When I started Bucksome Boomer in July 2009, the idea of it becoming a business was not in my realm of possibilities. Only after reading the success stories of other bloggers and expanding my knowledge, did I start to think about it.
During the past year, it became something I definitely wanted to do as I started earning money from my endeavors. Hearing the advice to have a separate account once you hit a certain amount of annual blog income pushed me into action.
Registering as a Business
This is the year I started the official business. After research and speaking with two different lawyers who are also bloggers, it didn’t seem I needed to incorporate.
As the single proprietor of this fledgling empire, I decided to register a fictitious business name also referred to as a DBA. My business is now known as KLA Media after paying the $30 fee and another $12 to publish it in the paper four weeks in a row.
I then paid for a business license in the city of San Diego which was a cost of $51. Next steps are to open a checking account and get a credit card in the business name to help me separate income and expenses from my personal finances.
Blogging Goals Update
I started the year with four blog goals for 2011 and thought it would be a good idea to see how I’m doing.
1. Subscribers – The starting count of subscribers in 2011 was 315 subscribers which has grown to 490. I’m just about halfway to my goal of 1,000 by the end of the year and am giving a $25 Amazon card to one subscriber in appreciation.
2. E-book – Instead of working on an e-book, I launched a new blog, Two Savvy Sisters, with my sister (hence the name). It’s focused on deals, giveaways and freebies. Only giveaways related to personal finance will be hosted on this blog from now on.
3. Income – My goal for income is $1,000 a month. It hasn’t been that much the first quarter, but close. The problem was January was extremely slow due to holiday hangover from advertisers. Hopefully, it will pick up in later months to make up for that.
4. Newsletter – The goal is to publish the first newsletter during the second quarter. After trying out one popular contact management program and finding it too complicated, I ended up with MailChimp. I guess it really is easy enough that monkeys can use it!)
You can subscribe to the newsletter now and maybe you’ll win a second $25 Amazon card. My first newsletter will be out later this month.
I wouldn’t have this fledging business without readers so thank you. Please continue to leave comments. If you have any ideas on what you’d like to read or about the blog, please send them to me. Here’s to a successful 2nd quarter!
{ 15 comments }
Bucksome, I’m really impressed with both your progress and your future goals. It’s always fun to find other women who are personal finance bloggers. How are you monetizing your blog? Is that something you share with readers?
Julie
It’s so exciting to hear that you’ve been able to turn your blog into a business within just two years. I started my blog in 2007 and added Google Adwords at some point, but only made $100 total over the years. So I gave up on that and decided I’d get rid of advertising until my traffic and Alexa rank meant that it makes sense to add ads to my blog. I still dream of the day I can supplement my income with blogging about the things I care about most.
It’s great to see you making progress Kay Lynn! Here’s to further success 🙂
Bucksome, I love how you decided to talk to a few different Attorneys to determine the appropriate route. I went right out and incorporated which I would have had to eventually but not in month one, year one.
I really am looking forward to meeting you at the Financial Bloggers Conference. Girl Power! It will be so much fun.
@ Her Every Cent Counts, there are alternate advertising options in our niche. Stick with the Yakezie and there will be group campaigns available.
@ Laura, thanks for your kind words.
@ Smart Money Chicks, I don’t know if I would have done as much research if the fees weren’t so high in California! I love the number of women PF bloggers and look forward to meeting you too.
Congrats on your progress. I have registering as a business as a fuzzy goal too. It’s fuzzy because I decided I wasn’t going to do anything like that until I had finished my book ….
You certainly have lots of material for the book. I would love to hear about how it is coming along.
Great Progress! I am in awe of you ability produce a steady income from blogging. Striving to do the same.
Sounds like some great goals! Good job Bucksome. Keep sticking with it and it will be no time when you start hitting those revenue marks!
Sam
@Lisa, I owe a lot of it to learning from other bloggers who are much better negotiators. (But I have other talents, LOL).
@ Yakezie, I think you’re right. Together we can all meet our goals!
Love your progress.
Which contact company did you not like? I am using a-weber, and it took some getting used to.
That was the one I didn’t like. I know a lot of people do, but I think I’m pretty smart and found it more difficult than it should be.
I am so impressed with your success thus far. Like Julie, I am also curious what methods you use for monetizing. I see some adsense, but do you use other methods too? This is a timely topic as I am also wondering if now is the best time to register as a business or not.
Good work! I like seeing your progress. I would love to some day make $1,000 a month from my blog but that is a long way off! I’ll watch your progress with great interest.
@Denise, I have other ads, affiliate links and sponsored posts. All of these (with Adsense) are included in the revenue figures.
@ Melissa, thanks for the kind words.
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