Here’s my June progress report to show how I’m doing in my photography side hustle. I skipped the May report as there wasn’t a lot to say.
TL;DR> Falling behind.
The numbers are as of June 1, 2016.
Goal Review
I have five goals for my photography side hustle in 2016:
- Gross income of $1,200
- Stock photography income of $50/month by end of year
- Net income of $700
- 2 paid work for hire gigs
- Write and publish one eBook
Here we go.
Gross Income
The gross income I’ve received is $426.31. If you look at that as 5/12 of what I need to reach my $1,200 goal, I’m below target.
I really only had one source of income for the period covered by this report, but it was a good one – I released my eBook!
I had some strong sales of the book, mostly at a discounted price. I’ll write another post about the eBook process but I’ll sum up by saying that I was pleased by the response. I’m encouraged and ready to start on another one.
I’ll talk about stock photography below, but suffice it to say that I should see a payout in a couple of months at the current rate.
Score: FALLING BEHIND
Stock Photography Income
April was pretty flat but May was strong with USD $17.51 in sales, my best month ever. Shutterstock was the strong agency, responsible for more than half of that. For most of the month I was selling at least one image a day through them!
I’m still way behind on submitting stock photos.
Score: GETTING BETTER
Net Income
My net income is growing positive, so it’s looking pretty good!
Score: ON TRACK
Work For Hire Gigs
No luck on the work for hire gigs yet but I’m not going to call it a failure yet.
Score: POOR
Write and Publish eBook
This one is done and done. You can buy it here!
I was very pleased by the response. I didn’t do a lot of lead-up advertising but when I released it, I had several people very excited and eager to purchase it and also to share the link to their friends. Sales were strong through Gumroad and I only had one return. Who returns an eBook? (shrug)
Related to writing, I had a second article published in a Canadian rail magazine! My photo was on the cover of the magazine again and I think it looked great. I haven’t started on a third one but I have the topic in hand.
Score: ACHIEVED
Summary
I feel that I am falling behind – I am failing at a couple, fair for one, on track for one, and one goal has been achieved. I’m starting to get concerned. I think next month will turn the tide for the better… I have a good feeling.
Steps For The Rest of April
- Update portfolio
- Submit more stock photos
- Look for paid gigs more aggressively