I posted this blog back in the spring, The Real Truth About Blogging Income. In it, I broke down my basic finances from my business, and explained a bit about how to monetize.

Now, at the start of this next year, I need to set a few things straight.

I was really happy with my business at that time. Things were going “swimmingly” along. I had a beautiful variety of work projects coming my way, and a good balance with life.

And then summer happened, and the kids were home. And then the BC strike happened, and stayed into September and the kids were STILL home.

And then October, filled with conferences and travel projects, and now, here we are, breathing out the last few bits of air from December, ready and waiting for January to start, for reals.

And now I need come clean.

Yes, my revenue and hours per week were as I stated them, but alas, they are not that any more.  With 3 kids in school, 4 days a week, I am now working a solid 30 or more hours a week.

The work-life balance has definitely struggled over the last 6 months, struggled to the point of almost disappearing. The happy little blogger world I was living in has gone.

What happened, you ask?
Well, things got busy and my business grew.

It grew because I wanted it to. It grew because I was ready for more. It grew because my brain was desperately clawing its way out of my skull, full of ideas and possibility.

And all that “busy-ness” DID affect my time, my balance, and my revenue.

I broke my revenue down today, getting prepared to ship off my fresh books statements to my accountant and took a look see at where my income actually CAME from this past year, and that is what I will share with you today.

65% of my revenue came from consulting.  Working on projects, management of campaigns, services that were not “products” sold on my blog, but things that happened because OF my blog, and the connections it made.

30% of my revenue came DIRECTLY from sponsored content or advertising on my personal blog.

the other 5% came from additional assets and other “bits and bobs”

Of that 30%, 3 networks made up 42% of the income from the “Sponsored content line”   Three networks, who kept me on their roster, month after month, contributed almost as much as the other dozens put together.

I entered 2014 with challenging goals. I wanted a steady income and to have it be “enough” to support our family.  From May to December, I doubled (and one month actually tripled) my revenue goals.

WHY?

I continued to define what I was good at, and then put myself in places to offer this service. Apparently I actually AM good at what I am doing as my client roster continued to grow. I was needed, I filled a void and I listened to a few friends who told me it was now okay to raise my prices.

I invested back INTO myself and my business as well. I sold higher, and then sub-contracted the parts of the work I didn’t like, so even though I was working more, I was only doing the things I loved to do.

At the end of the year I have a resource of 7 sub-contractors that I use on a daily basis, and (gosh darn it) it feels pretty great to not only be delivering great work, creating a stable income for our family, but also filling OTHER peoples pockets as well.

Why tell you all this?

Well, people are inherently nosey, and every page view counts (thank you for reading!) AND I still think it is so important that every one of you knows that the business you desire is actually there. Don’t undersell yourself and lead the pack in creating new ideas and finding additional sources of revenue.

So, how much DID I make?

These days, that is not something I am going to share, but lets just say I did better than I thought I would and walked confidently into a new tax bracket.

The end of the year should be a time where we take stock of how we delivered our work over the past 12 months. Take this time to assess WHERE your income came from, and how you can create MORE of the same.

I am pushing myself harder for 2015, but in work and in life. My goals are lofty and include putting  my blog in the next “numbers bracket” for increased revenue, multiply the number of programs I am managing and taking a break, every day around 2pm (when Ontario packs up their laptops) to get my body back into healthy shape.

I have no fear about how MUCH I will be earning next year, I am now confident in my abilities and opportunities. Next year I want more challenge, and more success for myself and my clients.

And perhaps, a few more days off than I had in this last quarter.

Start now, look at how much you earned last year, where it came from, and where you spent most of your time.  Find the spot where you make the highest return on your time investment, and create an additional new income stream to put into place in 2015.

Spend the time now thinking about what you will do when the calendar turns over, and then when it does, get ready to go full speed ahead and make it work.

It is all within your grasp!