You know that feeling when you set a goal, fall short, and wonder if you’ll ever catch up? That was me in January. I needed to make $333 a month to hit my $4,000 side hustle goal, and I came in at $271—about $60 short.
But February? Y’ALL. I went from feeling behind to almost tripling my goal in just one month.
If I had fully tripled it, that would have been $999, and I ended up making $886.50—just $100 shy of tripling it! 🤯 I’m still in shock. And the craziest part? Most of it came from one simple strategy.
Let’s break it all down!
February Earnings Breakdown
✨ Total Earned: $886.50
- Banners: $865
- Reselling Shoes: $21.50
How My Banner Sales Skyrocketed
The biggest reason for this crazy month? A giveaway. I ran a giveaway that brought in a ton of new followers, and for those who didn’t win, I offered a small discount if they booked their banner right away. I ended up with 9-10 prepaid orders for future months!
Also, I got consistent with posting—something I really focused on in February. Here’s the schedule I stuck to:
✅ 5 posts per week
✅ 2-3 reels per week
✅ 2 regular posts per week
And it paid off! I even had a customer from Florida find me through Instagram, which was so exciting.
Burnout & Finding Balance
Even though this was an amazing month, I have to be honest—I was exhausted. I took on way too many orders, and at some point, the joy of painting started fading. And that’s not why I started doing this.
Painting is special to me because I started it while I was pregnant with my daughter, Eden, and I want it to always be a way to connect with her, not something that drains me.
So, for March, I’m scaling back:
- Setting strict limits on how many orders I take per week
- Being firm on cut-off dates
- Giving myself more breathing room
Debt & Savings Breakdown
💰 Total Sent to Debt: ~$400
💰 Total Saved: $300
As soon as I got paid, I sent $21.50 from my shoe reselling straight to debt (go me!), plus several other payments throughout the month. I also saved $300 specifically to cover my accountant’s fees.
February Expenses
📌 Total Expenses: Around $150
Here’s where my money went:
- $5 – Breakfast on the way to a branding shoot
- $11 – Paint supplies
- $50 – Amazon (paper roll + tripod for recording)
- $28 – DBA for Preston Jo Creative (official business setup!)
- $36 – Shipping containers
- $6 – Extra paint
- $15 – Canva subscription
I also set aside $80 as a cushion for March since I had several prepaid orders.
March Goals & What’s Changing
For March, I’m shifting my focus in a few ways:
🚀 1. Keep Selling Banners—But at a Slower Pace
- Still taking orders, but with better boundaries
- Already have 10 orders booked for March and some for April/May
📌 2. Be More Consistent with My Blog & Pinterest
- Posting 2 blogs per month (February was rough, but I’m refocusing!)
- Finally scheduling Pinterest pins to bring in traffic
- Creating reels that align with my blog posts
📷 3. Start UGC (User-Generated Content) Work
- Took a masterclass last month and learning the ropes
- Could lead to $200-$2,000 per deal once I get rolling
- But it’s a process to get started so this will be a lot up upfront work.
The Big Picture
So far, I’ve made $1,157.50 of my $4,000 goal, meaning I’m $490 ahead of schedule! If I stay on this pace, I could hit $6,000 this year—which is WILD.
This is your reminder: If you want to pay off debt, find a side hustle you love, put in the work, and go for it. In just one month, I was able to put nearly $400 toward debt and $300 toward savings—and that’s all from something I enjoy doing.
Here’s to another productive month—see you in the next blog! 💛
