire for years now, and they’ve included me in these monthly income reports with unlimited access to all their accounts so I can verify that what they report here is complete and accurate.
And because they believe in delivering an insane amount of value to you, my job doesn’t stop at the verification level; I also provide a new tax and accounting tip every month!
Can I deduct health care related costs?
One question I get all the time is “Can I deduct health care related costs?”
We all know health issues are no fun. At least the IRS steps up to give you a nice deduction on those outrageous health care costs… right? Right?!?
Well, the unfortunate answer is: kind of.
But not near as much as you are probably being led to believe.
First of all, lets talk about what can potentially be deducted with health care costs.
The basics of it are you can deduct any “qualified” medical costs paid for you or any of your dependents in a given year.
Essentially this comes down to medical related costs paid to doctors, dentists, surgeons, hospitals, chiropractors, etc.
It also could include lodging when you have to stay in hotels for medical procedures, travel costs and health insurance costs, assuming you don’t have it taken out pre-tax through your job or business.
You can find a large list of approved medical expenses here.
Doesn’t sound too bad, right?
Those medical expenses can add up quickly, especially if you have young kids, but at least you get a nice break on your taxes for them.
I wish it were that easy…
Now we have to talk about the restrictions of deducting these medical expenses.
You Have to Itemize
The IRS gives what they call a “standard deduction” each year. This is just a tax deduction they give you out of the kindness of their hearts (aren’t they sweet?!)
In 2017, the standard deduction for a single taxpayer is $6,350.
For married taxpayers it’s $12,700.
But the IRS also gives you the option to itemize your deductions if you can beat that standard deduction with certain expenses. Itemized deductions consists of many expenses, but the main ones are mortgage interest, property taxes, state taxes, charitable contributions and medical expenses.
So if you add up all of those expenses, plus a few others, and they are more than your standard deduction, the IRS allows you to take the higher itemized deduction, which includes the medical expenses.
For most people, they likely won’t itemize unless they own a home or pay a very high amount of state taxes.
There is a 10 percent of Income Reduction
“Great” you may be saying to yourself.
You own a home and you live in California. Plenty of mortgage interest and state taxes mean you will definitely itemize and now you can deduct all those pesky medical costs, right?
Unfortunately there’s one more restriction, and this is the big one. The IRS is going to reduce those medical expenses by ten percent of your adjusted gross income.
This means if you made $100,000 last year, the IRS is going to limit your medical Cost deduction by a whopping $10,000. So if you had $11,000 in medical costs, the IRS says go ahead and deduct $1,000.
The unfortunate truth here is that unless you have very low income or very, very high medical costs, the tax code provides you almost no relief for medical costs.
So when your doctors or hospitals try and tell you not to worry too much about their crazy high costs because you will be able to deduct them on taxes, take that advice with a giant grain of salt.
Next month, we will go over a few ways that being self-employed can offer you a few better options in deducting these medical costs.
As always, please feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss what would be best for YOUR business. I LOVE chatting with Fire Nation!
What Went Down In August
Podcast Movement in Anaheim, CA
Podcast Movement is one of our favorite events.
Not only do they bring together hundreds of individuals who all have one thing in common (a love for podcasting), but they also make sure those individuals learn a lot, have an experience to remember, and leave even more inspired than when they arrived.
Podcast Movement 2017 in Anaheim was no exception.
From the opening keynote by Dan Carlin, (which was led by our good friend Andrew Warner of Mixergy), to stage appearances by Pat Flynn, Amy Porterfield, Cliff Ravenscraft, our partner Mark Asquith, and many more, PM kept us busy.
It actually all started the day before Podcast Movement when we hosted an all day Workshop called From Idea to Launch and Beyond.
With a packed house (60 podcasters ready to dive into the details) and 5 workshop leaders to help us through eight hours of content, we left no stone unturned!
The Workshop was an absolute blast and we received rave reviews from those who attended.
A huge thank you to our Workshop leaders Alissa Daire Nelson, Jodi Flynn, Kara Lamerato, Vanessa Merten and Nick Loper!
We followed our all-day workshop up with our annual Podcasters’ Paradise meet up, a pre-screening of a documentary we were a part of: The Messengers, and an after-party put on Podcast Websites at the local bowling alley!
And this was all before the event had even started!
Wednesday morning our focus turned to our sponsorship booth, where we were selling The Freedom and Mastery Journal. This year was extra fun because we were also doing a drawing for those who invested in a Journal with a first place prize of a 30-minute call with JLD!
Congrats to Andy Storch for winning first place!
Luckily we had Zach Hesterberg and Travis Chappell holding down the fort for us at the booth, because first thing Wednesday morning John was taking the stage with Pat Flynn and Amy Porterfield.
We won’t get into too many details about the talks here because we dive deep in our Podcast Movement 2017 Recap post here!
Next up on stage: me!
In front of a standing room only audience I presented Audience Growth and Meaningful Monetization with Podcasting Systems.
While I was pretty nervous to present, the feedback I received was really amazing.
The next day I hosted a panel on Niche podcasting, and I was honored to share the stage with 3 other incredible podcasters:
- Josh Brown, host of Franchise Euphoria
- Vanessa Merten, host of The Pregnancy Podcast
- Kara Lamerato, host of The Wedding Planning Podcast
With a laser focus on providing the most amount of value possible the panel shared what they’ve learned post-launch about the importance of niching down and engaging with your audience to help your show grow.
And because each of these podcasters has monetized their show in very different ways, it was incredibly valuable to hear how they got to that stage.
Again, for all the details on our experience at Podcast Movement, be sure to check out our recap post here!
A trip to Vancouver
Immediately following our four days of fun and conferencing at Podcast Movement we jumped on a plane from LAX > Vancouver to visit our great friends Jill & Josh Stanton from Screw the Nine to Five.
After a three hour delay at LAX, we didn’t end up arriving in Vancouver until midnight, so our first night in town was a hug hello – and a goodnight :)
But don’t let that fool you… even though we had zero plans upon arrival, the next day we wasted no time diving right in to everything Vancouver has to offer.
If you’ve never been, we HIGHLY recommend it!
It started with a walk around Stanley Park, which lasted about three hours and was absolutely gorgeous.
We stopped off for lunch, had an awesome stroll back, and then enjoyed the patio and ocean breeze before heading to dinner.
The next day we enjoyed another epic walk – this time down to Sunset Beach Park for some coffee and frisbee, which ultimately resulted in a visit to Granville Island.
What?! If I were ever in proximity to a public market like that one – I’d be in trouble! With what seemed like hundreds of vendors with the yummiest and most unique things to sell, we spent a good amount of time walking around.
After the market we had an amazing lunch, then headed back towards Sunset Beach Park and walked on to Yaletown and into Gastown.
That evening we had the pleasure of bbq-ing with our friends Greg and Veronica from Thinkific (based in Vancouver) along with a few other friends from Jill & Josh’s neighborhood.
I know I said we went into this with no plans, but it sounding like a pretty packed schedule, right?!
Just the way we like it :)
The next day we rented an 18′ boat and spent the day on the water – starting in Vancouver Harbor and then going over to Deep Cove where we stopped for lunch.
We couldn’t have asked for a better day – the water was like glass and the weather was perfect.
Our last day was spent hiking – all the way to Garibaldi Lake. Now this hike is no joke. We drove about an hour and half to get to the start of it, then hiked 5.5 miles to get to one of the most incredible scenes ever.
An 11 mile roundtrip hike left us spent, but luckily we had just enough time to stop back at the Stanton’s for a quick shower before our redeye back to Puerto Rico.
Trips like this really get you thinking…
Not only did we have the time freedom to choose to do this after Podcast Movement, but we had the financial freedom to make it happen, too.
Hiking all weekend, and spending the day on the water on a Monday?
We stopped multiple times throughout this trip to really take in how incredibly lucky and grateful we are for the life we’ve created.
Season 7 of Kate’s Take: How to go From Idea to Launch
It’s been well over a year in the making, but it’s finally here!
After we launched The Freedom Journal on Kickstarter I thought it would be a crime to not share that experience with Fire Nation.
All the time, effort and energy that went into figuring out how that whole process was supposed to work had to be shared.
And so pretty much immediately after our campaign on Kickstarter wrapped, I published a post (or what some might consider, a book), to share our experience and the exact steps we took to crush it on Kickstarter.
While I was creating that post, I thought: what about an audio version?
There were so many amazing team members involved in this process, and I knew if I could get them on the line for even just 20 minutes each that I would have loads of priceless advice to share with Fire Nation.
And so I did.
But those audio files and my idea to create the audio version of that post continued to get pushed to the back burner. No excuses here: I simply wasn’t making it a priority.
And so when Season 7 came up for Kate’s Take, I thought about the themes and struggles I’d been hearing from a lot of our audience, and specifically, those who tuned in to Kate’s Take.
A lot of the struggle was around taking an idea and turning that idea into something – something that could help generate revenue.
Ah-ha!
So I went back to our experience with The Freedom Journal, brought up those audio files, and I stretched myself really far to put together a season on Kate’s Take like no other.
If you want to know How to go from Idea to Launch, then this Season is for you. It’s a step-by-step guide to everything you need to consider, know and research in order to make it happen.
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August 2017 Income Breakdown*
Product/Service Income: $142,981
TOTAL Journal sales: 899 Journals for a total of $36,651
The Freedom Journal: Accomplish your #1 goal in 100 days!
- TheFreedomJournal.com: $5,577 (130 Hardcovers & 28 Digital Packs sold!)
- Amazon: $14,937 (383 Freedom Journals sold!)
- Total: $20,514
The Mastery Journal: Master Productivity, Discipline and Focus in 100 days!
- TheMasteryJournal.com: $4,320 (83 Hardcovers & 22 Digital Packs sold!)
- Amazon: $11,817 (303 Mastery Journals sold!)
- Total: $16,137
Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 Podcasting community in the world!
- Recurring: $18,054 (183 monthly)
- New members: $13,500 (42 new members)
- Total: $31,554
Podcast Sponsorship Income: $69,500
Podcast Websites: $5,000
Skills On Fire: $33
Podcast Launch: Audiobook: $208 | eBook: $35
Free Courses that result in the above revenue:
Your Big Idea: Discover your big idea in under an hour!
Free Podcast Course: Create and launch your own podcast!
Funnel On Fire: Create a funnel that converts!
Affiliate Income: $94,212
*Affiliate links below – if you click on my affiliate link and sign up for the products and services I trust and recommend, then I will earn a commission.
Resources for Entrepreneurs: $50,055
- Audible: $270
- BlueHost: $600 Step-by-step guide and 23 WordPress tutorials included! Disclaimer: This is my affiliate link and I will receive a commission if you sign up through my link
- Click Funnels: $29,968
- Coaching referrals: $2,450 (email me for an introduction to a mentor for overall online business or a Podcast focused mentor!)
- Mentorship: $15,000
- ConvertKit: $101
- Disclaimer Template: $208 (legal disclaimers for your website)
- Fizzle: $186
- LeadPages: $1,087
- SamCart: $148
- Virtual Staff Finder: $100
Courses for Entrepreneurs: $42,685
- Create Awesome Online Courses by DSG: $3,699
- Webinars that convert by Amy Porterfield: $547
- Zero to Launch by Ramit Sethi: $877
- The Amazing Seller by Scott Voelker: $742
- 10k Subscribers by Bryan Harris: $98
- Copywriting Academy by Ray Edwards: $335
- Podcast Guest Mastery by Richie Norton: $20,649
- ASK by Ryan Levesque: $15,738
Resources for Podcasters: $536
- Pat Flynn’s Fusebox Podcast Player: $24
- Podcasting Press: $374
- Libsyn: $0 (Use promo code FIRE for the rest of this month & next free!)
- UDemy Podcasting Course: $113
Other Resources: $936
- Amazon Associates: $504
- Other: $432
Total Gross Income in August: $237,193
Business Expenses: $63,922
- Advertising: $10,444
- Affiliate Commissions (Paradise): $1,760
- Accounting: $350
- Cost of goods sold: $3,810
- Design & Branding: $1,980
- Education: $121
- Legal & Professional: $507
- Marketing: $320
- Meals & Entertainment: $1,479
- Merchant / bank fees: $2,925
- Amazon fees: $8,818
- Shopify fees: $219
- Stripe fees: $5
- PayPal fees: $267
- Office expenses: $1,287
- Payroll Tax Expenses / Fees: $1,624
- Paradise Refunds: $1,755
- Total Launch Package fees: $875
- Promotional: $59
- Sponsorships: $12,750
- The Freedom & Mastery Journal: $5,021
- Travel: $11 + $1,560
- Virtual Assistant Fees: $4,055
- Website Fees: $1,571
Recurring, Subscription-based Expenses: $3,740
- Adobe Creative Cloud: $100
- Boomerang: $70 (team package)
- Brandisty: $24
- Authorize.net: $91
- Cell Phone: $107 (Thank you, ShrinkABill!)
- Google: $45
- Internet: $300
- eVoice: $10
- FB Messenger Bots: $1,000 (1-time fee)
- Infusionsoft CRM: $396
- Insurance: $551
- Libsyn: $229
- Manychat: $64
- Chatroll: $49
- PureChat: $20
- ScheduleOnce: $9
- Skype: $3
- Shopify: $235
- TaxJar: $19
- Workflowy: $5
- WPEngine: $49
- MeetEdgar: $49
- Taxes & Licenses: $300
- Zoom: $15
Total Expenses in August: $67,662
Payroll to John & Kate: $15,900
In our May 2014 Income Report and our June 2016 Income Report, Josh focuses on how to pay yourself as an entrepreneur. Check them out!
Wondering what we do with all of our net revenue? We share all in our April 2017 Income Report :)
Total Net Profit for August 2017: $169,531
Biggest Lesson Learned
Your life is a series of choices that YOU make; the consequences of which will tell the story of your life. ~ Franz (Pencils of Promise)
You Aren’t Superwo(man)
After our travels in August, John and I returned to Puerto Rico absolutely spent.
Podcast Movement was a lot of work. Not just while we were there running the workshop, speaking on stage, and running a sponsorship booth, but all the time leading up to it, too.
The planning, the coordinating, the double and triple checking…
Not to mention the parties and meet ups and dozens upon dozens of conversations you’re having throughout the day.
It’s all amazing, but sometimes, I don’t think we realize the toll it’s taking on our bodies.
And even though we had a very relaxing trip to Vancouver immediately following Podcast Movement, it still took nearly four days to “recover” from our travels.
It got me thinking… our bodies – and our minds – are not made to ALWAYS be on. If that were the case, we wouldn’t require sleep, or water, or food.
Our bodies and our minds are meant to rest, and in order to perform at our best consistently, we have to remember to give ourselves that time.
It’s nice to think that we’re superwo(man), but it’s also okay to admit that we’re not.
Alright Fire Nation, that’s a wrap!
Until next month, keep your FIRE burning!
~ Kate & John
Note: we report our income figures as accurately as possible, but in using reports from a combo of Infusionsoft & Xero to track our product and total income / expenses, they suggest the possibility of a 3 – 5% margin of error.
