Unfortunately, things take time 🤪

April’s gross vs. net revenue

šŸ’Œ What’s happening this week:

  • April gross vs. net revenue

  • Journaling prompt: šŸ‘©ā€šŸ³ Ingredients to make me 

  • Different routines to support you

  • More journaling prompts for cultivating self-love

ā€œMoney Diaries: April’s gross vs. net revenueā€

I have to say, I’m very proud of myself for showing up after my adult gap year and making a conscious effort to put myself out there again and actually SELL. If you’re also a business owner or freelancer, you may know the feeling of ā€˜being rusty’ with sales and then letting all of that impact your confidence.

I had that same reminder these past weeks as I was drafting up social media posts to say I’m openly looking for clients.

For 2 years, I didn’t actively sell online, and when I did, it was kinda sporadic šŸ˜…

I barely put myself out there, I was nervous about what people would say if I said I was open for clients (would they judge me in thinking I sucked because I had no work?!), and I felt so silly trying to ~sell~ my offers.

I thought if I did good enough work, my clients would refer me and I wouldn’t need to do or say ANYTHING… people would eventually show up and ask for my availability.

As someone who works in marketing - this is NOT what you want to be doing 😬

Now that I’m in a different headspace, I feel MUCH more confident in my work (and where my work ends and me, Cassandra the human, begins), I’m showing up again and actively selling.

Funny how it is when you muster up the courage to put yourself out there, sometimes our mind plays tricks and thinks ā€œOK, I DID IT… PEOPLE WILL NOTICE AND I’LL REACH MY GOAL TOMORROW.ā€

Well, that was me, like… yesterday 🤪 After mustering up the courage to put myself out there, sell, diversify my income streams, pivot the business, and all the other things…

Silly ol’ me thought:

  • ā€œOk, Cassandra, you finally took the first step to make a change!!ā€

  • ā€œYOU’RE CHANGING!!ā€

  • ā€œPeople are going to swoop in and be so excited to support you!!ā€

  • ā€œThis is going to be so easy now because you did the hard part, which is starting.ā€

  • ā€œTHE UNIVERSE SEES YOU TRUSTING AND WILL REWARD YOU!!ā€

Sigh, jokes on me (again)... my reminder is that unfortunately, THINGS TAKE TIME. Which means starting something new and taking action towards change is just the first step…

Now, it’s about building new habits, routines, and systems to support that change for the long run…

Meaning taking diligent action and showing up consistently 😭 WHY IT GOTTA BE LIKE THAT!

Anyway, alls this to say… we’re back with another Money Diaries šŸ’ø breaking down April’s gross vs. net revenue - thanks to the diligent action and consistency I showed myself in April, we secured a stable revenue stream.

Let’s break it all down, and btw, if you didn’t catch March’s Money Diaries, you can read it here. 

April’s Gross vs. Net Revenue

*Just a reminder that gross is before taxes and expenses and net is what I get to keep!

GROSS REVENUE = 3353€

  • Education (professor role)

  • Marketing consulting (2 contracts)

  • Plans to Progress Lounge Membership

Where my clients came from:

  • Repeat clients

  • Referral

APRIL EXPENSES = 1111,77€

  • Accounting fees

  • Freelancer registration fees in Spain

  • Cloud storage

  • Internet & phone

  • Canva

  • A marketing membership

  • A Creator membership

  • Scheduling tool for social media

  • This newsletter platform

  • My membership platform

  • Renewed hosting for 2 websites

  • A ticket to a planning and journaling conference in 2026

Key expenses (out of the norm):

  • Renewed hosting for 2 websites (I pay annually)

  • A ticket to a planning and journaling conference

NET REVENUE = 2241,23€

I got MUCH closer to reaching my monthly revenue goal of 4.000€, and now that I’ve secured the freelance Content Specialist role, that will help me bring in more stable revenue moving forward! We’ll check back at the end of May to see how this helps things.

Another thing I’m proud of is that I’m setting aside a buffer for my business to help when months are low in revenue. So far, I’ve got about 3 months of expenses saved. The goal is to set aside 6 months of savings to pay for my business expenses and my regular take-home salary.

Lemme just say that all of these things are uncomfortable for me, but definitely bring me peace of mind. And that’s what I want now, more peace of mind and space to be able to intentionally respond to life and all its potential circumstances. ā¤ļøļø

āœļø THIS WEEK’S JOURNALING PROMPT

ā€œIf you had to write down a recipe to make yourself, what would the ingredients be and the process to make a YOU?ā€

I love this journaling prompt because it’s so silly and also visual! šŸ˜ If you had to tell someone how to make you, ingredients and all, what would that recipe card look like?

šŸ’» THINGS THAT STUCK OUT TO ME ON THE INTERNET

šŸ—“ PREPARING FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

šŸ’„ DOING ONE SCARY THING

I love planning and dreaming (hello, I am a Pisces sun and Virgo moon šŸ˜…), and while those two things help me to make aligned decisions and show up intentionally, the biggest thing that helps me move forward is actually taking action on the scary thing.

This past week, I did a few ā€˜scary’ things like:

  • Start my new freelance role (and felt like a total n00b again)

  • Said yes to being a vendor at an in-person market in Toledo

  • Post on LinkedIn and Instagram that I’m looking for clients (and in a new area - creative workshops for journaling and planning)

And as much as I will say MAKE TIME TO PLAN and PLANNING HELPS YOU RESPOND INTENTIONALLY…

Doing one scary thing will help you build confidence to continuously show up!

🌻 GOODIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

Journaling has been my most consistent habit for over 10 years. Having the right prompts or questions for my journaling practice makes a big difference. In this video, I’m sharing 3 journaling prompts for self-love and growth - from beginner to advanced - that I hope help guide you in your journaling sessions šŸ’–

šŸ¤ HOW TO WORK TOGETHER

Want to work together to create time and space for intentional connections? Here are a few ways to do that through marketing support, journaling, and education.

Well, this newsletter got to be much longer than I imagined, but I hope it served you in some way!

This weekend we went to a pizza tournament with friends (I mean… best thing ever?!), had an early birthday celebration for the boo, and I spent A LOT of time sewing bookmarks and book covers for my first in-person market! 

I hope your next week is filled with courageous action towards the thing that will move the needle forward in living your most intentional life.

Until then…

šŸ’– #stayfierce,
Cassandra 

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