Income Report: December

I'm going to keep doing these reports until I get bored, even though the dollars aren't falling off the money tree just yet. I'm no Pat Flynn but at least I'm one of those real-world triers.

It's the end of the year and it's time for that traditional look back on what was and what might have been.

I guess from a finances perspective, the biggest thing for me was a new job. The opportunity had been in the background for a while (18 months to be exact) and it finally came to fruition in the middle of the year. It doesn't detract from the fact that I want to build sustainable business incomes (in fact, after six months back in the cubicle it has given me more incentive).

But as one friend once said to me some months into joining a startup after leaving his job: "Never underestimate the value of a regular income." And I certainly am not taking it for granted right now. For one thing, it's helped give me more cash to reinvest in dividend yielding stocks, which is part and parcel of the passive income segment of my strategy.

In the main, my income generators kicked on this year, with some useful one-off contracts. Unfortunately, my new job prevents me from doing them at the moment but at least I know what's possible.

Given that Christmas starts early in my head, I pretty much wrote off most of the month when it came to generating more income. I've managed to launch my new ebook, which is based on my own experiences of how to generate income on the side. But I've stepped away from the resume writing gig, simply because I couldn't get too excited by it. Something has to give on that front.

I still think I'm on the right track, particularly as my main focus will be on generating income through various websites. I have the domain names - I'm just having a bit of trouble sorting out WordPress. This is all about building stuff rather than chasing short-term freelance gigs that I was doing before. It's still about the long game.

December wasn't that good on the money front. But I have a good feeling about 2019.

So how was December?

Resume Writing: $0. It's been a long time since I didn't do any work on this front but I simply didn't have the time or inclination. I still plan to do some in 2019 but the focus really is to shift from the "trading time for money" model to a more passive approach.

Additional Writing: $0.  I didn't do any extra writing so nothing to show here.

Stock Dividends: $576.  My goal is to keep building up my dividend income. I'm really not applying the most sophisticated approach, and I know I should be more refined. But I kind of like seeing regular income, some of which gets reinvested back into buying more stocks. I won't be making this much each month (it depends on when the stocks in question pay the dividend), but I'm happy to have it as part of my approach.

Interest: $20. It's ticking along in the background so I can't complain. When interest rates rise I should start to see a bit more here.

Ebooks: $2. In 2019 I'm actually going to make some effort with marketing, rather than simply hoping/praying someone will discover my books. They could be the best books in the world, but if no one knows they exist how are they meant to buy them? I now have four (Beginner's Guide to Online Side Hustles, Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies, The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume). I'll work on marketing these before starting on my next.

Coaching: $0. Everyone was too busy with their Christmas fun to even consider being coached. "New year, new start" - now, that could be another matter.

Other: $0. Nothing on the Amazon Merch and Amazon Affiliate Income front.

Total: $598. It's just as well I don't need this money to survive on as December was very quiet, and essentially simply dividend (i.e. passive) income. Still, I need to work on my income streams, just in case I do need to rely on it in the future.

Roll on, 2019! Time to think and act bigger. That will require some upskilling. I'll also be including this part of my journey.

Income Report: November

I think a lot of people think that the push for financial freedom, "FIRE", or any version of the story, is something that can be achieved overnight. Clearly, that's not the case. It's a tough old grind, where you start in one direction before being shoved in another.

I might not have been focused all the time but I have tried to move in a positive direction. And I'm still a long way from where I want to be. Now that I have a full-time job, I don't have to chase short-term income to help pay the bills. I can build stuff. And that's really my focus now. This includes a new website and a new ebook. It's about playing the long game.

So while it wasn't a great month income-wise, I'm moving in a direction.

So how was November?

Resume Writing: $60. This is the lowest month I've had in a long time. Essentially, I wasn't able to make time for more work, even though there was plenty there. I did one LinkedIn gig and that was about it. I don't

Additional Writing: $116. I did a few of my consistent gig and that's great. I've also woken up to the fact that there's a hell of a lot of work out there that pays pretty well if I go out and look for it. It's not something I'm planning to do now but it's good to know.

Stock Dividends: $1297. This was my biggest earner this month. The long-term strategy remains in place - keep buying dividend yielding stocks and reinvest the dividends when I can. The payouts aren't going to be like this every month but it's nice when it does happen.

Interest: $20. I hadn't thought about adding this into the mix in a low-interest rate world. But now that rates are rising I'm making a few dollars on my cash holdings.

Ebooks: $2. I'm not sure what's happening with the algorithms on Amazon but my books haven't been seeing the traffic this month at all. In fact, had I not sold a book on the last day of the month it would have been my first month without a sale in over a year. My three books (Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies, The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume) are there and I'll be spending a bit of money in marketing them in the new year. In the meantime, I aim to finish writing another ebook before the end of year.

Coaching: $128. I did one session this week and so it's good to have that ticking over.

Other: $0. Nothing on the Amazon Merch and Amazon Affiliate Income front.

Total: $1623. A very good month, ultimately because of the dividend income. Without it, I would have made $326, which is a lot less than my normal underlying income. But money is money and it all counts.

December's going to be a low month and I'll be prepping for 2019. I need to think and act bigger.

Income Report: October

It wasn't a great month for me in terms of side income. I was out of town for a whole week for business (i.e. the day job) and wasn't able to push on with all my grand plans.

There is a bit of groundhog day with a lot of this and I know that if I don't get things sorted sooner rather than later the world of business interests might pass me by.

I want it to be a strong end to the year, but I vaguely remember saying that last year. I've reviewed what I do already but I'm really keen to push my passive income world to kick on.

Anyway, how was October?

Resume Writing: $637. I did a bit of work here for my consistent freelance work provider. But I also had a bite from a local customer wanting to know more about my service. If I don't win this job I really need to review my approach and pricing because I'm yet to get any work independently. Maybe it's my pricing, maybe it's fact that I'm looking to provide a streamed down version of my services.

Additional Writing: $0. I've been too distracted to do my usual career writing side gig. I've got a couple of commissions that I intend to do over the coming week, which should give me a bit of money for November.

Stock Dividends: $0. I continue to buy stocks that give me a bit of a dividend payout but I didn't receive any dividend payments over the month

Ebooks: $6. I've had my books listed on Amazon for some time now. My three books (Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies, The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume) are all ticking along. I saw a sale on Kobo and have added Barnes and Noble to the mix. It ticks over. That's all I have to say.

Coaching: $0. No coaching this month. I've got a session next week so that will reinvigorate this space.

Other: $0. Nothing on the Amazon Merch and Amazon Affiliate Income front.  Yes, dull, dull, dull

Total: $643. Better than last month but hardly pulling up trees, as I'd like to say. But as long as I start developing some of my long-term aspirations, I'll be happy.

Income Report: September

Not much to report this month, so I will keep it brief.

It was a period of trying hard to balance out my new job with my attempts to build my side hustle. Not easy at the moment.

I had a few disappointments on my business front. I didn't win the resume writing project with the local university that I mentioned before. Once again, I think I priced myself out of a deal. I was also approached for my pricing on resume writing and coaching but didn't hear back. I know I could / should chase but in reality I don't want to be building too much in the lower end "trading time for money" space.

So I really need to build out my online income. This will take time. In the meantime, I've got to stay focused and work towards the bigger picture.

So, how was September?

Resume Writing: $297. I did a few resumes this month. Cool. I've got some more work lined up next week. Slow and steady.

Additional Writing: $150. A bit more of my regular work here. Sweet.

Stock Dividends: $0. I continue to buy stocks that give me a bit of a dividend payout but I didn't receive any dividend payments over the month

Ebooks: $15. I've had my books listed on Amazon for some time now. My three books (Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies, The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume) are all ticking along. But what I'd forgotten about was that I also had a couple of these ebooks listed on Kobo as well. This also saw a few sales. Going forward, I think I need to get them onto more platforms.

Coaching: $0. No coaching this month. I haven't been marketing myself so it'll be easy come and go.

Other: $2. Nothing on the Amazon Merch and Amazon Affiliate Income front.  I made a couple of dollars on the UserCrowd testing site. I'll look into building on that in coming months.

Total: $464. Not a great month but that's that. For the next month, I'm going to be investing time in building longer-term income streams. Slowly but surely.

Income Report: August

The search for financial freedom continues...

I've been thinking long and hard about streamlining. Life. Income streams. Focus. I'm very good at getting scattered and distracted. That's why I've started to think about finding myself an operating system for existence - kind of like a template.

Some time ago I read about Brian Tracy's Grand SLAM formula, with 'SLAM' standing for Simplify, Leverage, Accelerate, Multiply. I'm trying to apply this across all areas of my life. I'll report back on what I've learned over coming months.

This was the first month I've been able to start to start back properly with my business interests since I started my new job. So far, so good.

The important thing is that I don't get complacent. Things change very fast in the world of finance, as a friend found out last week. He was called into his boss's office on the Friday and was let go on the Monday. That's what this is all about. Protecting myself as well as growing new opportunities.

I'm a big fan of the Get Rich Slowly website and there was a great article on what the writer calls the "forever fallacy" - the idea that whatever good (or bad) is going on in our lives will last forever. In other words, we should always be prepared for what may or may not be around the corner. That's what I have to keep in mind when I feel too lazy to work on my side business. Work towards "freedom" - monetary and freedom to make mistakes.

I've kept up with my reading (I mentioned Buy Buttons, the FIRE movement and Rich Dad, Poor Dad last time around), but it's really about giving this side hustle approach a go rather than just thinking about it.

So, I've continued to look for new opportunities. For example, I had the opportunity to pitch for another resume writing project with a local university, worth about $5,000. We'll see whether it comes off - I pitched for a similar gig a few months ago but didn't get it (I think I priced myself out). I've worked with them in the past so if it does come through I'm going to be very busy in my spare time during September / October.

So, how was August?

Resume Writing: $245. I'm now back to my consulting work with a resume writing company. I'm not able to do a lot just yet. But the goal is to do a few jobs a month and I'll take it from there.

Additional Writing: $180. My regular blog writing about careers continues. I've done an additional three articles that I haven't yet invoiced and this has been a pretty consistent one for me.

Stock Dividends: $182. I continue to buy stocks that give me a bit of a dividend payout. My strategy isn't the most refined (not very sophisticated screening approach) but I'm all about cash flow opportunities that I can reinvest. I'm a massive fan of dividends - it's about as passive a strategy as I have. If you're not familiar with it, Amazon is stocked up on decent books that can explain it, such as Dividends Still Don't Lie.

Ebooks: $9. I finally got around to getting someone (my sister) to write a review on an ebook. I've always known that social proof is a big reason why people buy goods and services. And it seems to have worked a bit. My three books (Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies, The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume) are all ticking along. It's something to build on.

Coaching: $127. I managed to do a coaching session this month with an old client of mine. I reckon I probably won't do more than one each month, if that. But it's an income stream that is aligned with the suite of products/services I want to offer.

Other: $0. I've decided to group Amazon Merch, Amazon Affiliate Income and all other bits and bobs under "Other". It's not as if I have a lot going on in this space at the moment.

Total: $743. That's reasonable. I know that I've already got a writing invoice to put in and I could also win the resume writing gig as well. Not bad at the moment. I just need to keep on top of my work now...

Onwards and upwards!

Income Report: July

July didn't happen. At least not from my business building / financial freedom perspective. Starting a new job has certainly drained a bit of the time / money / energy that I always thought I had in spades. But that's not to say I can't get back on track.

It's all about discipline. It's the kind of thing I've talked about in the past but now it's more important than ever. Focus, application, discipline. 

To be fair, I did take a one week break. Returning to my home city to catch up with friends, family and old work colleagues meant that the push for financial freedom was the last thing on my mind.

Well, that's actually not true. A few short chats with my disgruntled, frustrated and tired crowd simply reinforced the need to take control. To create a life that works for me and my family.

I've thought a lot about "purpose". It's that fuzzy, catchall term that gurus tell us that everyone is meant to have to lead a meaningful and fulfilling life. I thought mine was going to be based purely on financial freedom. That's what this is all about, after all. Isn't it?

As it turns out, I'm finding that for me it's about a broader sense of freedom. Free to make mistakes, free to be happy, free to be sad, free to live a life that works for me at any one time. It's about being comfortable with whatever life throws at me. I've been reading up on spirituality as much as I have on business and finance. So for me, it's about getting more connected with myself. Anyway, I digress.

This financial freedom game is not going to be easy. Hell, I've been playing at this for a few years and am only now finding a bit of direction. But if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

So what did I learn this month? One thing is that we can't do it all by ourselves. I've been a long-term follower of the Side Hustle Nation podcast hosted by Nick Loper and have got plenty of value in his recent book Buy Buttons. Definitely, worth checking out if you're new to this game.

I've also recently discovered the FIRE (Financial Independence / Retire Early) movement. Ironically, I was already in that space I guess, ever since buying into the Robert Kiyosaki world of Rich Dad, Poor Dad many years ago. Anyway, having joined the "Choose FI" Facebook group I realise there are thousands of like-minded people out there. Joining the group has definitely given me a new spring in my step. I wish I'd been engaged with them earlier.

Not that I actually achieved much financially this month but I still have to note down the situation for consistency:

Resume Writing: $0. I've taken a bit of a break from this but will be kick-starting this later in August. I've already got three jobs lined up. I did pitch for a one-off contract with a university that would have been worth a few thousand dollars but I think I priced myself out - I worked for them last year and they clearly found a cheaper alternative.

Additional Writing: $287. My regular blog writing about careers continues. I've also got three articles lined up for this month.

Stock Dividends: $260. My dividend yield strategy is still working out well. I just need to keep on reinvesting my earnings into investments, preferably high dividend yield stocks to benefit from the cash flow. Because of my background in finance I was always going to play this as a key approach, using scrip dividends and compounding to build income slowly but surely. If you're not familiar with the approach, Amazon is stocked up on decent books that can explain the approach, such as Dividends Still Don't Lie.

Ebooks: $2. So my three books (Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies, The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume) aren't jumping off the shelves. But I was reminded of the power of social media by a 16-year old on the plane last week. Let's see where I can go with this.

Coaching: $0. No coaching during the month. However, an old client wants to do a session soon so that should make me a few dollars in August.

Amazon Merch: $0. No, this is a slow one...

Amazon Affiliate Income: $0. No, this is a slow one as well...

Total: $547. I'm happy enough with that. I now have a full-time job to navigate so I was never going to get the big numbers.

I have a bit of a pipeline and things are looking ok. August's numbers will be better. My near-term goal is to cover my basic living expenses excluding my rent. I think I should be on course for that.

Income Report: June

So, I'm properly back in the groove of the daily grind of the corporate world.

Re-establishing a form of daily discipline that's relevant to this world has been tough. I've been so used to working when I want, waking when I want. So going back into a full-time role has reflected trade-offs we all make in life.

My work plus commute hours are reasonably long (well, a lot longer than when I was working for myself...). There's also less flexibility for me to do my own stuff while at work.

But it's all about the bigger picture. I can't be distracted from my long-term goal: financial freedom based on multiple streams of income.

Because of my new-found distractions, I've got to be sensible with how I  manage my side hustles. I've had to get approval from the compliance department in my company in order to continue with them so I have to make sure I don't raise any red flags.

The truth is, the hoops I've had to jump through and the layers of bureaucracy I've cut through has taught me a lot. Simply put, it has shown me that the corporate world isn't for me long term anymore and that I really have to work harder on my online efforts!

It's not about earning money, per se. It's about building a business with structures and processes that allow me to step away from the daily grind. It's about building a lifestyle for myself and my family that allows us to live a life that gives us options. Because that's all this is about. Options

It's a dream. It may not happen in the manner I intend. It's something to shoot for.

In terms of June's income:

Resume Writing: $139. This was a big income element for me. But for now at least it's going to have to slip into the background. My world has changed and I can't commit as much time. I have told the company that I did a lot of work for that I would still do the occasional bit of work but at the moment I'm not quite ready for it.

Article Writing: $42. I only wrote one article during the month. Admittedly, this was a very short piece so it was never going to be paying very well. But there's more to come on this front...

Dividend: $170. It's going to be tough to build my dividend income at the moment because I'm limited by what I can buy in terms of shares. Working for a bank can be awkward like that. Regulations and all that. Still, dividend income remains a key part of my strategy so I'm still going to pursue this route.

Coaching: $0. This is the new addition to my monthly breakdowns. I never used to record them here. But given as this now counts as one of my many side hustles, it's time to start monitoring and measuring. That said, I didn't actually do any coaching over the month. I have one long-term client that still wants to meet and one guy that has gone quiet. That's the crux of my coaching practice at the moment and I'm not planning on expanding much beyond three or four clients at any one time.

eBooks: $2. Another quiet month. I keep saying that I'll do some marketing. When I have time, I'll be pushing harder with my three books (Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies) to add to (The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume).

Amazon Merch: $0. The dream of being able to retire on passive income from selling t-shirts hasn't quite happened as yet...I haven't invested that much time in it all to be fair. But I know if I do commit to the venture, there's money to be made. It's about making the time.

Total: $353

All in all, it wasn't so bad all things considered. This is me starting from scratch again so it could take time. But if I can make over $500/month consistently by early next year (or even closer to $1,000 if it's possible) I know I'll be on a good path.  There are a few decent income opportunities for me in coming weeks:

• Resume writing project for a university. I did work for a local university about a year ago, writing resume profiles for MBA students. They asked me to put in a proposal for this year's cohort. In hindsight, I think I might have priced myself out. That's ok if that is the case. Last time it took many more hours than I thought it would and my time is more precious now than it was a year ago. 
• Career site writing. I've been asked whether I can up my writing quota from the occasional one or two a month to two or three a week for the next fortnight. It's pretty easy writing this stuff so I'm taking on the task.
• Coaching client. I met a prospect a couple of days ago. I sent him a proposal and I'll just have to see whether he wants to follow through. 
• Websites. It's way too early to say this is a decent income opportunity but I'm finally going to try to monetize a couple of domain names that I bought a while back. This will be a slow burner but it's all part of the process.

I have no idea how this journey is going to play out. I may love work so much that I simply decide to give up on all these hustles...Nah, that's never going to happen. One read of Nick Loper's Buy Buttons book has shown me that. 

It may not be as spectacular a journey as some blogs you find online, with spectacular numbers and fantastic opportunities in surrounding passive income and financial independence. No, mine's different. 

It's sometimes slow. It's sometimes boring. It's sometimes unfocused. That's fine. Most importantly, it's real. Watch this space.

Income Report: May

This is the last month for this income report in its current format. The reason? I've got myself a job. Back to the grindstone and all that.

But it's not the end of my money making ideals. Now my goal is to work towards replacing my full-time income. Or at least create income streams that allow me to have a sustainable portfolio career that gives me choices. Because that's what my version of financial freedom is about. Choices.

So there will be some changes to how my income streams look. Some elements may fall by the wayside to some extent, including my resume writing. Others, such as my coaching work, will from next month get added. I had originally framed this income report exercise as being about online income, which is why the coaching wasn't really mentioned. But now it's really about me growing my portfolio of hustles in general.

I still see plenty of value in this exercise - possibly even more than before. It's all about being able to make money without having to rely on a boss, company, government, etc. So if I ever get the "Thank you for all your efforts, but..." conversation, I'll be suitably in control of my future.

And that's the irony of getting back onto the hamster wheel of work. I'm more focused on using my free time wisely and know it's time to revisit the ton of income-generating resources I have collected.

As I've mentioned before I'm a massive fan of the Side Hustle Nation podcast hosted by Nick Loper and found great value in his recent book Buy Buttons. Definitely, worth checking out if you're new to this game - or even if you're not new but have got a little stale (like me). Going forward, I'm certainly going to be anchoring some of my approach to ideas from here.

Anyway, how have things stacked up?

Resume Writing: $2,346. This has been my best month income-wise for resume writing, which is ironic given that I'm going to have to drop a lot of it. This has been a major income provider for me in recent years, both in terms of directly consulting for one specific firm but also the spin-off work that I've benefited from (see below). It has served me well and I'm keen to keep this as part of my income arsenal.

Conference Project: $3,500. I mentioned before that one-off projects count if they are related to my online businesses. Well, this one related to my resume writing again. It involved working for three-and-a-half days at a finance industry conference and paid pretty well. Actually, very well as far as I'm concerned. Unless it takes place on a weekend, this type of gig will disappear now that I'm going full time. But at least I know my capabilities and can use it in the future.

Additional Writing: $130. My regular blog writing about careers continues. It doesn't especially pay that well ($0.07/word - and I miscalculated on my invoice so undercharged) but it's great branding for me and my career-related services.

Stock Dividends: $108. One strategy I will continue to build upon is my dividend yield strategy. This is about buying high dividend yield stocks to benefit from the cash flow. I'm not being as diligent as I should be. That is, I could be screening the stocks far better than I am. But so far it's worked out fine and I keep reinvesting the cash so as to buy more stocks.

Ebooks: $6. I started the month pretty strongly in that I sold three books in the first week ("pretty strongly" in my world anyway...). It was only the first proper month of my third book (Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies) to add to (The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume). I know that I need to market them but I simply haven't made the time. My hope is that seasonally the summer months are a good time for job hunting books, with all those graduates looking for roles all at the same time.

Amazon Merch: $0. It's not really happening at the moment. I'll still keep plugging away.

Amazon Affiliate Income: $0.04. I've finally made some affiliate income! I know this is an area I must build upon. This is the classic passive income stream. It's not really anything to write home about but I've brought some pennies in. If I can do that then I'm pretty sure I can do a lot more.

Total: $6,090. (my best month and well ahead of my $2,000 monthly target. Even if I stripped out my one-off gig, it still came to $2,590 so I'm happy).

Looking ahead

Before I look ahead, I think I should at least celebrate how far I've come to achieve my best income month. A lot of my efforts came out of necessity as I tried to find my footing "between jobs". But I've always put it in the bigger picture context of financial freedom.

My very first income report was for May 2016. So I've had two years to look at my progress.

I achieved the princely sum of $974.50 that month, of which $800 was resume-related. In May 2017, I made $1,489, with $1,353 from resumes. Yet my resume income alone for May 2018 almost matched my entire income for May 2016 and May 2017 combined.

The bottom line is, I've tried to consistently work towards building income streams. It hasn't been easy or straightforward. But I've seen some progress. And if I can do it, anyway can do it.

And so to now. It may take a week a two to sort out the new rhythm of work, but I'm going to push ahead with my portfolio career efforts.

One of my first tasks is to do a proper inventory of all my hustle interests to see whether they are worth the effort. I need to look at my ROE (return on energy, in this case) and make some hard choices. It also means putting in more efficient processes.

The goal is to still build passive income streams. They tend to require more effort and/or money upfront than the traditional "selling your time for money" approach, with the expectation that they'll pay in the long run and you'll be sipping pina coladas on a beach before you know it...The good thing about having the job in the background is that it gives me the money buffer to help with this, even if it takes away the time.

So I think I'll take a piecemeal approach this month and target a couple of websites I own to see whether I can properly monetize through Google Adsense.  That will probably require some blogging and such. I may also market the ebooks - but I've got to work out whether the effort is worth the return.

Regardless, I'm certainly going to see what I can get out of Buy Buttons - so much to learn from this book.

It's all change but fundamentally it will all stay the same...a portfolio career.

Income Report: April

I was hoping to report that I had got myself a new job. Well, not quite. Yet. I have loosely been offered in verbal form but I'm not going to get too excited until I've signed something on the dotted line.

The problem has been that I've been holding back on marketing certain coaching and consulting services locally to make sure I don't disappoint clients somewhere along the line. I've also not pushed on with creating products as well.

In reality, I should be focusing more on the products side, as the goal would be to sell my expertise online while doing my day job. Time to act more strategically.

I'm pretty sure I'll hear something this month on the job front, but until then I'm going to keep playing with my ventures.

So let's look at the income front:

Resume writing: $1,837. This will be the first victim of a new job. I won't give it up entirely, as I still believe that we all have to have multiple streams of income in this new world. But I won't have the time to invest in writing on a regular basis.

Writing: $130. I've got a regular writing gig related to career guidance. I haven't yet billed for the work, as I haven't actually written the two pieces yet. But my estimate should be about right.

Dividends: $760. This is something I'm increasingly keen to build out, as it's a passive income stream that I like. It's not without risk as I need to develop a screening process to select the right stocks. But it's part of my long-term focus. I managed to buy a few more stocks with a good dividend during the month and I was very happy to benefit from a few dividends and special dividend payments.

eBooks: $2. I managed to launch my third book (Cryptocurrency Job Hunting for Non-Techies) to add to (The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume). I always sell at least one or two a month. It's not a lot but it is passive. I know that I haven't marketed them at all so it's no surprise that I haven't been pulling in big numbers. Going into the summer months I'll certainly be pushing the books to a graduate audience. Last summer was certainly me most profitable period for my books so will hope to build on that.

Amazon Merch: $0.09. Well, it is passive income...But it's not one that is kicking into high gear just yet. That's partly down to me. I've been focusing my energies on what I see as areas that will give me a better return on my time and money. I'll try to put a few hours aside to develop some new designs and see where this thing takes me. Importantly, it fits into my passive income mindset.

Total: $2,729 (better than my $1,800-$2,000 minimum target)

Looking ahead
It's really dependent on my work situation essentially. I need to keep working on the online course I've started on. Hopefully, I can get that out before the end of the summer.

I also have to see what I can get out of Buy Buttons. So much potential there.

Income Report: March

One of the positives of working for yourself is that you don't have someone standing over you hurrying you along.

But one of the negatives of working for yourself is that you don't have someone standing over you hurrying you along...

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day. I realized he didn't actually appreciate the ins and outs of my portfolio career approach to life, aside from the observation, "you must have a lot of time on your hands". The fact that I work every day in one shape or form is almost irrelevant. My world isn't as easily translatable to his corporate world.

That said, he did say something that really struck me. "If you had done ABC (fill in with whatever action) during all that time you've been away from your corporate role, you could have been XYZ (fill in with whatever blue sky result)."

Obviously, the world doesn't operate in such linear terms and 20/20 hindsight is beautiful. But I must admit he did have a point. Because I was operating in my easy-going, "let's see what happens world", I haven't actually pushed on where obstacles and pain were there in front of me. It's very easy to hide when you're working for yourself. In other words, the lack of accountability has hurt.

My goal for this next quarter is to really smack a few things into place. I'm a massive fan of the Side Hustle Nation podcast hosted by Nick Loper and I bought his recent book Buy Buttons. It was a revelation! I've been dipping my toe into side hustles and the gig economy for some time but I honestly had no clue about how many ways you could make money. It's inspired me to have a look at what else I can build. I'd recommend having a read of his book if you're looking at developing side income streams.

One thing that most definitely will define my world in the near term is the possibility of a corporate role. Just because I have this portfolio career approach, it doesn't mean I won't dip in and out of the corporate world. If I get the role, things will have to change. If I don't get the role, I'll push on with several initiatives I've been holding back on and things will have to change...

Resume Writing: $1,318. Steady as she goes. But my goal is to become far less reliant on contracting via one firm so I'm not too disappointed as this figure starts to dip.

Additional Writing: $468: Not bad. I managed to do follow-up work for two recent gigs, plus I've also done some resume work separate to the contracted work I do. The reason I group it here is because it's from a separate source and the overall goal is to diversify my sources of income.

Amazon Merch: $0.09. Yes, I'm off the mark! Ok, I only sold one but it's a start. I've got some pretty cool, professionally designed T-shirts ready for purchase (Dog T-Shirt; Cool Dog; Pitbull). Time to push on more.

eBook: $6.50. This is still ticking over and I made a similar amount to last month, split between a sale on Kobo and the rest on Amazon. I don't really do any marketing but it's good that it's still working (The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume). I've also now signed up to E-Junkie as well. My next book will launch in April (I had hoped for March but life happened and that has changed) and I have high hopes that it is a topical angle on the job-hunting space.

Total: $1,792.59

This is ok, and it's not my only income stream thankfully, but it's a bit below what I now want to be the minimum here ($1,800 - $2,000) and below three of the last four months.

Looking ahead

The corporate job dynamic has been hanging around for a long time and it should be resolved within weeks. That will shape my next moves.

In the meantime, I've got to get my book out, start writing my course and see what I can get out of Buy Buttons. There are so many ways to make money out there.

Income Report: February

Progress is gradual but noticeable.

The last few months have got me thinking hard about what the heck I'm doing, so I've certainly been more intentional in a few areas.

The coaching business I have, which I don't include here, is picking up. I have a very nice short-term consulting gig lined up, and I may even have a chance to be a part-time tutor on coaching as well, which is nice.

Separately, I've also reconnected with my wish to blog. This is in no small part down to the writer Seth Godin, who basically suggests that you should just get on with it and forget about SEO, perfection, selling a product and so on. So that will be my platform for future product and service sales.

In the meantime, let's look at the income streams and what's going on there:

Resume Writing: $1,950. A decent month for me, particularly as I've cut back on the amount I want to do. Some of the figure may reflect resumes written in January but this remains the pillar for much of my online-related income.

Writing: $270. It was never going to be as much as the January figure ($1400 or so) but it's certainly picked up when consider that I probably didn't make $200 over most of 2017 in this category. I'm in two minds as to how to push forward here. From a return on investment / energy perspective I can't always justify such writing gigs, particularly if there are plenty of revisions to be made to the work done. But it's a healthy place to start, both writing gigs have more work (if I want) and it is the diversification of income I always speak about.

Amazon Merch: $0. This is a space I haven't yet mastered. I've got some pretty cool, professionally designed T-shirts ready for purchase (Dog T-Shirt; Cool Dog; Pitbull) - I just need to be better at marketing them.

eBook: $6.50. I tried a free ebook promotion for a few days and, to be honest, I'm not actually sure whether it had an impact. Still, I'm all about experimenting and I'm glad that sales are still quietly ticking over.(The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume). If everything goes to plan I will launch another book in March.

Dividends: $0. None of my stocks paid a dividend during the month. But once again I've added to my high dividend yielding portfolio, which now has an overall yield of 3% (this was the first month I've actually calculated the return in this manner), which should give me a few thousand dollars over the year.

Total: $2,226.50 (better than January's so onwards and upwards)

Looking ahead:

The goal is to still shift out of the low-value income streams into higher value. Once I've got my next book out it's time to push on with the online courses. That's where I see my value being created.

I've also not been able to make any affiliate income so far. My underutilized sites need to get to work.

There's still plenty to do but I can honestly say that I can see progress. 

Income Report: January

It's amazing what can happen when you get your focus better aligned. Don't get me wrong, I haven't suddenly hit the big time. Far from it. I'm nowhere near where I need to be.

But by acting more strategically, as opposed to simply doing and going for what's right in front of me, things are changing. I'm certainly transitioning to a new business model.

The fly in the ointment (of sorts) is that I may be shifting back into the corporate world soon, and away from my business as a coach (which I don't include in these blog posts). I've been waiting around for this opportunity and apparently it may happen.

If it does come to fruition, I still plan to do my online and passive income initiatives. I think we all need to have them to secure financial and personal freedom. My model may have to shift again to be as hands-off as possible.

In the meantime, I'll simply push on with what I've got. So let's look at the income streams and what's going on there:

Resume Writing: $733. I consciously decided to do less in this space in order to diversify my income streams. Ironically, the balance of work has actually improved. Firstly, the firm I've been working with has raised the pay per resume. Secondly, I'm now being offered more Executive (i.e. bigger ticket) jobs. Thirdly, the approach to writing LinkedIn profiles has changed so that they are less complicated and should take less time. Overall, these changes should mean a better return on my effort. We'll see.

Writing: $1,410. This has suddenly taken off. Not that I've yet been paid for them all (or in fact completed all the jobs) but I'm counting them now anyway. I've managed to get two PeoplePerHour finance writing gigs, one of which has offered repeat business. I've also started writing award submissions on behalf of law firms, something I was offered through a business contact. Finally, I've been offered more career advice writing for a site. And to think I was trying to shift away from writing...

Amazon Merch: $0. After waiting 11 months, I finally got accepted on Merch. And so begins my t-shirt business. I decided to use Fiverr for some of my first few designs, while I learn the nuts and bolts of designing on my own. So far, so nothing. But I'm finally building out passive income opportunities.

eBook: $2.50. I think the algorithms must have changed as I didn't get much traction over the month. I guess it would help if I did a little marketing of my books...(The Simple Guide to a Winning LinkedIn Profile and Craft a Winning Resume)

Dividends: $0. Nothing to see here. None of my stocks paid a dividend during the month. But I've invested more into the market targeting higher dividend yielders, so hopefully, I'll see increased returns over coming quarters.

Total: $2,145

Looking ahead:

My goal is to shift out of the low-value income streams into higher value. I'm writing another ebook at the moment, which I intend to get out before the end of February. But it's a volume game and I feel there are possibly better opportunities for me elsewhere than these books.

I've talked about online courses for a while now but I haven't yet created one. That has to be my focus for the first half of the year. I've also not been able to make any affiliate income so far. I've got a few underutilized websites and it's about time I made them work for me.

The next few months could see lots of change. That would be great as I spent way too much time spinning the same plate last year.