July 2023 Income Report + Monthly Recap: Babymoon, Black Friday Sales and Baby Prep!

July was officially the FASTEST month of the year for me – it flew by and I’m having trouble accepting that we’re already into August…but we are so I guess I have to embrace it!

The end of the month also means it’s time for another monthly recap!

In this post I’ll cover:

What I accomplished in July (and whether I achieved the goals I set last month)
My goals for August
How much money my business earned
How I’m feeling and what I’m working on
What I’m doing to grow my business and income

My Goals for July That I Set Last Month

Have a relaxing Babymoon: Completed!

Our trip was absolutely amazing and such a wonderful break from the stress of life and baby prep. If you’re pregnant I highly recommend blocking some time off on your calendar to take a pre-baby trip. It really doesn’t need to be super fancy either.

I’ve had so many friends who booked big fancy trips to Mexico or Europe for their Babymoon, but personally, I’m super glad we kept it smaller and ended up at a local resort. Getting to sleep in, swim and go out to some fun dinners was exactly what I needed.

2. Set up client Black Friday sales and holiday sequences: In Progress

I’m not totally done setting up everything for Black Friday for clients, but we’re getting close! I learned that I really prefer doing all the Black Friday prep and strategy as early as possible. This year I’m focusing on it because I’ll be out of the office for maternity leave, but in future years I plan to start strategy prep and planning for Black Friday in June. It’s so much more easier to plan and execute when you start early.

3. Keep working through the Hypnobirthing course: In Progress

I’m not completely finished with the course, but I have been working on it in the mornings and before bed. It’s been super helpful for relaxation in general and feeling less anxious and labor. In case you’ve never heard of Hypnobirthing, it’s not as hippie or as woo-woo as it sounds. There’s no actual hypnosis involved. It’s focused on learning breathing strategies to help you deal with pain.

4. Avoid Walmart and Target: Mostly completed!

Technically I cheated…while I was able to completely avoid Walmart. I did go to Target once, but I didn’t buy anything! I just compared our budget from this month to last month and the difference is HUGE. I highly recommend trying this strategy to cut down on the number of trips you’re taking to the store. In June we had a bunch of sneaky trips to Walmart and Target where we only bought 3-4 things, but it ended up killing our grocery budget. This month we bulk shopped at the beginning of the month and then relied on Aldi or Costco when we needed to restock on fresh fruit or veggies.

I also made a Reel this month about what I’m currently eating in my third trimester of pregnancy.

What Else Happened in July?

I purchased and started using Your Social Team’s amazing Instagram templates. I find creating content for social media extremely exhausting and these have really helped simplify my content creation process.
Lots of baby prep like organizing our bedroom to make space for a rocking chair, bassinet and changing table.
I started working with my accountant to make my business an S-Corp, which is just a different tax filing status than I currently use.

Podcast Episodes I Released This Month:

Episode 9: Is ThriveCart Learn Right for Your Online Course?
Episode 10: Pre-launch Secrets with Amanda Warfield: How to Create Buzz, Make $$$ and Get Ready to Sell Your Course!
Episode 11: How to Film Your Online Course Videos
Episode 12: 5 Strategies That Tripled My Affiliate Marketing Income This Year

How Much Money I Made This Month:

$8,521.37 – This was a mix of one-on-one client work and affiliate income. As I’m preparing for maternity leave one of my focuses lately is cutting back on expenses and pausing or canceling as many subscriptions as I can.

My Goals for August:

1. Attend birth prep classes: Our doctor’s office has required childbirth prep classes and this is our month to take them so we’ll be spending two long Saturdays from 9am to 3pm learning all the baby related things.

2. Stock up on freezer meals and household essentials: It’s my goal to make life as easy as possible this fall. We’re going to fill up our freezer with lots of easy dinner ideas. I also plan to stock up on any household items we’ll need for the next several months like toilet paper, shampoo, laundry detergent and cleaning supplies.

3. Continue working on Black Friday setup for clients: We’re in the home stretch, but there are a couple key things I would like to get done this month so that in September my workload is lighter.

4. Get a haircut: I actually planned to get one in July and then my hairdresser texted me to let me know she recently moved two hours away so I’ll need to find a new spot this month.

5. Take our dogs to the vet: Can you see the theme of August here? Lots of trying to knock out all the adult stuff that needs to happen prior to having a baby so that we don’t have to worry about it the second half of the year.

6. Check-in with every client and confirm our maternity leave plans: I’ve been communicating with clients throughout this entire process but now that we are 2 months out I want to make sure we have a clear plan of action. I’ll also be creating SOP’s and recording training videos for things I currently do in their business that they might need to do while I am out of office.

7. Finalize a new opt in I’ve been working on: I’m working on creating a Black Friday trends guide to help you identify the Black Friday trends for this year and implement them in your business. This should be released at the very beginning of September.

8. Record guest interviews and batch podcast episodes: This month I’m recording the last few guest interviews for my podcast! I also need to record a few solo episodes and then I’ll be done with recording through the end of the year!

All of the software and tools I use to run my business:

Productivity Tools:

Asana – Project Management
Timer Cube – To stay focused on your work
Full Focus Planner – For planning my week and daily to-do list
Bullet Journaling – For planning out my long term goals and to-do lists (I use this inexpensive notebook)

Podcasting:

Riverside – For recording podcast episodes and interviews
Libsyn – For podcast hosting
Microphone
Calendly – For scheduling guest interviews

Marketing and Business Operations:

Convert Kit – Email Marketing
Interact – For creating quizzes in my business like my Find Your Perfect Course Creation Match
Thrivecart – Courses and Digital Products
Showit – Website Design + Hosting
Canva – Graphic Design
Social Media Templates – To help me create my social posts quickly