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I'm Mara — I help creatives create and launch digital courses and profitable products. I love chatting about online marketing, design and goal setting!

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September 2023 Income Report + Monthly Recap

Mara Kucirek with her family

This month’s recap is coming at you a bit late because I had a baby! 

September was a whirlwind of a month. I was busy preparing the last few things I needed to do before maternity leave and despite the fact that everyone (my doctor, all my friends and family, etc…) told me that I would most likely go past my due date, we ended the month with a bang and I went into labor in the last few days of September.

In case you haven’t read one of my monthly income reports this is a post where I share all the
behind-the-scenes details about how the last month went for me in business. 

In this post I’ll cover:

  • What I accomplished in September 
  • My goals for October 
  • How much money my business made 
  • What worked this month and what sucked 
  • What I’m doing to grow my business and income

You can read my previous monthly income reports here:

My Goals for September That I Set Last Month

  1. Focus on breathing exercises – Done! Now that I am on the other side of labor I can say that focusing on my breathing beforehand is one of the most important things I did. I wish I had worked on it even more. Remembering to breathe and use all of the different breathing techniques I learned in my Hypnobirthing course really helped, but it was harder than I expected to keep using the breathing techniques as the pain got worse.

  2. Record a couple more solo podcast episodes – Done! I have podcasts batched through December which feels amazing now that I am in the thick of the newborn phase. Recording a podcast or doing any work at all is really challenging with a baby. 

  3. Pick a name! – We finalized her name! You can see the name reveal here. I’m trying to be mindful of not sharing her name in a bunch of places online. I want anything that comes up on Google for her later in life to be things she chose to be there.

  4. Create the last few maternity leave training videos for clients – Done! If you’re planning any sort of extended leave I highly recommend recording videos to walk clients or the people that are covering your role through everything that needs to be done. I used Loom to record exactly how I did different processes and then I created a written version with instructions. I created videos for things I do regularly and then also some “in case of emergency videos” to help if tech doesn’t work or there is a problem someone needs to troubleshoot while I am away.

  5. Spend some intentional time relaxing – Another one I can cross off of the list! While I was expecting to have a bit more pre-baby time, I did make sure to fit in some lunches out, extra time with my husband and extra naps before I went into labor. One of my friends recommended I just take some time to go walk around Target without having to lug around a baby or a diaper bag and that was great advice because now the idea of making it to the store sounds completely overwhelming.

Podcast Episodes I Released This Month:

  • Episode 18: Unveiling the Biggest Black Friday Trends of 2023: Steal These Ideas for Your Own Promotions!
  • Episode 19: Money Making Black Friday Strategy Tips with Nicole Boucher
  • Episode 20: How I’m Planning a Profitable and Restful Self-employed Maternity 
  • Episode 21: Mastering the Art of Sales Page Copywriting: Tips and Tricks for Converting Visitors into Customers with Emily Conley 

 How Much Money I Made This Month:

$11,627.31 – This was a mix of one-on-one client work, business coaching, and affiliate income. If you look at my last few income reports you’ll see that this is more than I’ve made the last several months. I had several projects wrapping up this month before I went on maternity leave. I also put in some extra hours with retainer clients to set them up for October and November when I’ll be out of the office.   

Read More: Exactly How My Business Makes Money and 5 Strategies That Tripled My Affiliate Marketing Income This Year

My Goals for October:

Honestly, there are no official goals for October. My baby is currently two weeks old so the mission is really just to survive. I hope to enjoy lots of baby snuggles, fit in naps when I can and work on finding a new routine as a family of three.

We were super fortunate to have my mom staying with us and helping us the first two weeks, but she recently headed back home so the rest of October will be a bit of a puzzle to figure out how to make sure everyone’s needs get met. 

I’m officially off of work for all of October and then starting in November I am coming back to a few select clients to slowly ramp back up my work schedule.

What I’m Doing to Grow My Business Right Now

  1.  I’m relying on the podcast episodes and emails I pre-scheduled to continue to grow my email list.
  2. I’m using spare moments when I have extra time while feeding my baby to network on social media and connect with other entrepreneurs. 
  3. I’m starting to plan and think through my 2024 goals so that when I do come back from leave I have a clear plan of action
  4. I am giving myself permission that it’s ok to not grow a ton in this season of life (which is challenging for me) but I truly do believe that sometimes you have to pull back and give yourself permission to just be present in life. 

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

Productivity Tools:

Podcasting:

  • Riverside – For recording podcast episodes and interviews 
  • Libsyn – For podcast hosting 
  • Microphone – For recording podcasts, events and videos 
  • Calendly – For scheduling guest interviews

Marketing and Business Operations:

Finance and Money:

Woo! We did it! I wrote all of this while the baby took a nap. It’s a little weird that this is going to be my workflow from now on – lots of interruptions and finding spare moments to work throughout the day,

I’ll see you next month! 

*This post may contain affiliate links. 

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