May 2019 Income At-A-Glance

Gross Income for May: $178,218

Total Expenses for May: $36,458

Total Net Profit for May: $141,760

Difference b/t May & April: +$4,960

% of net profit to overall gross revenue: 79.5%

Why We Publish An Income Report

This monthly income report is created for you, Fire Nation!

By documenting the struggles we encounter and the successes we celebrate as entrepreneurs every single month, we’re able to provide you with support – and a single resource – where we share what’s working, what’s not, and what’s possible.

There’s a lot of hard work that goes into learning and growing as an entrepreneur, especially when you’re just starting out. The most important part of the equation is that you’re able to pass on what you learn to others through teaching, which is what we aim to do here.

Let’s IGNITE!

**We’ll receive a commission on the affiliate links below. If you click on my affiliate link and sign up for the products and services I trust and recommend, then I will earn a commission.

Josh Bauerle’s Monthly Tax Tip

What’s up Fire Nation, my name is Josh Bauerle. I’m a CPA and the Founder of CPA On Fire, where we specialize in working with entrepreneurs to minimize their tax liability while keeping them in line with the ever-changing tax laws.

I’ve been working with JLD & Kate at Entrepreneurs On Fire for years now, and they’ve included me in these monthly income reports with unlimited access to all their accounts so I can verify that what they report here is complete and accurate.

And because they believe in delivering an insane amount of value to you, my job doesn’t stop at the verification level; I also provide a new tax and accounting tip every month!

Josh’s May Tax Tip: Are my workers employees or contractors?

It’s a question that comes up for business owners all the time. For some business owners, it’s a question they don’t even know they should be asking. So it’s one we try to answer every year in these income report tax tips: are my workers employees or contractors?

It’s an extremely important question, because they’re treated very differently for tax purposes. Get it wrong, and the Government may hold you responsible!

The biggest difference between an employee and a contractor is how much you, the business owner, have to pay, and how much work you have to do to pay them.

If they’re a contractor, you simply pay them the amount they made.

You don’t have to worry about taxes, withholdings, workers comp, etc.

But if they are an employee, you not only have to pay a 7.6% payroll tax on the amount you pay them, you will be responsible for all the tax withholdings, paying those taxes to the IRS, state and local taxing agencies, and likely paying workers comp insurance.

So how do you determine the difference between an employee and a contractor?

In a word: control.

If you’re controlling when, where, and how the person works, and also controlling who else they can work for, chances are you have an employee.

But if it’s more of a task-oriented job, where you tell them to do XYZ by a certain date, and they control when, where, and how they work, along with being allowed to work for whoever else they want, it’s more likely a contractor.

The best thing I can advise here is to use your own common sense.

The Internet has made things a little more complicated than they were when virtual workers didn’t exist, but it still really comes down to being honest with yourself.

Are you controlling the employment aspects of those working for you?
Are you demanding they work certain hours?
Are you allowing them to work for other people?

If you have that control, you almost certainly have an employee.

But if you truly do not exercise any control over how the job is done – only in that it gets done – you can almost certainly call them a contractor.

And finally, make sure the person working for you understands very clearly what their classification is and what the tax consequences of that classification are.

The number one reason employers get hit with calling employees contractors is the people working with them are shocked to learn they were in fact responsible for all their own taxes, and then they complain to the IRS that they weren’t actually contractors.

You can solve that by educating them ahead of time and making sure they are prepared for the hit come tax time.

If the people working for you are employees, I highly, highly recommend using a reputable payroll company to handle all of the ins and outs of payroll taxes for you.

If you only have contractors, you are just fine handling it all yourself, as the most you will ever have to do is issue them a 1099 at year end.

The most important thing is getting this distinction right.

If you aren’t positive what your workers should be considered, then ask a qualified CPA and/or attorney. It’s worth spending the extra money to make sure you get this one right!

As always, please feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss what would be best for YOUR business. I LOVE chatting with Fire Nation!

David Lizerbram’s Legal Tip

What is the Single Enterprise Doctrine?

Lots of business owners believe that if they separate their business into several entities (such as LLCs or S-corps), each business will be insulated from the liabilities of the other.

In some states, the Single Enterprise Doctrine makes this not the case.

This is an example of “what you don’t know can hurt you”.

So what is the Single Enterprise Doctrine?

It holds that a “sister company” may be held liable for the debts of a separate, though related, company.

That might sound like a lot of legalese, but what it means is that in some states, if you have multiple companies (LLCs or corporations) with the same ownership, the companies could be liable for each other’s debts.

For example, let’s say Sally is a doctor with her own medical practice. She owns the building where she practices, and she has other doctors working for her.

Many doctors in Sally’s situation will separate their business into multiple entities, such as LLCs. One LLC may own the building, another may manage the medical practice, another might lease the equipment.

And each doctor in the practice may be acting as their own separate “professional corporation”.

Now imagine someone gets injured in the building’s parking lot and brings a large lawsuit.

Sally might think that her medical practice LLC wouldn’t be affected, because that’s a legal entity that’s separate from the one that owns the building. But in some circumstances, the plaintiff may be able to go after all of Sally’s legal entities under the Single Enterprise Doctrine.

There are a lot of factors that go into whether or not the Single Enterprise Doctrine can be used to go after multiple companies, and they vary from state to state, and from case to case.

The point of this tip is: don’t assume that because you’ve formed multiple legal business entities, the assets of one business are protected from the liabilities of another!

Be sure to consult with an experienced business attorney before a problem arises.

If you have questions about how to best protect your business assets, please feel free to contact me!

What Went Down In May

Tony Robbins & Dean Graziosi’s Knowledge Business Blueprint Launch

What happens when Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi team up to launch an online course called Knowledge Business Blueprint on Masterminds?

One word: magic!

Knowledge Business Blueprint has been named the biggest online course launch in HISTORY.

The initial Live Cast Tony and Dean hosted to share KBB with the world had over 250,000 attendees on LIVE!

And over 17,000 individuals have invested in the Knowledge Business Blueprint.

Impressive is an understatement.

We are very grateful for the opportunity to team up with Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi on this launch as affiliate partners.

Essentially, we believe so strongly in the KBB Course that we want to share it with Fire Nation!

How affiliate partnerships work

Before I get into the details of this launch specifically, let me share a quick background on affiliate partnerships and how they work:

You find products, courses, services that you believe in and trust;
You confirm they’re a great fit for your audience (can help them on their journey);
You reach out to the owner / creator and inquire about an affiliate program;
If one exists, you sign up;
You provide value to your audience on the subject / topic of the thing you’re promoting, and then share your affiliate link for them to use if they want to join.

Affiliate relationships aren’t anything new, but there has been a steady evolution with how many affiliate programs are set up.

How affiliate programs are set up

At the very baseline, you have an agreement with a company to share their products or services with your audience, and if you’re able to convert via your affiliate link, you receive a commission from the creator.

Affiliate commissions typically range from 40-50% of the total investment for a virtual product. If you’re talking physical products, or services that require a lot of time, then the commissions will vary and be more in the 30% range.

Most programs will have an affiliate dashboard, where you can:

Login to access tools and resources that will help you with your promotions. This might include images, copy samples, emails, etc.
Find your stats. Things like number of clicks, opt in’s, and conversions are kept up to date so you can track and measure your progress.
Track your commissions earned and paid.

More advanced affiliate programs that are used specifically for course launches include a Private Facebook Group and a leaderboard, which creates a competition amongst the affiliate partners.

The creator managing the affiliate program might have prizes for top opt in’s and for top sales, ranging from cash prizes to full-on trips.

Our stats from the KBB Launch

Now that you have a solid background on what affiliate partnerships are and how they work, we want to share a bit about how the KBB Launch turned out!

We knew we had our work cut out for us from the very start. As with most affiliate launches of this caliber, there was a competitive leaderboard and some huge prizes on the line.

But our full focus from the start: being able to communicate to Fire Nation how insanely valuable the KBB Course is, and why they should want to invest.

Knowledge Business Blueprint did not come with a small investment tag: $2,000.

However, what Tony & Dean were including in this package was nothing short of MASSIVE VALUE.

Not only did the $2,000 investment get you lifetime access to the KBB Course itself, it also included:

1 year subscription to MindMint, a software Tony & Dean created to help you plan and run your masterminds
1 year access to Dean’s high-level group and training
Access to Tony’s high-level mastermind content
The exact funnels Russell Brunson uses to lead into high-level masterminds

And with our affiliate link, we also added fuel to the fire with our own bonus package.

This is a strategy many affiliates use in situations like this to convince their audience that using their affiliate link over someone else’s is the way to go.

Our affiliate bonus package, which we call the JLD Bonus Experience, included:

First 25 to buy get a 2-day mastermind in Puerto Rico w/ JLD
A 4 week Private FB Group just for our KBB members who join through our affiliate link
A 20-min one-on-one strategy call w/ JLD
A testimonial from JLD
A 15-min interview w/ JLD
A 2-hour systems & team training with Kate

Woah… you see what we did there? :)

We’re basically making it irresistible to use our affiliate link to join KBB, because when you do, you’ll not only receive everything Tony & Dean offered, you’ll also receive every bonus we offered.

So what happened when it was go-time?

We wasted 0 minutes. As soon as the KBB Launch opened (the course wasn’t available yet, but promotions started for Tony & Dean’s Live Cast, where they would talk about running Masterminds and the KBB Course), we were on it.

Here’s what we did to promote KBB

Note: the call to action / goal of every content structure below was to get people to sign up for the Live Cast with Dean and Tony.

Once the Live Cast had happened, it became our goal to drive as much traffic to our Bonus page, which included a video and explanation of the JLD Bonus Experience.

Podcast episode with Tony Robbins – CTA: Live Cast
Podcast episode with Dean Graziosi – CTA: Live Cast
Podcast episode with Russell Brunson – CTA: Live Cast
Email to Fire Nation – CTA: Live Cast
Facebook Ads ($8,800 spent) – CTA combo: multiple ads, each leading to either Live Cast or our Bonus page
Bonus page to promote our JLD Bonus Experience – CTA: Invest in KBB Using Our Affiliate Link
Solo episode on EOFire: John talking about Masterminds – CTA: Invest in KBB Using Our Affiliate Link
Late team-up with Selena Soo to create a Bonus Experience that included time with her AND JLD (she promoted this to her audience)

The Results

The leaderboard was changing every single day, but yours truly managed to stay in the top 10 for the entire launch.

Through the podcast episodes and the content we created, we were able to communicate the value and benefits of joining KBB to Fire Nation.

And let me tell you: the conversations going on in our Private Facebook Group that’s a part of our bonus experience are INSANE.

So many incredible breakthroughs, ah-ha moments, and actions being taken – it’s so awesome to be a part of it!!

We closed out the launch with 279 sales, leaving John at #7 on the leaderboard – with an invite to Fiji for a Mastermind with Tony Robbins!

John will also be attending a party for all affiliates with more than 10 sales in Las Vegas in August, and then attending Business Mastery with Tony Robbins that same week.

Want to check out the current Knowledge Business Blueprint offering? Visit EOFire.com/kbb for all the details!

Podcasters’ Paradise Updates

Coming to next month’s income report! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 2019 Income Breakdown*

Product/Service Income: $145,691

TOTAL Journal sales: 419 Journals for a total of $11,118

The Freedom Journal: Accomplish your #1 goal in 100 days!

TheFreedomJournal.com: $160 (1 Hardcovers & 4 Digital Packs)
Amazon: $3,739 (158 Freedom Journals sold!)
Total: $3,899

The Mastery Journal: Master Productivity, Discipline and Focus in 100 days!

TheMasteryJournal.com: $55 (0 Hardcovers & 2 Digital Packs)
Amazon: $2,645 (101 Mastery Journals sold!)
Total: $2,700

The Podcast Journal: Idea to Launch in 50 Days!

ThePodcastJournal.com: $130 (3 Hardcovers & 0 Digital Pack)
Amazon: $4,389 (150 Podcast Journals sold!)
Total: $4,519

Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 Podcasting community in the world!

Recurring: $22,696 (197 monthly, 1 annual, 1 Total Launch Package)
New members: $9,113 (29 new members)
Total: $31,809

Real Revenue: Turn your BIG IDEA into Real Revenue

New members: $585 (13 new members)

The Revenue Crew: An Elite Mastermind ON FIRE!

Currently closed to new members

Podcast Sponsorship Income: $96,826

Podcast Websites: $5,000

Podcast Launch: Audiobook: $252 | eBook: $101

Free Courses that result in the above revenue:

Your Big Idea: Discover your big idea in under an hour!

Free Podcast Course: Create and launch your own podcast!

Funnel On Fire: Create a funnel that converts!

Affiliate Income: $32,527

*Affiliate links below – if you click on my affiliate link and sign up for the products and services I trust and recommend, then I will earn a commission.

Resources for Entrepreneurs: $24,434

Audible: $162
BlueHost: $495 Step-by-step guide and 23 WordPress tutorials included! Disclaimer: This is my affiliate link and I will receive a commission if you sign up through my link
Click Funnels: $23,497
Coaching referrals: $162 (email me for an introduction to a mentor for overall online business or a Podcast focused mentor!)
ConvertKit: $67
Disclaimer Template: $0 (legal disclaimers for your website)
Fizzle Mastermind: $151
Virtual Staff Finder: $0

Courses for Entrepreneurs: $2,824

Create Awesome Online Courses by DSG: $1,579
Digital Course Academy by Amy Porterfield: $651
Boost Blog Traffic by Jon Morrow: $594
Opesta by Ethan Sigmon: $0
Digital U by Eben Pagan: $0
Facebook Ad training by Dan Henry: $0
Closers On Fire by Dan Lok: $0

Resources for Podcasters: $1,968

Pat Flynn’s Fusebox Podcast Player: $12
Podcasting Press: $102
Designrr: $172
Tim Paige’s Make My Intro: $300
Libsyn: $1,257 (Use promo code FIRE for the rest of this month & next free!)
UDemy Podcasting Course: $125

Other Resources: $3,301

Amazon Associates: $313
Other: $2,988

Total Gross Income in May: $178,218

Business Expenses: $33,864

Advertising: $5,599
Affiliate Commissions (Paradise): $2,818
Accounting: $350
Cost of goods sold: $1,463
Fulfillment (Shipwire): $2,760
Design & Branding: $308
Dues & Subscriptions: $192
Education: $2,041
Legal & Professional: $1,286
Meals & Entertainment: $636
Merchant / bank fees: $1,439
Amazon fees: $5,426
PayPal fees: $155
Shopify fees: $4
Office expenses: $741
Community Refunds: $821
Promotional: $223
Travel: $3,930
Virtual Assistant Fees: $3,426
Website Fees: $246

Recurring, Subscription-based Expenses: $2,594

Adobe Creative Cloud: $100
Boomerang: $50 (team package)
Bonjoro: $45
Authorize.net: $70
Cell Phone: $243
Google Suite: $50
Internet: $80
eVoice: $10
Infusionsoft CRM: $309
Insurance: $648
Libsyn: $155
Chatroll: $49
Shopify: $68
Linktree: $6
Sumo: $29
TaxJar: $19
Telestream: $43
Taxes & Licenses: $523
Thrive Cart: $37
Zapier: $15
Xero: $30
Zoom: $15

Total Expenses in May: $36,458

Payroll to John & Kate: $15,900

In our May 2014 Income Report and our June 2016 Income Report, Josh focuses on how to pay yourself as an entrepreneur. Check them out!

Wondering what we do with all of our net revenue? We share all in our April 2017 Income Report :)

Total Net Profit for May 2019: $141,760

Biggest Lesson Learned

Enjoy this time

You know when you were little and all the grandma’s and older people would say things like “Enjoy it while you can!” …and “Time goes by faster and faster as you get older. Don’t wish those years away!”

Oh if only I knew then what I know now!

I literally can’t help but make comments to my parents and friends about how quickly time passes by, and how I can’t believe it’s summer again…

I really got to thinking about this when I was editing one of our show notes pages for an episode that went live on Entrepreneurs On Fire a couple of weeks back: Neil Gaiman’s Commencement Keynote: Make Good Art.

I couldn’t help but think how applicable what he was saying is to the entrepreneurial world.

A small excerpt from his keynote:

When I agreed to give this address, I started trying to think what the best advice I’d been given over the years was.

And it came from Stephen King twenty years ago, at the height of the success of Sandman. I was writing a comic that people loved and were taking seriously. King had liked Sandman and my novel with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens, and he saw the madness, the long signing lines, all that, and his advice was this:

“This is really great. You should enjoy it.”

And I didn’t. Best advice I got that I ignored. Instead I worried about it. I worried about the next deadline, the next idea, the next story. There wasn’t a moment for the next fourteen or fifteen years that I wasn’t writing something in my head, or wondering about it. And I didn’t stop and look around and go, this is really fun. I wish I’d enjoyed it more. It’s been an amazing ride. But there were parts of the ride I missed, because I was too worried about things going wrong, about what came next, to enjoy the bit I was on.

That was the hardest lesson for me, I think: to let go and enjoy the ride, because the ride takes you to some remarkable and unexpected places.

Fire Nation, this is it.

You are living your life right here, right now.

And Neil is right: we probably aren’t taking nearly enough time out to enjoy it. To recognize how lucky we are. The opportunities we have. The wide open road ahead of us.

My call to action for you: take time out today, and appreciate where you’re at on your journey in all its messiness and with all of its unknowns. This is your journey, and you deserve to enjoy it!

Alright Fire Nation, that’s a wrap!

Until next month, keep your FIRE burning!

~ Kate & John

Note: we report our income figures as accurately as possible, but in using reports from a combo of Infusionsoft & Xero to track our product and total income / expenses, they suggest the possibility of a 3 – 5% margin of error.

Click here for all of EOFire’s Income Reports

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