Time for another monthly recap and blogging income report. This is where I share what’s new in the world of Desk to Dirtbag over the past month and offer a bit of transparency behind the the life of a travel blogger.
On to this month’s report…
Highlights
Back Home
I’ve been back home all this month staying with family which is nice. It’s been doing lots of little chores and work around here and catching up, but little in the way of adventures.
Normally, Washington State is the most beautiful in August, but this year was a big bust thanks to the terrible smoke coming in from Canada. It caused headaches and discomfort for a few days at least, and was ugly and smoggy for a many more days, but that made not going out hiking and camping a little less sad since the conditions were so bad.
Pearl Jam Concert
Andrea’s favorite band in the world is Pearl Jam, and I was stoked to be able to surprise her with tickets to one of their Home Shows at Safeco Field this year. She’s never had the chance to see Pearl Jam in person, and while the seats weren’t the best, it was still an awesome experience!
I’d gone to a Pearl Jam concert years ago, back when I was working in DC, but it was a whole other experience to see them at home in Seattle.
Challenges
Forming a Business
My focus over the past few weeks has been turning this humble website into a real, properly structured business. That goes for everything from legal structures to accounting and everything in between. It is something that is long overdue as this little hobby has grown into something kinda big.
The whole thing is a bit beyond my normal realm of expertise so it mostly came down to reading a lot (both online and in books) and talking with a few people, both colleagues and outside experts.
The process isn’t done yet, but it is currently underway!
Most Popular New Article of the Month
What is a Dirtbag? An Insult Turned into a Social Movement
People are always a little confused by my blog name, which I can understand, so I wanted to put together a more comprehensive article about just what the word dirtbag means and how I came to name my site Desk to Dirtbag. If you’ve been confused by the name, definitely read the article!
What I Read
I totally forgot about the existence of libraries where you can go and borrow books for free! But since I’m back home, I made the trek to the local library and picked up a handful of small business books, including this one. It’s all about running a small business, setting it up, accounting, etc.
The subject is somewhat dry, but it’s important to improve my understanding as I make these shifts. That being said, the book is pretty clear and easy to understand, although not everything is applicable, of course, to an online business.
What I Watched
This show has been on for years, but I’ve never really watched it. Been getting into some of the big marathon reruns they have on CNBC and been digging it. Business and entrepreneurship has always held appeal to me, which is why I think I love the whole building a blog thing — it is basically remotely building a business, even if it is modest in size and scope.
Shark Tank isn’t totally related to my world of business, but it is interesting to see how the Sharks evaluate business ideas and all the different creative business that entrepreneurs present.
August 2018 Income Report
- $153.97 – Big Travel, Small Budget book sales
- $500.00 – Photo Sold to Print Publication
- $316.90 – Amazon Affiliate Sales
- $25.78 – REI Affiliate Sales
- $10.76 – D2D Apparel, Stickers, Etc
- $65.26 – Get Your Guide Tours
- $2,229.62 – Mediavine Display Ads
- $4.00 – Swag Bucks
- $18.68 – Share A Sale
- $31.50 – Survey Junkie
- $36.71 – YouTube Videos
TOTAL = $3,393.18
GOAL = $3,750 per month
90% of goal covered
August’s income went up by 16% compared to July, but a big chunk of that is due to the photo sale (my first ever!) to a major print publication, so really the “normal” income would be $500 less than shown above, meaning a 1% reduction compared to July. All in all, things are holding pretty strong, although I’m not seeing much improvement.
The above figures do not include income from freelance writing which is another significant source of income and my primary side hustle.
August might not have been too interesting, but there’s some travel coming up here in September… Heading to Texas for the TravelCon, blogging conference in Austin.
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That’s all I got for you this month. Are you following along on Instagram or Facebook? Be sure to do so, if you want to get the latest. As always questions, comments, and feedback are extremely welcome.
Ryan
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Comments 1
Keep up the good work!