One of the best things about having my most “underwater” year ever (-$100k+) was getting a massive tax return. That money was the only thing that prevented a catastrophic first quarter. Nearly half of my total revenue came from that tax return. Woof.
I took away the courses category below, and after filing my taxes in February I stopped tracking anything Writer MBA related. I barely even log in to check that email account anymore, as the only reason I was doing so was for tax purposes.
Unfortunately, complete focus on Wannabe Press/Hapitalist didn't help all that much. I did make a very large change in January when I rebranded The Author Stack to Hapitalist, which is the latest in a long line of "WTF is Russell doing now?" moves I've been making lately.
Most business owners have a "thing" after working for 20 years people can point to, but the one consistent about me has been inconsistency. I've gone from making movies to photography to comics to books to courses to marketing to tarot to...it's a lot.
We've been interviewing AC installers since it's gonna be a hot one in LA this summer, even by the beach, and I keep thinking about how they have been doing the same thing for so long that people know what to expect from them and boy that would be nice.
The best I can say is that I can definitely help people create a second act for themselves that's pretty killer and can certainly help sell your weird stuff. If you've been worried about blowing it up, or creating something new, I should be either a shining beacon or a horrible warning.
In Q2, we migrated away from Substack into our own Ghost platform. We also launched two books on retailers, and developed a new app from scratch I'm excited to deploy soon. We also finally got our tarot decks and that campaign starts in just a couple weeks.
This seems like a convenient place to drop in a plug for our upcoming Hapitalist Tarot campaign that launches June 1st. I've been working for a long time on this deck, and can't wait to finally share it with you.
I've given 100+ readings with this deck and people love it. Whether you're a tarot expert or new to the craft, if you're looking to get more clarity and direction in your business, this deck is an amazing resource.
Let’s get into it. Remember, paid members can see income reports dating back to 2018, with data from 2017, and it’s really one of the most underutilized parts of paid memberships. There are not many places you can see the evolution of a creative business, with commentary from the creator, in an unbroken chain for nearly a decade.
Consulting - 14.2%
This is mainly coming from my one client, which is ending their contract in June. Business is so fun guys.
I only had two 1:1 consulting calls last quarter, though it's going better in Q2. I realized my scheduling function wasn't working right, which might have had something to do with it.
I'm thinking my Q3 goal might be a big coaching push. I have some initiatives to push through in Q2, but my year really opens up in July.
If you haven’t booked your free intro call/business tarot reading, you should do so here. Then, I can use my new decks instead of the prototype.
Crowdfunding - 10.1%
Our Six-Figure Author Stack campaign broke my heart. I thought for sure it would hit $10k, and it did less than half of that. I’ve been thinking about ending The Author Stack series for a while now, especially since I rebranded the site to Hapitalist, but still thought we would go out with more of a bang. What I like about bad launches is that they give you definitive proof and direction. More on that later.
Publishing - 28.5%
Basically, the rest of my business is contained in this category, since I’m not really doing anything that’s not subscription or book related, and it’s almost all Hapitalist sales moving forward. I'll probably need to break this out eventually, but I just don't have the energy right now.
I have a tarot Kickstarter planned for Q2, but then I don’t have anything planned for the second half of the year. I’m really excited to narrow down my focus.
I made my last publishing plan in 2020, before I had released all these books, and have been living yoked to that plan since then. Space is terrifying, too, but I'd like this version of me to be in control of the future now, please.
Tax Return - 47.2%
Like I said above, this was almost half of my income for the quarter, which allowed me to make a couple of big moves without destroying my life in the process. Still, it’s never a good sign when your business can’t out-earn your tax losses from last year.
Thoughts
For that last year, I have been sunsetting things and making my life more streamlined in anticipation for the next phase of my life. That process is still ongoing, but I hope it will be (hopefully) done by the end of Q2.
The last two Author Stack books are now live on retailers, and the Sold to the Berserkers campaign is done, which means this Hapitalist Tarot deck is the only outstanding campaign that I'm working on right now.
Q1 also saw several projects that I thought might divert my attention, including a big anniversary RPG to celebrate the 15th anniversary of a series, and another publishing contract that never came to fruition, which means I'm completely unencumbered come July.
I do have a really ambitious project I'm playing with that might consume my life in Q3, but I'm not sure it will actually work out. If it does though, guys, I will be a very happy camper.
Now, let’s get into the actual numbers. If you’re not a paid member, this is where I leave you…unless you join.