Why I do this
I’ve been doing these income reports since September 2012. If you are new to the website, I do this for a number of reason:
1. So you know exactly where I make money. That way, you don’t have to wonder if I’m full of crap, if you can trust me, or if you can learn something.
2. So as to inspire you. Just today I was talking with an intern that is working with me. We have had a number of very honest conversations about money, how and where I make it and what the real numbers are. She said, “You just don’t learn this stuff in grad school.” Somehow along the way we began thinking that making money and serving people’s counseling needs were mutually exclusive. I disagree. I think there are smart, ethical, and life-affirming ways that we can make a living, while also looking out for those in our society that are hurting. If we are making a good wage, we are better positioned to help them.
3. To hold myself accountable. I’m not always the best with book-keeping and monitoring where and how I make money. This forces me to keep better track of my goals and outcomes. In fact, when I posted the December report another counselor on Facebook noticed that some of my numbers did not line up. It was great to have an extra set of eyes looking over how I make money, maybe I could call that “wikiaccounting.”
Let me thank those of you who have made it possible. Thank you for signing up for hosting through Blue Host, clicking on my occasional Google advertisement, and other affiliate links. Thanks for trusting me with your websites and for growing with me, you are all so awesome!
Here are links to my past earning reports:
January Happenings
January was a HUGE step forward for Practice of the Practice. I launched three podcasts in January. This was primarily because my wife was out of town and I had a bunch of time on my hands to do things once my daughter was asleep. I actually recorded six podcasts. The first one is about building your niche, then episodes two and three are about websites, website development, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Episode four, that will be released in a couple weeks, is all about getting referrals from doctors, pastors, and the community. Episode five is about building passive income through your counseling private practice. Lastly, episode six is all about creating amazing programs such as the SAIL Champion program and partnering within your community. These will be released through February and March.
What is amazing is that the podcast immediately boosted my rankings for the term “counseling private practice” in Bing and Yahoo, I am on the front page for both of those search engines. Also, it has been super fun to create. If you haven’t subscribed to the podcast and want to, there is a link on the right side of the article.
Also, as you’ll see I have had more subscribers to the 52-week Private Practice Creation newsletter. This allows me to help people more specifically, while also helping them grow their private practice. Lastly, by knowing that I have $80/month coming in every month, I can devote more time to creating new content.
Also, for one day I gave away my e-book Practice of the Practice | A Start-up Guide to Launching a Counseling Private Practice
1. It exposes people to my style in a way that is not “in your face” selling, rather, they can learn and hopefully think that my quality is good.
2. Counselors are growing their practices and telling other people about the book and website.
3. Some folks have clicked on the affiliate links within the book and thus provide a passive income stream for me.
Also, I started to really look at my Google Analytics and I discovered that a number of folks found the website by searching for “how to name a private practice,” “counseling practice names,” “ways to name a counseling practice,” “selecting a counseling private practice name,” and “how to name a counseling practice.” I was really surprised that Practice of the Practice is ranking so high for those search terms. As a result I have added another Google Ad there and will be watching to see if there is a return on adding that to the webpage.
Lastly, I was getting a number of legal questions. Rather than give a sad attempt at answering questions that are well outside of my expertise, I have teamed up with LegalZoom. Legal Zoom has been called “One of the 10 best digital tools for entrepreneurs in 2012″ by Forbes Magazine. The Wall Street Journal has said that their customer service is their “best feature.” The Huffington Post says, “Get top quality legal documents without paying top dollar.” Filing your LLC is something you can do on your own, but if you want to speed up the process or have in-depth questions, LegalZoom is a great option. As well, I am hoping to build my passive income a bit through referrals. I get 15% of what people purchase, without adding to their bill. Also, it is much cheaper than an attorney, so it is a win-win. In future months, you’ll see if I actually make any money at it. If you do use the link, thanks a lot, I really appreciate it!
In February I hope to continue to promote and grow the podcast, so if you love it, I’d love any word of mouth promotion, thanks in advance!
January 2013 Earning Report
What I’m going to be reporting and what I’m not going to be reporting
Full-time Job: Since some of you are new and some of you have been around Practice of the Practice for a while, I’m going to give a quick summary of where I make income. My full-time job is at a community college as a counselor. I love the job and it gives me great opportunities. Also, since my wife stays home with our daughter it is an income we can count on, health insurance, a pension, and a really great environment! I’m not going to disclose my full-time wages there, since it is not something that is part of my private practice.
Private Practice: I do 3-8 sessions a week in my private practice. I don’t take insurance, so it is private-pay. As a result, I don’t have many expenses in time or actual money. Included in my private practice money is time I spend doing supervision for LLPCs (Limited Licensed Professional Counselors), a 100 requirement in Michigan.
Passive Income: The term “passive” makes it sound like I don’t have to do work. What I mean is money that I make that is not in direct exchange for my time. I will outline what these are under each item.
How I made money in January 2013
Disclosure: many of the links below are affiliate links that will earn me a commission if you purchase through them. If you do, I really appreciate it and if you have any questions about any of the products or services please contact me! Also, if you don’t have a good experience with them, I want to know that too.
Counseling, consulting, and useful products
Private Practice (14 sessions) $1,716.
Other counselors, I have a counselor that works for my practice and I get a portion of what is brought in: $255
Building Websites for Counselors: $0
Paperwork Packet: $0
Consulting and LLPC Supervision: $480
E-book: $28, also several were borrowed through Kindle’s lending program, this may bring in a few extra dollars.
52-week e-newsletter to start a counseling private practice. Most of the kinks have been worked out. I think we are all good now: $75.28
Affiliate Marketing:
BlueHost Referrals $130
Amazon Affiliate Referrals $5.31
NameCheap Referrals: $12.95
Google Ads $4.55
LegalZoom: $0
I really can’t believe that it was another +$2,000 month! It really makes all of the time spent in early 2012 worth it creating content for the website. With that said, my primary income is still through my full-time job and doing counseling. My goal for February is to get at least 10 people to sign up for my
52-week Private Practice Creation Newsletter
$15 $10 per month
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
January 2013 total: $2,707.09
December 2012 total: $2,287.97
November 2012 total: $1,219.18
October 2012 total: $3,213.87
September 2012 was $1,361.60
Some of the numbers from Google Ads, Amazon, NameCheap, and my e-books will not be paid until they reach a certain amount or 60-90 days after the sale. I report what has been sold in the month it was sold.
Joseph R. Sanok, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC is blown away by all of the people enjoying and growing through his blog, Practice of the Practice. He also does counseling in Traverse City, MI at Mental Wellness Counseling. Also, he is the author of Mental Wellness Parenting | A remarkably simple approach to making parenting easier. To link to Joe’s Google+ .
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Photo from Creative Commons, thank you Kevin Dooley!
