To make this simpler I am only going to report from my Make Time Online website (I will ignore our health and wellness website Well Fit Fam).

As usual the stats first...

• SEO traffic- 26,897 (up from 17,129... 60% increase)
• Pageviews- 42,526 (up from 26,835... 60% increase)
• New posts- 26 (21 reviews- 14 written by Jomar my amazing new writer I hired using Jerry's amazing training https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/hiring-writer-like-a-pro-even-if-youve-never-hired-before)
• Podcasts- 5
• Total posts- 279
• Words written on site this month- 52,153
• Refs- 93 (60 last month)
• Upgrade- 10 (13 last month)
• Recurring- 11 (14 last month)
• * Annual upgrades- 8 (to be paid next month all with the May sale- 1 last month)

April & May- Income breakdown

• Wealthy Affiliate: $1,612.5
• Pinterest book: $8.10

April & May revenue: $1,620.25

*note the Pinterest course I used to recommend is now a free course... but I still recommend it more than others, so I don't receive the affiliate commissions I used to!

April & May- Expenses Breakdown

• Writer: $898.40
• WA (hosting and Jaaxy Keyword research tool)- paid annually: $49.83
• ConvertKit (autoresponder)- paid annually: $50
• Thrive- paid annually: $38
• Random video/ audio: $62

April & May expenses: $1,098.63

April and May Profit = $521.62

Lessons

A couple of things first... I am trying to create an online business. I want to set things up to actually grow, help other people and share everything I do. There are plenty of times I could have offered certain products/ done more freelance work to make extra income. But I want to only offer things I truly believe in and use.

For example, I could produce these kinds of reports on my website, put affiliate links to all the resources I use and tell everyone that they should defo buy them as they will help with their business! But I want these to actually help people and not just sell things. You can 100% make income without purchasing anything else other than the WA membership.

This month I want to focus on the actual income and some inspiration I've took from the book "Profit First", which I just read (I highly recommend this btw!)

The idea is simple...

PROFIT FIRST.

It's kind of like "budgeting" or paying yourself first in real life, but for business. And I think this is crucial for start ups and especially online business.

Here's an example allocation in order of what to pay first (these per centages can change):

• 10% profit first
• 15% tax
• 25% Owners comp
• 50% expenses

Here's an example using my revenue over the past 2 months:

• Revenue = $1,620
• 10% profit first = $162
• 15% tax = $243
• 25% Owners comp = $405
• 50% expenses = $810

So how did I do?

I spent more than 50% on expenses (doh!) You may think "ah but you only spent $1,100 instead of $800, so what!"

It's a valid point that these numbers are still small.

But this is the lesson I learnt from the book...

It's the habit that you are putting in place that is important.

The numbers are irrelevant.

If we can get into the habit of receiving income and putting some into a "profit account" first that you don't touch, then the business can always be profitable.

Common questions about Profit First

• How many bank accounts do you need?

The author Mike Michalowizc recommends like 5. I say 3 is fine. 1 for profit (that you don't touch), 1 for tax (that you don't touch... until tax time) 1 for revenue (that you pay your expenses from).

• What do you do with the profit?

Every 6 months pay yourself a bonus of half of the profit account. That way the profit account keeps growing and you always have a buffer.

• Why only 15% tax?

Because even though you may pay 35%+ on tax not all of your revenue will be taxed (your expenses come out first). 15% is more than enough to cover your tax costs (according to Mike M)

• What is owners comp?

The amount you pay to the owners (probably just you atm)... you are the most important "employee" of your whole business so you should get paid before expenses.

• Why even bother with profit?

Because you are the one creating a business. You should profit, not struggle.

How was your May? Let me know in the comments below and feel free to ask any questions!

P.S. Update on the health and fitness account WFF...

MTO has applied for Mediavine (a good ad network that requires 25,000 sessions per month).

Once I hear back I will also apply for WFF and it sounds like you can expect around $10-15 per thousand sessions from ads...

That would be around $500 a month revenue for each website... remember online businesses do not grow linearly... they can grow exponentially at different times. In shallah, it's around that time!

P.P.S. I know how much anger and uncertainty there is in the world right now. But I truly believe people sharing their message and continuing to do what they feel is right and help others is what will bring the world to a better place. Stay safe everyone.