March 2022 Income At-A-Glance
Gross Income for March: $212,005
Total Expenses for March: $16,461
Total Net Profit for March: $195,544
Difference b/t March & February: +$30,187
% of net profit to overall gross revenue: 92%
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.
Check out all of our monthly income reports – from the very beginning!
Let’s IGNITE!
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Ron Parisi’s Monthly Tax Tip
Hello, Fire Nation! Ron Parisi from CPA On Fire here for our March 2022 Tax and Accounting tip.
This month, we’re talking about when you should hire a full-time CFO.
At CPA On Fire, 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 March Tax Tip: When Should I Hire a Full-time CFO?
“At what revenue level do I want a CFO reviewing my business on a monthly or full-time basis?”
This is the type of question we get asked a lot.
Many business coaches and business books talk about finances being the foundation of a successful business, but nobody really defines finance for an entrepreneur.
So, I want to give you some quick practical advice: behind every successful entrepreneur is a financial relationship that helps guide that person through their journey.
A good example of this relationship is Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger. Charlie supports Warren in his visions while giving him the financial information he needs to make great business decisions.
From a practical standpoint, if you run your own business and bring in revenue, you want to be meeting with a tax professional during the year (outside of getting your taxes done).
Ideally, that would be sometime during Q4 when you still have some time to make the most out of entrepreneurial tax benefits.
You should have both a short term and long-term tax plan that you look at throughout the year to make sure you are doing everything you can to reduce your tax liability.
Once you get into the 6-figure mark and above, you should be doing that meeting on a quarterly basis.
By meeting with your tax professional every quarter, you are able to revisit your tax plans and course correct if necessary.
When you get into the multiple 6-figures of revenue ($500k+) and are planning to continue growing your business, that is where you will want to go from having just a bookkeeper to more of a financial advisory professional / CFO.
This person would come in on a monthly basis, handle your bookkeeping and accounting, and provide you with advisory services.
This allows you to really look at your business and how it is doing, and course correct to meet your business goals as you go.
As far as a full-time CFO goes, we still help clients all the way up to the $20M mark, so it really depends on the complexity of your business.
If you have a more complex business and are looking to really scale and grow in the near future, then once you hit the $5M range, you should start looking for a full-time controller / CFO. They can help you with the analysis, regulations, and tax planning.
Those of you in Fire Nation who are entrepreneurs and business owners looking to upgrade your financial operations going into 2022, check out our website: CPAOnFire.com!
We’ve been able to get our clients amazing results and would love to help you out as well. Book a call through our website and let us show you how we can help your business grow.
David Lizerbram’s March Legal Tip: Cease and Desist!
So you’ve discovered that someone is infringing on your trademark. Now what do you do?
My clients often find that some other person or business is infringing on their trademark rights. They are then faced with deciding what to do about it.
Ownership of a trademark (whether or not it has been registered with a trademark office, such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office) gives the owner, in many cases, the right to prevent competitors from using an identical or confusingly similar mark.
By “trademark” or “mark”, I’m referring to anything that identifies you as the source of your goods or services, such as a business name, brand name, logo, or tagline.
Of course, every case is unique in the trademark world. So before you do anything, it’s important to evaluate whether or not there is a real infringement here.
For example, if the marks are not identical, are they similar enough that there’s a likelihood of confusion? Meaning, how likely is it that someone who encounters the other party’s product or service will be led to believe that you’re the source?
This is a question with a lot of layers, and working with an experienced trademark attorney will help sort it out.
There could be other issues to address as well, such as whether the possible infringer actually has superior legal rights because, for example, they were using the mark before you were.
You want to be careful and do your due diligence before going after an infringer; you never know when an attack will backfire.
Let’s assume you’ve looked into the matter and you now have a good faith belief that the other party is infringing on your legitimate legal rights.
Typically the first step is to demand that the other party “cease and desist” their infringing behavior.
This usually takes the form of a letter, but in some cases it could be communicated via other means, such as an email, through a contact form on a website, or even over the phone (although a verbal communication of this sort should be followed up in writing).
A cease and desist letter written by an attorney (or “C&D” as we call it in the trademark world) will contain details about:
- Who you are,
- What trademark or marks you own, and
- Why you believe the recipient is infringing on your rights.
It should include a demand that they cease and desist with specifics about what you want them to do or to stop doing.
For example, you may ask them to stop using the brand name in connection with services, to change their social media handles, or to destroy any unsold inventory of physical goods bearing the mark.
Usually there are a combination of demands.
In most cases the letter will include a deadline, and sometimes the letter will ask the alleged infringer for an accounting of profits.
Why do we send C&D letters rather than just filing a lawsuit?
For one thing, a letter is much less costly than a lawsuit. In my experience, when someone receives a cease and desist letter from a law firm, they typically comply with the demand.
Sometimes there’s some negotiation or initial resistance, but most businesses don’t want to end up embroiled in litigation, and if they take the time to run the letter past a trademark attorney who knows what they’re doing, they’ll usually be advised to admit defeat rather than fight a long and probably fruitless battle.
In some circumstances, you may want to go straight to court rather than sending a C&D letter. For example, if you know that a competitor is about to infringe on your trademark, and that the infringement will be very costly to you, it may be necessary to ask a court to enjoin the offending party from going forward with the infringement.
There are a variety of other approaches to take when you’re faced with a trademark infringement, such as initiating proceedings through the Trademark Office or sending takedown notices to social media sites where an offender advertises their goods and services.
But cease and desist letters remain the most common tool in the arsenal of trademark protection.
If you need help protecting your trademark, feel free to contact me.
What Went Down In March
Trip Recap
March was a big month for several reasons, mainly because John embarked on a 3-week trip to Europe, which kicked off with his bachelor party in Chamonix, France.
After an epic 7 days of skiing (and more), John bid adieu to his groomsmen and flew to Switzerland for a 3-day recovery pitstop.
Next stop: Italy!
John spent the next 10 days hiking through the countryside of Italy from Orvieto into Rome.
Thanks for the recap Kate!
Fire Nation, JLD here…
Woah, March was full of skiing in the french alps and hitting Apres Ski HARD…
That was followed up by wandering Geneva (recovering from said Apres Ski), and then off to Italy!
I found a company called Utracks who curates self guided walking tours all over Europe.
I chose a 10-day trek from Orvieto to Rome.
It was an epic trek, and I’ll post a few pics below from that hike, plus some epic photos from France above!
It was a trip that I’ll never forget! :-)
Projects, planning and more!
While John was in Europe I was holding down the fort in Puerto Rico!
We started some exciting projects in March, and being on the ground to help manage those was critical … because our big weekend is coming up FAST!
Here’s a sneak peek at one of those projects :)
Our weekend wedding celebration will be underway before we know it, and we look forward to sharing that in next month’s income report!
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March 2022 Income Breakdown*
Product/Service Income: $193,761
TOTAL Journal sales: Total Journals Sold 99 – $3,491
The Freedom Journal: Accomplish your #1 goal in 100 days!
- Total: $1,243 (36 Freedom Journals sold)
The Mastery Journal: Master Productivity, Discipline and Focus in 100 days!
- Total: $493 (15 Mastery Journals sold)
The Podcast Journal: Idea to Launch in 50 Days!
- Total: $1,755 (49 Podcast Journals sold)
Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 Podcasting community in the world!
- Recurring: $8,842 (98 recurring)
- New members: $2,549 (17 new members)
- Total: $11,391
Real Revenue: Turn your BIG IDEA into Real Revenue
- Total: $75
Podcast Sponsorships: $178,741
Podcast Launch: Audiobook: $15 | eBook: $48
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: $18,244
*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: $15,226
- Audible: $70
- Bluehost: $0
- Click Funnels: $14,601
- CovertKit: $55
- Coaching referrals: $500 (email me for an introduction to a mentor for overall online business or a Podcast focused mentor!)
Resources for Podcasters: $856
- Podcasting Press: $105
- Splasheo: $75
- Fusebox: $0
- Libsyn: $564 (Use promo code FIRE for the rest of this month & next free!)
- Repurpose House: $45
- UDemy Podcasting Course: $67
Other Resources: $2,162
- Amazon Associates: $172
- Other: $1,990
Total Gross Income in March: $212,005
Business Expenses: $14,271
- Advertising: $80
- Affiliate Commissions (Paradise): $168
- Accounting: $0
- Cost of goods sold (Journals): $580
- Consulting: $71
- Design & Branding: $0
- Dues & Subscriptions: $735
- Education: $124
- Fulfillment: $0
- Legal & Professional: $1,104
- Meals & Entertainment: $445
- Merchant / bank fees: $809
- Amazon fees: $1,303
- PayPal fees: $252
- Office expenses: $18
- Community Refunds: $291
- Promotional: $0
- Travel: $4,156
- Virtual Assistant Fees: $4,060
- Website Fees: $75
Recurring, Subscription-based Expenses: $2,190
- Adobe Creative Cloud: $100
- Audible: $16
- Alert Networks: $190 (annual fee)
- Boomerang: $50 (team package)
- Authorize.net: $38
- Google: $49
- Glow.fm: $5
- Bonjoro: $45
- Cell Phone: $136
- Internet: $106
- OnceHub (ScheduleOnce): $162 (annual fee)
- eVoice: $12
- KEAP (formerly Infusionsoft): $241
- Insurance: $89
- Libsyn: $288
- Linktree: $6
- TaxJar: $19
- Taxes & Licenses: $523
- Zoom: $55
- Xero: $60
Total Expenses in March: $16,461
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 March 2022: $195,544
Biggest Lesson Learned
Patience, Calm, Confidence
These are three things I haven’t always been great at exemplifying. But over the past couple of years, I’m realizing more and more that without patience, calm, and confidence, negativity and stress can take over fast.
I’ve been practicing it for years, and like most things, being consistent when it comes to recognizing moments that trigger stress or feelings of negativity is key in being able to call on your patience, calm, and confidence.
I challenge you to give it a try. Next time you feel anxious, stressed, or have feelings of negativity creeping up, take a step back and pause. Ask yourself what triggered that feeling and how you can make small changes moving forward so that it doesn’t become a pattern.
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.
