This blog series is all about my experience starting and growing Plum Tree Money. Follow along as I make mistakes, learn a lot, educate others, and help creatives build financial stability and freedom.
Here are previous posts in this series: May 2020
Big News: I’m launching a podcast!!! Stay tuned 🙂
Goals + Intentions for June 2020 were:
- Start building engaged email list with lead magnet
- Get basic, functional website up and running
- Develop welcome process for new members of PTC and reach 6 members in the community
- Create an email welcome series for new email subscribers
Skills I’m (still) working on:
- Moving past limiting thoughts and beliefs with Thought Work
- Organizing my day according to energy (I do my best creative work between 9am and 12:30pm)
- Writing (SO. HARD.)
- Learning to be A-OK with just being myself, not trying too hard to polish and change to please others.
- Not getting high on approval and positive feedback. My job is to continue moving forward with creating value for my people: creative solopreneurs who want to learn to master their money.
What I got done in June 2020:
- Got my website up and running, where you are reading this!!
- Lead magnet complete! Three Simple Steps to Improve Your Finances Even When Your Money is a Mess is liiiiiiiiive!
- Explored work with freelance designers (with mixed results thanks to cheaping it. ha!)
- Created a three email series to welcome those that receive the lead magnet, and provide further free value
- Created a three email series for new Plum Tree Community members to help them with a strong start in the community
- Completed my custom set of budgeting spreadsheets (for those I can’t convince to switch to pen and paper)
- Completed the expense tracker templates that go with the Three Simple Steps Guide
- Completed my weekly Plum Plan Budget template (with leaves ? ❤️ )
- Created some welcome articles for the Plum Tree Community, including the key Progress Log tool
- Write my step-by-step guide to a Zero-based Budget blog post
- Welcome 5 people into the Plum Tree Community
- Decided to start the Plum Tree Money podcast!!
- Signed up for Jaclyn Mellone and Farnoosh Torabi‘s live course: Pays To Podcast
Where I was in the weeds:
- Writing was my bugaboo, taking too much time, and very disorganized. It’s improving, but this is still true.
- Sleep. This time because of fireworks all night every night in NYC.
- Not staying on top of my top level organization. I use a version of GTD and sometimes slacked on my review and planning part of the process. I would get an uneasy feeling and need to get back to it.
Current biggest challenge:
My small network of true colleagues (not just random folks I know through a Facebook group)
THE NUTS AND BOLTS
Income (dollars in the bank, not invoices sent)
$0
Expenses
- Graphic design $6
- Internet Expenses $504
- Mighty Networks Yearly Membership, GoDaddy Yearly Web Costs, Yearly Domain Expense
- Marketing $41
- Mailchimp + Class about Building e-Communities via Tad Hargrave
- Networking $44
- Education $697
- Podcasting Course + Huge Course Bundle
- Virtual Assistant (Christi is awesome) $72
Total: $1,364
Phew! There were some big expenses in June 2020. I was scared to spend the money, but I know 100% it’s all worth it. The biggest investments were the podcasting course, the community membership, and website hosting. They’re all important and necessary to the work I’m doing. I trust that if I keep moving forward, focus on service, and listen to feedback, I will earn back the money spent 10x <3
NEXT MONTH
On the horizon: July 2020
- Start creating the Plum Tree Money Podcast
- Homepage on website ready with lead magnet sign up
- Content plan and calendar set
- 4 Blog posts up
- Regular social media posting started
- Plum Tree Community has 20 active members
- Client work complete, free and paid