November 2021 Income At-A-Glance
Gross Income for November: $199,548
Total Expenses for November: $17,259
Total Net Profit for November: $182,289
Difference b/t November & October: -$48,230
% of net profit to overall gross revenue: 91%
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.
Ron Parisi’s Monthly Tax Tip
What’s up Fire Nation, my name is Ron Parisi. I’m a CPA and Managing Member 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.
Our firm has 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!
Ron’s November Tax Tip: 5 Steps to reduce taxes this year
We are almost to the end of another year and the time frame to reduce your tax bill for this year is quickly ending.
There is new legislation that has passed the House, however it is anyone’s guess if the Build Back Better Act will pass in the Senate by year-end, and how much it will change in the process.
Some of the major areas of the tax portion of the act include implementing a new surtax on high wealth individuals and trusts, eliminating backdoor Roth IRA conversions, expanding the income included in the Net Investment Tax, increasing the limit on the State and Local Tax deduction, limiting retirement contributions for some and instituting wash sale rules for cryptocurrency.
So, trying to determine what steps to take to reduce your tax bill for 2021 is tricky as you also need to consider what may happen with the new tax bill and your situation for 2022.
I am highlighting the ones that apply to most entrepreneurs and generally should be addressed.
5 Steps To Reduce Your Taxes
1. Maximize your retirement contributions
One of the biggest impacts to your tax bill can be making tax deductible contributions to your retirement accounts.
Although some contributions can be made by the time you file your tax return, you should be preparing now to set aside the money needed.
If you do not have a retirement account set up you should carefully consider setting up the right plan for your business structure as most plans need to be set up by the end of the year, even if contributions are not required until after year-end.
2. Prepay expenses or purchase fixed assets
If you want to reduce your tax bill in the current year, consider prepaying expenses by December 31st to be deductible in the current year.
If you were thinking about purchasing fixed assets such as computers or office equipment, you may want to before year-end. Most fixed assets qualify for bonus depreciation allowing you to deduct the full cost of the asset in the year purchased for a tax deduction.
3. Pay a bonus to maximize the Qualified Business Income Deduction (QBID)
The QBID decreases your taxable income, however there are limitations to the amount you can deduct for some types of businesses.
The limitations are calculated based on the wages amount, so if you increase the wages paid, you can increase the amount of your QBID, thus reducing taxes.
If you are an S corporation, you still need to be considerate of the reasonable compensation rules.
4. Harvest capital losses
Another way to reduce taxable income is to sell investments that will generate a loss before year end. The capital losses can offset your capital gains and can be carried forward to a future tax year.
You should consult your investment advisor to see if there are any stocks in your portfolio that they would consider selling to get the loss in the current year.
5. R&D Credit
You may want to consider if any of your activities would qualify for the Research & Development Credit.
If they do, the credit directly offsets the tax liability.
The credit is available for business expenses incurred while trying to develop new or improved products or processes in the US. Computer software development may be eligible.
More Information:
We are doing amazing work with successful online entrepreneurs, check out CPAOnFire.com for more information and to get in touch.
David Lizerbram’s November Legal Tip
Facebook’s Meta Trademark Conflict
In October 2021, Facebook announced that it was changing the name of their company to “Meta”.
Conflicts have already started to pop up around the brand name. And if Facebook can run into trademark problems, what does this mean for a small startup business or solo entrepreneur?
It’s hard to imagine Facebook just assumed that a reasonably common four-letter word was fully available and nobody was using it in connection with related goods or services. Which leads me to wonder, did they fail to do their due diligence, or do they just not care?
The key issue at the moment, in the U.S. at least, is the prior pending United States Patent and Trademark Office trademark application for META for “Computers, laptops and portable computers, tablets, computer peripherals, servers, networking equipment, software, computer components, namely, ram, disk drives, namely, hard and optical disk drives, and all related accessories, namely, keyboards, mice, wireless keyboards and mice, speakers, external hard drive backup devices, wireless air cards, wireless routers, monitors, chairs”.
That application was filed on August 23, 2021, and the application claims that the mark META was in use in commerce in connection with those goods at least as early as November 1, 2020, long before there was any public discussion of Facebook’s plans to change their name.
The owner of the prior META application is META PC, LLC, an Arizona-based company. At least they have a good sense of humor about this issue, as evidenced by this tweet:
an announcement regarding our new name from our founder @zackshutt pic.twitter.com/I7tofqPa6Z https://twitter.com/METAPCs/status/1453812197260345346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The plot thickened on November 8.
Someone (we don’t know who at this point, feel free to speculate though!) filed a Letter of Protest with the Deputy Commissioner for Trademarks.
The Deputy Commissioner then passed along to the Examining Attorney assigned to the META trademark application a statement to the effect that the Arizona company’s META application may be in conflict with yet another prior trademark filing: this registration for META. for “Downloadable computer software for capturing and storing screen data for the purpose of pattern recognition and machine learning”.
Someone’s playing hardball.
If the whole rationale for Facebook’s name change was to freshen up and rehabilitate the company’s image (aka “a reflection of how much Facebook had evolved“), why walk into a fight with a small computer manufacturer? They could have just worked something out with them on the sly beforehand, using NDAs and a big wad of cash to keep it hush-hush.
Sometimes a rebrand is the right move for a company, large or small, but do your trademark due diligence before you select a new name!
If you have questions about the availability of a trademark or brand name, feel free to contact me.
What Went Down In November
The first 6 months of 2021 in review
This month and next we’re doing something a little different: we’re going to share a recap of our year!
We’ll break it into two 6-month chunks: here we’ll review the first six months of 2021 here at EOFire, and in December we’ll review the second!
Gross revenue Jan – Jun 2021: $1,255,106
Net revenue Jan – Jun 2021: $929,131
January 2021 income report
Our big focus for the first quarter of 2021 was John’s book launch for The Common Path to Uncommon Success. In January, we reviewed a bit of our pre-order strategy and talked about the bulk buy packages we put together for those who jumped in to support the book!
Biggest lesson learned in January: Your health is everything!
February 2021 income report
February was perhaps one of John’s BIGGEST interview months ever! Because of The Common Path to Uncommon Success book launch, John was interviewed on 139 other podcasts in the month of February!
Wondering what our book launch funnel looked like? We share that in our February income report!
John also started recording the audio book for The Common Path to Uncommon Success in February.
Biggest lesson learned in February: The power of organization
March 2021 income report
It’s GO TIME! The Common Path to Uncommon Success launched March 23, 2021, and this month’s income report was fully focused on a lot of our launch details. Be sure to check it out!
Biggest lesson learned in March: Is it hard work, luck, or both?
April 2021 income report
In April we hopped up to Florida for our Top 10 Tony Robbins Mastermind! This was an extraordinary weekend with lots of lessons learned. This was also our “calm after the storm” month having just conquered John’s book launch!
Biggest lesson learned in April: Play at the highest level of fulfillment
May 2021 income report
May was our first month in the HubSpot Podcast Network! This was a very exciting time for us – and for HubSpot!
This is also the month John traveled to Northern Cali for his first ever 10-day water fast at True North.
Biggest lesson learned in May: Creating good habits isn’t always easy
June 2021 income report
June brought two exciting announcements! This is the month I announced my Keynote at Podcast movement, and John announced his stage time at Funnel Hacking Live! Both were stellar events, but we’ll get into that more in our Q3/Q4 recaps in next month’s income report!
Biggest lesson learned in June: Unplug to connect
Fire Nation, we look forward to recapping the second half of the year in next month’s income report! Feel free to revisit any of the above referenced income reports for more details, pics, and of course, our individual income breakdowns!
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November 2021 Income Breakdown*
Product/Service Income: $187,009
TOTAL Journal sales: Total Journals Sold 150 – $5,091
The Freedom Journal: Accomplish your #1 goal in 100 days!
- Total: $1,937 (56 Freedom Journals sold + 1 Digital Pack)
The Mastery Journal: Master Productivity, Discipline and Focus in 100 days!
- Total: $1,594 (53 Mastery Journals sold + 1 Digital Pack)
The Podcast Journal: Idea to Launch in 50 Days!
- Total: $1,560 (41 Podcast Journals sold)
Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 Podcasting community in the world!
- Recurring: $8,832 (100 recurring)
- New members: $3,053 (15 new members)
- Total: $11,885
Real Revenue: Turn your BIG IDEA into Real Revenue
- Total: $150
Podcast Sponsorships: $169,843
Podcast Launch: Audiobook: $28 | eBook: $12
Free Courses that contribute to 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: $12,539
*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: $11,386
- Audible: $0
- Bluehost: $0
- Click Funnels: $7,993
- CovertKit: $44
- Coaching referrals: $3,349 (email me for an introduction to a mentor for overall online business or a Podcast focused mentor!)
Courses for Entrepreneurs: $199
Resources for Podcasters: $355
- Podcasting Press: $103
- Splasheo: $74
- Libsyn: $0 (Use promo code FIRE for the rest of this month & next free!)
- Repurpose House: $45
- UDemy Podcasting Course: $133
Other Resources: $599
- Amazon Associates: $135
- Other: $464
Total Gross Income in November: $199,548
Business Expenses: $15,115
- Advertising: $23
- Affiliate Commissions (Paradise): $450
- Accounting: $374
- Cost of goods sold (Journals): $802
- Consulting: $152
- Design & Branding: $0
- Dues & Subscriptions: $172
- Education: $660
- Legal & Professional: $0
- Meals & Entertainment: $245
- Merchant / bank fees: $2,783
- Amazon fees: $2,220
- PayPal fees: $90
- Office expenses: $73
- Community Refunds: $2,091
- Promotional: $102
- Travel: $1,756
- Virtual Assistant Fees: $3,000
- Website Fees: $122
Recurring, Subscription-based Expenses: $2,144
- Adobe Creative Cloud: $100
- Boomerang: $50 (team package)
- Authorize.net: $38
- Google: $49
- Bonjoro: $45
- Cell Phone: $186
- Internet: $40
- eVoice: $12
- Earni.fi: $250 (annual fee)
- Infusionsoft CRM: $241
- Insurance: $89
- Libsyn: $188
- Linktree: $6
- Soundcloud: $144 (annual fee)
- TaxJar: $19
- Taxes & Licenses: $523
- Zoom: $55
- Workflowy: $49 (annual fee)
- Xero: $60
Total Expenses in November: $17,259
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 November 2021: $182,289
Biggest Lesson Learned
Recapping and reflection
We’re approaching income report number 100, and that’s A LOT of recapping and reflection! I’m so incredibly grateful we started doing these reports almost from the very start – but it’s never too late!
Even if you don’t want to publicly share your reports, they’re incredibly valuable for you and your team to do internally.
Here’s why:
Our monthly income reports not only allow us to share open and transparently with you how we run our business, but they also hold us accountable! Every month we’re recapping and reflecting on our month – what projects we worked on, what went well, what didn’t go so well, and what lessons we can take with us moving forward.
By doing this each and every month we’ve been able to keep our finger on the pulse, pivot quickly, and understand almost immediately the types of projects and activities we should be doubling down on.
If you’re not already recapping or reflecting on the projects you’re working on – in addition to the money that’s going out (and coming into) your business, now is a perfect time to start!
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.
