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Hi Reader,

I committed to sharing the behind-the-scenes experience when I began building my business. Why? I want to normalize what it means to build a business and be an entrepreneur. ⁠I also want to normalize talking about money, the mindset struggles, the daily celebrations… everything that goes into running an online business. ⁠

To this end, each month, I publish a monthly business review. It contains all the numbers (aka, objective data). I also share my mindset, celebrations, and upcoming goals. Because there is so much more to running a business than the numbers.

Without further ado…

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Reading Time: 03:00

Monthly Biz Review - December 2024

The wins

• Celebrated 3 years in business in December
• Rebranded in December
• Released a new offer in December, which I’m beta testing in The Playhouse this month
• Enjoyed 2 weeks off in December
• Grew my Instagram followers by nearly 20% in 2024
• Had more than 470 podcast downloads in 2024
• Grew my email list by 33% in 2024
• Sent more than 96 emails to my list in 2024
• Released 18 episodes of Here’s What I Learned Season 7 in 2024, the most episodes in a season yet
• Welcomed 3 new clients

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The hard stuff

As you know, if you’ve been reading these for the last few months, revenue has been down and I’ve been unable to pay myself a sufficient amount to cover my expenses. I drained my savings and hit the point of no options that will cover immediate needs and be a longer term solution.

My partner/boyfriend of 5.5 months was laid off in August, right before closing on his house. He’s struggled to find employment in his field and has relied on his generous severance package. But that runs out soon.

He suggested I move in with him to help us both. My immediate answer was “hell no!”

While we were friends for several months prior to dating, we are still in a very new relationship. I also had never intended to live with another human again (for lots of reasons) and I definitely didn’t want to move into someone else’s existing space again. And he lives 30 minutes away from most of my life (gym, hang outs, etc.)

But as time went on, and I searched for other options, reducing my housing costs was the only solution that made sense. To do that meant moving to lower quality apartments or getting a roommate (but still having to move because I have a one-bedroom).

So here we are. Today is the last day in my apartment. As of this evening, I will be living, temporarily, with my partner.

We’ve created a roommate agreement that covers everything from rent to handling conflicts, relationship priorities and each of our needs for alone time. Initially I was concerned for our relationship. That has passed. Now my worry is feeling like a constant visitor in someone else’s space, at least until the end of my “lease.” And generating enough recurring revenue that I will be able to move out come summer without worry.

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November Priorities

• Launch my rebranding on 12/23 (my bday) - ACCOMPLISHED
• Develop a quarterly systems audit workshop series, to be beta tested next month inside The Playhouse - ACCOMPLISHED
• Launch a weekly or monthly workshop/coworking event for The Playhouse - NOT ACCOMPLISHED
• Find a solution(s) to the immediate money-shortage challenges - SORTA ACCOMPLISHED (See Hard Stuff)

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And the numbers…

Revenue Breakdown

Clients = $2,085.84 (up from $1,870)

Other Services = $0

Total= $ (YTD = $41,076.84)

Misc Income

• Referral Partnership Payout = $0
• Interest = $0
• CC Cashback Rewards= $2.29
• Refunds= $0
• Part time job = $617

Total = $619.29

Expenses

CEO Salary = $765

Operating Expenses = $765.77

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Client Numbers

Number of Active Retainer Clients: 3 (no change)

Number of Project-Based Clients: 0

Number of Discovery Calls: 0

Instagram

Number of Followers: 436 (up from 431)

Accounts Engaged: 27 (down from 35)

Profile Visits: 35 (down from 53)

Website Visits: 3 (down from 6)

Email Newsletter

Subscribers: 121 (down from 125)

Average Open Rate: 59.47% (up from 57.14%)

Average Click Rate: 1.30% (up from 0.16%)

Podcast

Number of Episodes Released: 1

Number of Total Downloads (All-time): 1,312 (up from 1,238)

Website

Number of Users: 47 (down from 113)

Number of New Users: 40 (down from 107)

Pageviews: 96 (down from 303)
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What are my priorities for Q1 2025?

• Increase visibility and build thought leadership through podcast appearances, virtual summits, guest trainings, and networking events.
• Leverage LinkedIn to engage a new audience and extend my reach
• Develop an SEO strategy that generates traffic to my multiple channels

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What are my action steps for January?

1. Submit at minimum three pitches to either a podcast, virtual summit, or guest training
2. Attend at least one networking event per week
3. Actively engage in the Playhouse and host workshop series
4. Research LinkedIn best practices
5. Create a list of SEO keywords and phrases appropriate for my services and audience

Until next time,

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Have we met? Hi, I'm Jacki Hayes. I love to read (especially smutty romantasies featuring faeries or vampires), climb and then fall off bouldering walls, and camp in a tent. I'm a Mani-Gen, Enneagram 5, and enormous MCU geek.

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