September 2024 Progress Report: 6 Months to a Profitable Online Business

Last Updated on November 13, 2024

Discover how Rachel created a profitable online business in 6 months with strategic flash sales, targeted email campaigns, and focused work hours with effective time management.

Welcome back to the 6th installment in the Progress Report series. We’re here again, elbow-deep in the entrepreneurial mud of Rachel’s new business, Seeds and Stalks, as she continues her journey to creating a profitable online business without social media, which in itself is a rebel move!

This series has peeled back the curtain on the gritty, not always pretty process of bootstrapping a business from the ground up.

With the kids back in school, September marked a turning point for Rachel, showcasing not just a return to routine but also her first profitable month, a milestone that speaks volumes about her resilience and the real effect childcare can have on a working mom’s business.

Join us as we uncover how she cut her expenses, boosted her course sales with a savvy flash sale, and continued to grow her online presence—all while keeping her business lean and focused. Ready to dive into Rachel’s lessons from a bustling summer and a transformative September? Let’s get started.

Summer 2024 Income: YES! A Profitable Online Business

• Gross Income: $285.85
  • Current Offers:
    • Be Your Own Herbalist 6 month Coaching Program Founding Member’s Price $100/month for 6mo
    • The Fatigue Breakthrough for Moms Course – $197
    • Family Health Checkup Custom Video – $37
    • Build Your Home Apothecary Course – $27

• Expenses: $147.98
  • Continuing Education: $74.25
  • Success with Soul Revenue Share: $73.73

• Net profit: $137.87

Oh my goodness, this marks the first month that I’m net positive in my business! I know it’s a bit of a false positive because I’ve paid for several expenses with an annual plan so that I don’t have monthly payments, but, man does it feel good to report a positive number! 

One thing that contributed to the profit this month was that I am still keeping my expenses as lean as possible. I unsubscribed to a few monthly expenses because they weren’t absolutely critical (looking at you Loom).

I also reminded myself how many continuing education resources that I already have and I unsubscribed from a monthly membership. It feels good to keep my expenses as simple and lean as possible in this start-up phase.

And since I switched my banking to Relay, I am finding it so much easier to track my expenses and profit. It’s a good reminder for me to continue to say no to purchasing additional courses/programs right now while prioritizing revenue generation!

Another thing that contributed to my revenue this month was having a flash sale on my Fatigue Breakthrough course.

I did a 72 hour flash sale where the price was just $7. I ended up making 6 sales which brought in a small but meaningful amount of revenue. And making some sales was AMAZING for my morale. It felt like a milestone to have some people that I didn’t know purchasing my course.

I sent 2 emails for my flash sale and each email I sent resulted in several sales. So it’s a good reminder to ask for the sale.

I can’t emphasize enough how good and motivating making daily sales feels!

(PS: did you know that Kate cracked the code on making $500/day of digital product sales? Join her in the $1k/Day Experiment were she’ll take her daily sales to 1k/day and document her progress.)

Traffic Totals

Overall, I saw a slight decrease from last month in terms of traffic and users to my site. This is July’s snapshot and August was nearly identical.

This month I did not publish any new content and I’m not going to lie, I’m a little disappointed in myself that I haven’t been able to consistently publish content.

We actually had a great Launch Lab call about this issue where someone asked: what is the bare minimum SEO optimization to do on a post that lets you still get it out there and published. And here’s what we said on the call: 

The bare minimum requirements for an SEO-optimized blog posts starts with choosing a topic and conducting quick keyword research. This involves spending no more than 10-15 minutes looking for a keyword that meets basic criteria—usually a search volume over 200 and a search difficulty below 30. Once the keyword is chosen,  shift the focus to writing the dang post without getting bogged down in advanced SEO strategies. Keep in mind some of the formatting tips for optimized blog posts like breaking the text into sections using H1, H2, and H3 headings, including images every 500 words, and using bold text help improve the blog’s readability and overall user experience. Remember that your blog post doesn’t have to be a novel that covers everything under the sun!

I am committing to publishing 10 blog posts between now and the end of the year and am going to take this advice to heart and see what it does to my organic search traffic!

Email List Growth

Note: this screenshot comes from my dashboard in Kartra.

• Email List Growth:  110 new active email subscribers in September 2024

This month I participated in 1 bundle which brought in over 100 leads to my list!

I also saw a few new leads from past bundles/partnerships that I previously contributed in. I was very excited to see my email list grow again after taking the summer off.

It’s a good reminder that a priority in my business needs to be getting in front of new eyes. I am participating in a few more bundles between now and the end of the year and I can’t wait to see how my list continues to grow. 

I am actively searching out visibility opportunities. I’m not waiting for people to come to me. If you want to learn more about how I set up visibility opportunities and find aligned partnerships, checkout our course: Painless Publicity! 

My current list building Freebies are: 

• Build Your Herbal First Aid Kit
• 5 Day Energy Kickstart mini-course

Domain Authority

Note: DA is a ranking metric developed by Moz that predicts how well a site will rank on Google, and is measured on a scale of 1 to 100. The closer you are to 100, the more traffic and better ranking you’ll have.

Clearly I have some work to do in this area! One way that I’ll be working to improve my domain authority is by following the advice and teachings found in the SEO Course (also in MBA) about publishing high quality consistent content so that I can show Google that I’m a reputable website and increase my E-A-T!

Hours Worked: 40 hours

I’ve been working only about 10 hours per week on my business this month. Ever since the kids are back at school, it’s been so much easier to devote time to my business.

My time is spent serving my existing clients, co-working with my peer mastermind, writing weekly emails, looking for and participating in collaborations, and direct outreach. 

Rachel’s Takeaways

What I focused on this month:

Getting back into my routines and devoting time to my business! After a rough summer with lack of childcare, I was able to get back into the groove of things in September. I started implementing my weekly Planning Power Hour, which has helped me manage my time effectively and prioritize what’s important. 

In September, I was able to: 

• Focus on service delivery to my clients (plus continued sales and marketing to potential clients.)
• Finished my Kartra course migration and hosted a flash sale for my course, The Fatigue Breakthrough where I made 6 sales. 
• Participated in 1 bundle where I got over 100 new leads. 
• Created a masterclass called Get Started Using Herbs in 3 Easy Steps that I’m hosting in October. 
• Participated in my peer led mastermind with 2 other entrepreneurs. This is going to be an amazing opportunity for brainstorming and accountability. We are meeting twice a month and have an ongoing Voxer chat. It’s already been so helpful in feeling like I’m not alone. 

Thoughts + Self-Coaching

Looking back on September, I am proud of what I accomplished. I made a net profit in my business. I served 3 amazing women and helped them improve their health with herbs, I added over 100 new people to my email list, I migrated to Kartra and feel SO good about my tech and systems in my business, I did direct outreach to connect with clients, I applied for 3 new bundles that are coming up before the end of the year.

Wow, that feels really good to write that. And I’m hosting a webinar/masterclass next month to give value to my audience as well as pitch my Family Health Check-up offer. I’m excited and pumped about the direction my business is headed. 

Goals for October 2024

• Host masterclass: Get Started Using Herbs to Take Care of your Family in 3 Easy Steps!
• Participate in 2 bundles (and apply for at least 2 more)
• Publish 2 blog posts

• My guiding wisdom for next month:
  • How can I bring value to my audience and serve them? 
• My guiding feeling for next month:
  • Contentment 
• My mantra for next month: 
  • I am the CEO of my business and people WANT to work with me.

Kate’s Takeaways: What it Takes to Build a Profitable Online Business

One of the reasons I love writing these takeaways at the end is because as a third-party observer it’s really easy for me to notice patterns and connect the dots between action and impact in a way that’s not always possible when your nose is to the grindstone. So here’s what I noticed this month as Rachel’s coach:

1. Childcare Matters: This month really highlighted the undeniable value of dedicated work time. With the kids back in school, Rachel could finally breathe and focus. This shift allowed her to dive deeper into her business without the constant distractions of kids at home. The result? Not only did she feel more in control, but she also saw tangible progress in her business operations and profitability. It’s a powerful reminder that sometimes, investing in support systems like childcare is a necessary part of growing a profitable online business because (spoiler!), you do actually have to make time to work on your business to get results 😉
2. Flash Sales Fuel Fire: Rachel’s decision to run a 72-hour flash sale was a brilliant tactical move. By creating urgency and offering a tangible value, she not only boosted her revenue but also attracted new customers who might not have engaged otherwise. This approach not only brought in immediate cash flow but also expanded her audience, proving that well-timed, well-executed promotions can lead to significant short-term gains and potential long-term followers.
3. Ask for What You Want: Rachel’s first month in the black was no surprise when you read about what she did. She asked for the sale, and for what she wanted. She didn’t wait around to be invited, she made something happen with her bundle contributions, flash sales and direct asks. That is at the heart of what it takes to create a profitable online business.
4. Persistence Pays Off: It took Rachel a full six months to reach a net-positive profit. And that’s relatively fast! According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, most startups don’t see a profit until the end of their second year. If you’re kicking off your business thinking you’ll rake in the big bucks by month two, you’re setting yourself up for a world of disappointment. Success in entrepreneurship isn’t instant. It’s about continuing to show up, day after day, especially when it’s hard and uncomfortable. The path to profitability is a marathon, not a sprint. But it’s so worth it!

Each of these actions Rachel took had a direct, positive impact on her business, showing us that strategic choices, no matter how small, can lead to substantial outcomes.

Reader Questions

Each month, I feature one question about online business from a reader. Submit your question in the comments and I’ll answer one next month!

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