March 2014 Income At-A-Glance
Gross Income for March: $185,870.50
Total Expenses for March: $30,481.72
Total Net Profit for March: $155,388.78
Difference b/t March & Feb.: – $10,895.22
Why We Publish An Income Report
This monthly income report is about a lot of things, but mainly, it’s about us being transparent so that you can easily understand and learn from the struggles and successes we encounter each month as business owners.
We work hard to learn and grow every day because we’re passionate about helping you build the life you want to live, just like we have.
We really want you to feel what we experience day-to-day, week-by-week, month-after-month, with our overall goal being to make your journey as unobstructed as possible.
That’s not to say you won’t encounter roadblocks. Believe us – we know that no one can escape those no matter how much reading or studying you do. Just keep in mind that every roadblock is a building block towards your future success.
In summation, our monthly income report is all about helping you navigate your entrepreneurial journey in a more efficient and effective way. So let’s do it!
**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.
What Went Down In March
CPA On Fire
About nine months ago, we realized it was time to add a CPA to the EntrepreneurOnFire team. Enter Josh Bauerle, a father of two strapping boys, a wonderful wife, and a passionate FIRE burning within to help Entrepreneurs grow their businesses with his company, CPA On Fire.
Josh has so much amazing knowledge to share, which he does with us almost daily, and we want to extend that to you via our monthly income reports. After all, it’s thanks to Josh that we’re organized enough to even be able to put a report like this together!
So we decided to ask Josh if he’d contribute to our monthly income reports on an ongoing basis and each time share a valuable accounting tip with you that can help you on your journey.
He accepted! So without further ado…
Josh Baurle’s March Income Report Tip!
What’s up Fire Nation? My name is Josh Bauerle, and I am 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.
As Kate said, I have been working with EntrepreneurOnFire to make sure their accounting systems are running smoothly and that their taxes are as low as possible.
Early in my accounting career I used to do external auditing. Basically, a company would call us in to examine their documents and verify that the financial info they were giving potential lenders and investors was the truth.
That’s exactly what John and Kate have brought me in to do with their income reports. They’ve given me unlimited access to all their accounts so I can verify that what they report here is complete and accurate.
Let’s face it, you can say anything you want on the Internet. But Kate and John wanted to give you more than their word that what you read here is the truth. As a result, you can rest assured that every single number you see on these income reports has been examined and verified by an independent third party.
And because they believe in delivering an insane amount of value, my job doesn’t stop at the verification level. I will also be providing tax and accounting tips to you along the way!
This month, I want to talk about the cash vs. accrual methods of accounting
You may have noticed in these income reports that when someone purchases Podcasters’ Paradise, regardless of whether they pay the full membership fee all at once, in two payments or across eight payments, the total invoice amount appears on the report.
The reason for this is that EntrepreneurOnFire uses the accrual method of accounting. This means they recognize income when it is earned. If they were on the cash method, they would not recognize this income until it was actually paid.
What makes this idea even more interesting is that you are able to use one method for book purposes, (where you generally want to show as high of a profit as possible), and another method for tax purposes, (where you want to show as low of a profit as possible).
Many entrepreneurs struggle to obtain mortgages, business loans or investors due to their tax returns showing low profit levels. Using the accrual method to prepare your financial statements is one way to prevent this from happening.
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!
Tropical Think Tank, Philippines
John packed his bags this month and took off for the Philippines for Chris Ducker’s first annual Tropical Think Tank, an intimate conference filled with mastermind sessions, an incredible lineup of speakers, and plenty of fun in the sun.
Because I was dying to know what went down in the Philippines, I put John in the hot seat the second he got home and asked him a bunch of questions (turning the tables!) Here are some of the deets I got about the conference:
Kate: What was your favorite daily activity?
John: While the entire conference was so impressive, one of my favorite parts of each day were our nightly dinners at local 5-star restaurants. It was so nice to mix both aspects of the conference – business and pleasure – with everyone there.
Every dinner solidified the importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals who understand you and who are there to support you. We had some really amazing conversations about business, but we were also able to kick back and just have some fun at the same time.
Kate: What was your #1 takeaway from TTT?
John: The importance of constantly engaging with and taking the pulse of your audience to ensure you are on the right path.
Your audience is everything – they are the reason you do what you do. If they aren’t getting what they need from you, then it’s important you know about it so you can pivot.
John gave the conference a huge 10 out of 10, and after hearing so many amazing things about the entire week-long event, I can’t wait to see what Chris has in store for #TropicalTT attendees next year!
WebinarOnFire
Note: WebinarOnFire is no longer available. Want to learn how to run your own webinars? We recommend Webinar Ninja!
John came back from the Philippines FIRED UP about a lot of things – one of those things being WebinarOnFire.
During the Tropical Think Tank “Presenter only mastermind” with all-stars like Pat Flynn, Amy Porterfield, and Greg Hickman, John was able to discuss the idea of WebinarOnFire and ask for feedback. Every person said without hesitation, “full steam ahead!” on this exciting product, and the first Webinar (hosted by me!) proved the concept with 22 sales!
Sound interesting to you, too? We’d love for you to join us on our next live webinar, where you’ll learn how to create and present a Webinar that converts.
PodcastOnFire is Born
We’ve been hearing really great things from our members about Podcasters’ Paradise – really great.
But while our existing members are finding incredible value in everything that Paradise has to offer, there are still others who just don’t have the time to dedicate to the 120+ video tutorials, the Private Facebook group, the Forum and the monthly Webinars that we host exclusively for the community.
That’s why we’re working on creating PodcastOnFire, a 14-module course that walks you through how to create and launch your podcast in… you guessed it… 14 days!
PodcastOnFire will be ready soon, and if you join and decide to upgrade to Podcasters’ Paradise later, EVERY penny from PodcastOnFire will go towards your Podcasters’ Paradise lifetime membership!
Annual Fire Nation Elite meet up
Now what would March be without our annual Fire Nation Elite meet up?! And what better time to have it than during the biggest social media conference of the year, Social Media Marketing World!
We had an amazing turnout – over 25 of our Fire Nation Elite crew joined us at the EOFire studios to enjoy an afternoon on the bay. We had plenty of food, games, and… a magician! That’s right, past EOFire guest Josh London joined us and put on a pretty incredible show.
We continued the fun into the evening with a dinner downtown, where we were surprised by the San Diego Channel 6 crew! John and two other Elites, Melinda Yeaman and Marie Grace Berg got some camera time to talk about what they have going on in their business. Great company, great conversations and great things all around happening in Fire Nation Elite!
Social Media Marketing World
An opening night party on the USS Midway? A networking cruise on San Diego Bay on the largest charter yacht in Southern California? Sign me up! These were just two of the amazing events that went down during SMMW14. With a laser focus on networking, Michael Stelzner did not disappoint. The 2-day event included sessions from speakers like Jay Baer, Lee Odden, Pat Flynn, Amy Porterfield, Greg Hickman, Chris Brogan… and, you guessed it, our very own John Lee Dumas!
If you’re signed up for our weekly email newsletter, then you got the behind-the-scenes recap from John, which included key takeaways from some of the top presentations.
RescueTime summary
The Philippines and Social Media Marketing World threw a couple of curve balls our way this month, but as we continue to grow we’re constantly finding new and improved processes that make a huge difference in the overall scheme of things.
Big thanks to our RescueTime app for helping us keep track of our hours!
Kate’s March: 218.5 hours (vs. 178 in February)
54.6 hours/week and 7.8 hours/day (based off 7-day work weeks)
Kate’s top 3 sites for the month (in order):
1. Gmail
2. Infusionsoft/CustomerHub
3. EntrepreneurOnFire.com (includes front & backend time)
John’s March: 159 hours (257 in Feb)
39.75 hours/week and 5.7 hours/day (based off 7-day work weeks)
John’s top 3 sites for the month (in order):
1. Gmail
2. Adobe Audition
3. Infusionsoft
**John’s 11 days traveling to/from and while in the Philippines are not included here, even though there was some work, it was mostly play :-)
We also can’t forget about all the hard work and time that our two team members in the Philippines contribute! We literally could not be doing what we’re doing with JM and Jess.
Thanks to them, John and I can attend conferences and start new projects like WebinarOnFire without skipping a beat.
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March 2014 Income Breakdown
Product/Service Income: $178,538.50
Podcasters’ Paradise: $111,627 (invoice total)
Sponsorship Income: $40,059
Fire Nation Elite Mastermind: $10,930
Total Launch Package: $8,980
1-on-1 Mentoring: $6,000
Podcast Launch (Audiobook on Audible): $647.50
Podcast Launch (eBook on Amazon): $295
Affiliate Income: $7,332.00
- Amazon: $452
- Authority Engine: $600 (ask for the Fire Special)
- Tim Paige Voice Over: $540 (ask for the Fire Special)
- Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer No Guts No Glory: $197 (ask for the Fire Special)
- BlueHost: $2,400 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
- LeadPages: $829
- Libsyn (code FIRE for 2 months free!): $236
- Music Radio Creative: $84
- Michael Hyatt’s 5 Days: $1,995
*Affiliate links above – 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.
Total Gross Income in March: $185,870.50
Business Expenses: $27,496.50
- Advertising: $2,532
- Design & Branding: $220
- Education: $138
- Entertainment: $1,270
- Gumroad: $263
- Legal & Professional: $273
- LibSyn: $253
- Other Business Expenses: $1,668
- Paradise Affiliate Commissions: $2,450
- Paradise Refunds: $9,771 (invoice total)
- Promotional: $80.50
- Software: $261
- Taxes & Licenses (for our LLC): $72
- TheMidRoll (Sponsorships): $4,000
- Total Launch Package Fees: $1,100
- Travel: $1,053
- Virtual Assistant Fees: $1,632
- Website Fees: $460
Recurring, Subscription-based Expenses: $2,985.22
- Adobe Creative Cloud*: $49.99
- Authorize.net*: $91.10
- Cell Phone*: $212
- Internet*: $171
- eVoice*: $9.95
- Infusionsoft CRM*: $209
- Insurance*: $172
- Mentor*: $2,000
- Quickbooks Online*: $25
- ScheduleOnce*: $42.19
- Skype*: $2.99
Total Expenses in March: $30,481.72
Total Net Profit for March 2014: $155,388.78
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Things We Learned In March
Patience is everything
This past month John and I have both encountered several situations that have tested our patience. We all run into these situations, and whether it be while we’re trying to build our business, or while we’re growing our business, they’re equally frustrating.
So how can we get past them?
While thinking of how I could best answer this question, I decided to try and put it all into perspective: in other words, take a look at the bigger picture of actually growing your business as a whole vs. all the little roadblocks we encounter along the way.
Today, you might be frustrated by your website design, or your logo. Tomorrow, it might be the number of website visits you got (or didn’t get). The next day, it could be that you’re trying to write an ebook, but you’re stuck and not sure how to wrap it up with a bang.
Growing your business takes a lot of time, and every single one of these roadblocks we encounter along the way are small pieces of a much bigger puzzle. That’s why I decided to write this post, Growing your business: How long it really takes, where I talk about how endurance, nurturing and patience are some of the strongest qualities you can have as a business owner – both in growing and maintaining your business.
Growing your business doesn’t happen overnight, rather it’s the result of many, many months – sometimes years – of nurturing that compound and, if done right, will eventually give back to you what you’ve put in.
Gumroad to Infusionsoft – Oh, wait… & Zapier
When I first heard about Gumroad, saw their beautiful platform and spoke with their team about coming on board as a user, I thought WOW – this is amazing! I cannot wait to switch over and ditch our Infusionsoft order forms!
The first question people started asking me once we announced this was, “Why are you switching?”
Reason 1: Infusionsoft order forms aren’t mobile friendly (GASP!! – I know…)
Reason 2: Infusionsoft and Authorize.net are amazing together, but they don’t differentiate payments, making our monthly income reports and profit & loss duties a lot more manual than we would like.
Reason 3: Gumroad is easier for the user, requiring fewer steps and entries to make a purchase, plus it’s insanely simple to set up.
The next question?… “What’s the biggest roadblock you’re experiencing with the switch?”
Gumroad and Infusionsoft don’t actually integrate with one another. Instead, it requires that you use Zapier to create the actions you want to happen in Infusionsoft when someone purchases using Gumroad.
All of the platforms and software that I’m talking about here: Infusionsoft, Authorize.net, Gumroad, Zapier… they’re all great platforms. BUT, they weren’t all specifically built to work together, and therefore trying to make them work together isn’t necessarily a walk in the park.
We WILL get there… eventually.
Take your own advice
Do you ever sit down with someone – a business partner, a friend, a family member – and start dishing out advice as though you were getting paid for it?
I do this all the time, because I LOVE to help people when I can.
In March, I had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with 4 amazing business owners. All of them are running completely different businesses and are in 4 completely different stages of their business.
Talking with each of them about how they’ve built their businesses and what they’re working on right now was very enlightening. I love listening to how others work because it keeps me on my toes – constantly thinking of ways that we can improve the things we’re doing.
I also felt like I was able to bring some solid advice to the table for each of the 4 business owners’ situations. The entrepreneurial experience I’ve gained, along with both the personal and professional growth I’ve undergone over the past year is unlike anything I ever thought possible.
I was giving a lot of advice I knew was going to help them overcome whatever obstacle was blocking their path – whether that be fear, lack of motivation, not enough time, scenarios of overwhelm – it was so clear to me what needed to happen for them to break through.
But all of this advice had one thing in common: it’s all advice that I should be taking MYSELF!
So, next time you find yourself telling someone else to stop making excuses, or to kick fear to the curb, take another look at what’s holding YOU back and do yourself a favor: take your own advice :)
Alright Fire Nation, that’s a wrap!
Until next month,
~ Kate & John
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