First month of 2012 is in the books and it’s time for our second income report. Woot! Woot!

January brought on a lot of challenges to the Rose Household as we’ve been battling illness after illness. I’m pretty sure that at least one kid was sick for 25 of the 31 days of the month of January. For my wife to get any work done was almost impossible, but she still managed. And she even found time to stencil her closet and bathroom (that post to come).

With us now working together, it’s been a challenge finding that right cohesion; but I think we’re finally getting the hang of it. You have to remember that our personalities are polar opposites. I’m the quick thinker, idea generator. She’s more the methodical, super organized, task completer. Together we’re a perfect fit.

After getting some guidance from our CPA (who has more my personality), my wife created my “Next Big Thing” file (see picture and her remarks below).

What’s the purpose of the folder? I’m constantly blurting out my next great idea. I mean, like constantly. At least one a day. My wife can only take so much. Can you blame her? So my CPA showed me how he created a file that he writes down every “good idea” he has and puts it in the file. He then opens the file each quarter to review the idea to see if it’s still that good.

Ingenious, right? I thought so! Hence, the file was born. And by the way….the file has been around for 3 whole days and it already has 2 GREAT ideas in it. 🙂

*Wife chimes in* Literally, EVERY night just about the time we would sit down for dinner my husband would blurt out, “Babe, ok…so the next big thing is…..(fill in the blank)”. If you are type A like me, this type of behavior warrants EXHAUSTION! For real. Because every time he had his “next big idea”, I knew that meant one more thing to add to his plate, and essentially…mine! I am so thankful we have started the “next big thing” file folder and we have a new rule: He is not allowed to tell me when he has the next big thing idea. Nope. Not at all. He has to write it down. File it away. And revisit it next quarter. 

On the to the income report…..

As a reminder, this is why we do the income reports:

1. Accountability.  These will allow us to finally keep track of our total online revenue – something that I’ve been horrible at.
2. Progress.  Now that we have it documented,  we’ll be be able to chart our progress as our income increases (hopefully!)
3. Truth. To show people that you really can make money online
4. Transparency:  We want others to see how we do it so that others can do it, too.

Remember:  I started blogging in July of 2008 so it’s taken me a lot of time to figure this blogging thing out.   And truthfully, I still have a lot to learn.   Don’t get the impression that you can start a blog today and turn a profit tomorrow.  I promise you it ain’t going to happen.

Income Breakdown

Good Financial Cents

• Adsense: $816.01
• nSphere (local): $18.94
• Commission Junction: $56.00
• Flex Offers:$367.00
• Direct Advertising: $1400.00
• Total: $2,657.95

Other Niche Sites

• Adsense: $147.94
• Direct Advertising: $3123.75
• Total: $3,271.69

House of Rose Blog

• Blog Her Ads: $47.76
• Total $47.76

Freelance Writing

• Equifax: $200.00
• Total: $200.00

Other Sources

• Aweber (Email Newsletter): $136.14
• Lunar Pages (Web Hosting Company): $65.00
• Total: $85.00

Financial Planning

• Online Planning Fees: $500.00
• Total: $500.00

Total Revenue for January: $6,878.52

• Revenue Last Month: $3,798.15
• Difference: +3,080.37

 What Happened in January

First things first…..yeah baby!  This was a great month for our online business.  Why such the big increase over the last month?   Direct advertising deals.

The only bad thing is that most of them were pre-paid upfront for one year so next months report will most likely be down.  But that’s okay.  I’ll ride this wave for another month.

What’s in the Works

For Dollars and Roses, we have plenty of ideas in the pipeline.   We are going to be doing much more video.  I’ve already recorded a few screen captures that we’ll be sharing shortly.

The big project (other than my book) is a niche site that I’m developing.   I’m going all in on this one.  I’ve hired a Virtual Assistant from the Philippines to help with the SEO strategy and we’re cranking out articles left and right.

I’m planning on sharing more of the niche site: what it is, how much it costs to do it, and how I’m doing it, etc. on a future post so stay tuned.

Thanks all for your support!  🙂