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Entrepreneurs On Fire May 2020 Income Report

May 2020 Income At-A-Glance

Gross Income for May: $232,658

Total Expenses for May: $31,707

Total Net Profit for May: $200,951

Difference b/t May & Apr: +$92,581

% of net profit to overall gross revenue: 86%

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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!

Josh’s May Tax Tip: Extensions and Dates You Need to Know for 2019 Tax Filings

With Covid-19 hitting right in the middle of tax season, there has been a lot of confusion around what the due dates are for each type of return.

I get questions almost every day from people asking if the due dates were extended, and if so, to when.

So this month we are going to do a quick rundown on current deadlines for the various tax returns, estimated payments, and investment contributions.

Partnerships and S Corporations – Current Tax Deadlines

These returns are typically due March 15. Since the bill allowing automatic extensions came after that date, those returns were not extended.

So if you didn’t file or extend, your return is now late.

The late fee for this is $195 per partner/shareholder per month it’s late.

My personal belief – and this is just my own opinion – is that the IRS will be lenient, and if you receive a late charge you should call and ask for it to be abated due to Covid-19.

C Corporations – Current Tax Deadlines

These returns are typically due April 15. They have been automatically extended to July 15, 2020.

You did not need to have filed an extension to receive this, it is automatic.

Personal Tax Returns

Your personal returns are normally due  April 15. They have been automatically extended to July 15, 2020.

Again, there was no need to file an extension manually, it is automatically given. This applies to any amount due with the return as well.

First and Second Quarter Estimates

First quarter estimated payments are typically due April 15.

Second quarter estimates are typically due June 15.

Both payments have been extended to July 15, 2020, which, yes, means you need to pay two quarters worth by the same date. So budget accordingly!

SEP/IRA/HSA Contributions

Contributing to these accounts can help you lower your 2019 tax bill. The typical deadline for these is April 15. Like with the returns, the updated deadline is extended until July 15, 2020.

If you haven’t yet maxed out those accounts for 2019, you have until July 15, 2020 to do so!

There have been rumors off and on that an additional extension for those returns would be given, but so far nothing appears imminent. But be sure to be in touch with your tax professional to see if any additional changes are made for 2019 taxes. Until then, plan to have them done or extended by mid July, 2020!

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!

David Lizerbram’s May Legal Tip

Business Liability When Reopening

As we record this month’s Income Report, many states in the U.S. are in the process of partially reopening their economies while dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Business owners who have taken a financial hit due to the shutdown need to also be thinking about liability when they reopen.

If you own a business, one of your worst fears right now is finding out that one of your customers, clients, or employees came down with COVID-19 at your workplace. This is true if your business is a brick-and-mortar or if you or your team have any kind of face-to-face contact with the public.

In addition to caring for the health of the people around you, you may also find yourself subject to a legal claim due to transmission of the virus at your workplace.

This could come in one of several forms.

For example, an employee could file a workers’ compensation claim. Depending on the legal standard in your state, proving that they contracted the virus through your business may be easier or harder.

You should always make sure you have plenty of insurance to cover these types of claims, but your future premiums are in part based on past claims, so if one or more COVID-19 related workers’ comp claims comes your way, you could find yourself paying higher premiums for years to come – even after the pandemic has come to an end.

Another possibility is a lawsuit by someone who claims to have contracted the virus at your workplace or in some way related to your business.

The more people your business comes into contact with, the greater the likelihood of this type of legal claim.

A solopreneur who works from home with no support staff probably doesn’t have much to worry about. But if you own a retail store or restaurant, or if you have a sales team that’s going out to visit customers, the potential liability could be substantial.

A class action is an even scarier possibility. In this situation, you might have multiple employees or others who believe they contracted the virus through your business, and they are attempting to consolidate their claims into one giant lawsuit. If this comes to pass, you will need all the legal help you can get.

So what can entrepreneurs do to reduce their liability?

There’s no one size fits all answer, but here are some suggestions.

First, recognize that the laws vary state by state, as do the COVID-19 health guidelines.

The more you can show that you were following all of the federal, state, and local rules and guidelines to the letter, the lower your potential liability.

It’s not enough to take all the steps necessary to protect your team and your customers from the virus. You also need to document those steps so if there ever is a legal claim, you will have the evidence on your side.

You also need to pay attention to how the law is evolving in this area.

At the moment, there are discussions at the federal and state level regarding giving employers limited immunity from COVID-19 claims. The more you know about these efforts – if and when they are passed and signed into law – the better off you will be.

Don’t rely on rumors or quickly scanned news headlines and assume you are protected from liability.

Finally, and most importantly, use some common sense.

Model good behavior when it comes to wearing masks, maintaining hygiene standards, and staying physically distant from others whenever possible.

Don’t assume that you can let things slide because your competitor across the street isn’t following all of the rules and best practices. You’ll be much happier if your competitor is the one who gets hit with a lawsuit while your business thrives and your team stays healthy and motivated.

If you have questions about how your business can navigate this unprecedented challenge, please feel free to contact me.

What Went Down In May

Unrest, pain, and racial injustice

Over the past couple of weeks protesters have filled America’s streets in support of Black Lives Matter, along with many other countries around the world.

And the support and rallying cry from those across the Internet encouraging people of all colors to stand up for what’s right is powerful.

We’re speaking up right now to share what we do know, and at the same time acknowledging that there’s so much we don’t know.

We’re barely halfway through the year, and so far 2020 has brought with it a lot of pain, fear, unrest, anger, and more – and on many fronts.

From COVID-19, to uncertainty about what the future holds, to more racial injustice.

Like many, we have a lot to learn. But today, we want to share what we do know for sure:

We are committed to bringing real value to your life in the areas we can, and to continuously send out love and hope to all of humanity.

We don’t know a lot of things, but we do know we can always choose love.

And we’re sending you our love right here, right now.

Tune in to this month’s income report episode (at the top of this post) to hear a deeper conversation around this topic, and we invite you to join the conversation. We always welcome feedback.

We’re also diving into several resources to learn more, like the podcasts featured in this article, and the books recommended here.

Some additional resources and organizations we’re following and learning from:

We know there is a lot to be done, and we’re working towards a better understanding of the many ways we can show up and be a part of this fight against racial injustice.

We hope you’re doing the same.

Podcasters’ Paradise Redesign

What we hoped to achieve in January finally came to fruition in May.

See? We told you not everything happens on schedule or as planned all the time!

Thanks to Sagi Shrieber we successfully hit LIVE on our redesigned public-facing website for Podcasters’ Paradise in May, and we’re loving it!

Be sure to tune into his episode right here on Entrepreneurs On Fire to learn about Psychology-Based Design Tactics to Boost Conversions & Brand Awareness. It’s a lot of what I’ll be discussing below, but Sagi is the pro and explains it much better than me!

While a big part of the redesign IS about the look and feel of the brand, an equally sized part of the redesign is about addressing the stopping points visitors hit when visiting the site.

Let’s break both of these goals down so you know exactly what we mean.

Look and feel of the brand

While we love the laidback beach vibe that Podcasters’ Paradise was born with, we recognize the colors and style – 7 years later – were a bit outdated.

The look and feel of your brand is important. It visually gives your visitors an impression of what you have to offer.

One might assume that an outdated design or an older look and feel – one that isn’t purposefully positioned that way – gives off a vibe of staleness.

Podcasters’ Paradise is anything but stale, and so when updating the design Sagi and his team paid close attention to the vibrant movement we want our brand to represent.

Addressing stopping points

Stopping points is definitely not a technical term, but what we mean is: there are a number of instances on any given page on your website when a visitor might decide to leave.

  • Maybe it because they don’t feel like the content is for them.
  • Maybe they can’t identify or see themselves as a user.
  • Maybe they have feelings coming up around how busy they are, or how they don’t have the money to invest in another program.

For every instance you can identify – the stopping points when you feel your visitor might decide to leave – you have to put something in place that calls them back.

This might be a section addressing exactly who the content is for. Or creating customer avatars so visitors can identify with a persona.

There are of course going to be certain people who aren’t a good fit, and in those cases you want the visitor to leave. However, your visitor leaving should never be as a result of confusion or not having enough information.

Podcasters’ Paradise is live!

While the redesign and updated content is live, we do still have a lot of work to do in order to track and measure progress moving forward.

We’re also hard at work identifying any and every location we might have old design assets or references, which has been a much bigger project than we initially estimated. Pulling the new design into the membership site and throughout our email campaigns wasn’t something we planned very well for, but we’re making it happen!

If you want to check out the redesign – and learn whether or not Podcasters’ Paradise is for you – head over to PodcastersParadise.com today!

And if you want to check out what Sagi has going on, you can visit his site for free access to his Design Triggers Resources.

SEO Projects

A couple of months ago we brought on an SEO team to help us focus on one of our most important goals: to rank higher for podcasting key terms, and to improve the user experience on our website.

We got straight to work, and after identifying a few key project issues in the beginning, (there are always a few kinks to work out when you’re learning how to work with a new team), we are finding ourselves in a very strong rhythm.

Our top focus points up to this point:

  • Site speed
  • Ranking for podcasting key terms
  • Time on page

SEO and optimization doesn’t happen overnight, but we’re very grateful for the opportunity to be working with a new team and navigating some tough work that is already paying off.

Another exciting side project we’ve been working on with a separate team: testing a variant to one of our highest trafficked blog posts on podcasting.

We redesigned the page and post to give what we felt would be a much better user experience, and the data didn’t lie: it beat our original page by nearly double the “time on page”.

Plus, with a brand new opt in download offer and campaign that follows, we’re seeing great email growth results, too.

Check out the winner (the variant) How to Podcast: The Ultimate Guide!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 2020 Income Breakdown*

Product/Service Income: $205,950

TOTAL Journal sales: 579 Journals for a total of $16,226

The Freedom Journal: Accomplish your #1 goal in 100 days!

The Mastery Journal: Master Productivity, Discipline and Focus in 100 days!

The Podcast Journal: Idea to Launch in 50 Days!

Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 Podcasting community in the world!

  • Recurring: $12,859 (152 recurring)
  • New members: $7,407 (32 new members)
  • Total: $20,266

Real Revenue: Turn your BIG IDEA into Real Revenue

  • New members: $450

The Revenue Crew: An Elite Mastermind ON FIRE!

  • Currently closed to new members

Podcast Sponsorship & Special Projects: $168,787

Podcast Launch: Audiobook: $156 | eBook: $65

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: $26,708

*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: $15,156

Courses for Entrepreneurs: $8,499

Resources for Podcasters: $709

Other Resources: $2,344

  • Amazon Associates: $231
  • Other: $2,113

Total Gross Income in May: $232,658

Business Expenses: $25,755

  • Advertising: $3,982
  • Affiliate Commissions (Paradise): $1,260
  • Accounting: $961
  • Cost of goods sold: $3,006
  • Fulfillment (Shipwire): $0 – (moving warehouse facilities)
  • Design & Branding: $913
  • Dues & Subscriptions: $66
  • Education: $60
  • Legal & Professional: $550
  • Meals & Entertainment: $268
  • Merchant / bank fees: $1,716
  • Amazon fees: $5,149
  • PayPal fees: $394
  • Office expenses: $678
  • Community Refunds: $2,382
  • Promotional: $0
  • Travel: $54
  • Virtual Assistant Fees: $4,200
  • Website Fees: $116

Recurring, Subscription-based Expenses: $5,952

  • Adobe Creative Cloud: $100
  • Boomerang: $50 (team package)
  • Authorize.net: $70
  • Bonjoro: $45
  • Cell Phone: $0
  • Google Suite: $60
  • Internet: $100
  • eVoice: $10
  • Infusionsoft CRM: $241
  • Insurance: $648
  • Libsyn: $191
  • Linktree: $6
  • TaxJar: $19
  • Shopify: $19
  • Taxes & Licenses: $523
  • SEO & Marketing: $3,770
  • Zoom: $55
  • Zapier: $15
  • Xero: $30

Total Expenses in May: $31,707

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 May 2020: $200,951

Biggest Lesson Learned

If you don’t know, listen, learn, & ask

I’m a part of a mastermind with 6 other incredible women I respect and admire. We’ve been meeting weekly for over a year now.

This past week I was in the hot seat, and my question for the group was around something very heavy on my mind.

How do each of you approach your leadership role, the responsibility that comes with it, and speaking up in general when there’s so much pain, fear, unrest, & racial injustice?

There’s so much I don’t know. So much I can’t even begin to understand.

But I’m learning more and more every day that this shouldn’t prevent anyone – including myself – from listening to what’s being said, learning from others’ experiences, and asking questions.

There’s a lot to reflect on. A lot to learn. And a lot to do.

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. 

Click here for all of EOFire’s Income Reports

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