This blog series is all about my experience starting and growing Plum Tree Money. Follow along as I make mistakes, learn a lot, share how I do things, and help self-employed creatives build financial stability and freedom.
Here are previous posts in this series: September 2020 | August 2020 | July 2020 | June 2020 | May 2020
Major Life and Business wins for October 2020:
- Creatives Do Money podcast is ticking along!
- Completed my October Savings Challenge in full. $496 put aside for the winter holidays. And just in time, I ordered our lived-it’s-live-outside-eating-bugs-n-stuff turkey just yesterday from an upstate farm.
Goals + Intentions for October 2020 were:
- Create a strong system and structure for publishing Creatives Do Money podcast
- Balancing massage work and PTM work and staying healthy and happy
- 100 people on my email list
- Regular content going out on Instagram / FB
- 2 Blog posts up
- 1 general newsletter sent out
- 2 summary newsletters out for Plum Tree Community
- Plum Tree Community has 40 active members
- Client work complete, clients delighted and surprised
Skills I’m working on:
- Moving past limiting thoughts and beliefs with Thought Work
- Letting go of perfectionism.
- 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 and build the financial stability that fuels their creative future.
What I got done in October 2020:
- Photoshoot with Damaly Shepherd
- Amazing coaching call with Sarah Von Bargen of Yes and Yes
- Completed first events inside Plum Tree Community. I’m in love with Mighty Networks platform (that’s my referral link).
- Sent out 2 newsletters!!! Woot woot!
- Guested on the Visualise You and Adulting for Artists Podcasts
- Podcast episode 7 published and promoted: Social Media Strategist Marina Girgis talks Travel and Saving for Big Dreams
- Podcast episode 8 published and promoted: First Q&A Episode on Scarcity Mindset
- Podcast episode 9 published and promoted: Shifting Perspectives – my classical musician spouse and I talk money
- Podcast episode 10 published and promoted: Savings 101 for Self-Employed Creative
- Showed up as a guest on the Visualise You podcast with Beth Hewitt
- 1 blog post up about How to Free Up Cash to Put Towards Savings
- Showed up with energy, focus, and compassion for a bunch of client calls
- Email list….still at 23!! But then I have put 0 work into growing it.
Where I was in the weeds:
- Maintaining my momentum with Plum Tree Money while returning three days a week to my massage practice.
- Anxiety and overwhelm from world events plus always feeling like I’ve done nothing thanks to toxic productivity culture!
- Struggling to use my Thought Work tools to keep my mindset right
Current biggest challenge:
- Juggling priorities.
- Getting to the important rather than urgent tasks
- Creating good podcasting systems
THE NUTS AND BOLTS
Income (dollars in the bank, not invoices sent)
- Coaching $338.55
- Bookkeeping $376.25
Total: $714.80
Expenses
- Coaching for me with Sarah Von Bargen! $500
- Office supplies and software
- Acuity Scheduling $16
- GSuite $7
- Mailchimp $16
- Zoom $15
- Office supplies and software: Graphic design
- Canva $13 (that’s my referral link)
- Office supplies and software: Podcast
- Office supplies and software: Social media
- Later Social Media scheduler $9 (that’s my referral link)
- Virtual Assistant $126
- Big Pro Photoshoot with Damaly Shepherd
- Balance for package fee $2001
- Make-up and Hair $144.28
- Cabs $70.10
Total: $2,974.39
A note about these really high expenses this month. I don’t regret a penny. And I pulled about $1400 out of sinking funds to help pay for the photoshoot. For the rest, I cash-flowed all expenses with income from Plum Tree Money and my massage practice.
COMING NEXT MONTH
On the horizon: November 2020
- Write a lot of Standard Operating Procedures as I do podcast work, to prepare for assistance in the future and get myself organized
- Twice weekly Money Co-Working and Q&A events in the Plum Tree Community 💜
- Regular content going out on Instagram / FB
- Regular networking work each week, emails, social media connection, word of mouth
- Client work complete, clients delighted and surprised
And that’s a wrap for this month!
Nothing tickles me more than a creative solopreneur reaching their goals! What’s been one major win for you in your business in October 2020?