Six figure me revisited...Adjusting the system...

I recently decided to make a public statement of my intention to earn $100K within one year and to track my progress here at the Content Done Better Blog (see: "Six figure me?"). I am changing things a little bit.

No, I am not surrendering or anything like that. I am just making some adjustments to make tracking easier. For those who aren't interested, my apologies. For those who are, here are the changes...

• The year's earning totals now start with August 1, 2oo6 and will continue to accumulate until August 1, 2007.

• I will be adding to my total based on all incoming PayPal receipts directly generated by Content Done Better.

• The raw number goal has been increased to $125,000 to compensate for changes in the tracking methodology.

The piggy bank area on the bottom portion of the right sidebar has been changed to reflect all of this.

While we're on the subject of posting earnings figures, etc., let me recommend this post from Ann King on the topic. She's a part-time freelancer who's provided some data other writers might find valuable and addresses the issue of talking about "how much you make."

ADDENDUM 10/3: If you want the latest and a mini-faq about the challenge, feel free to check out this post.

More on the $100K plan...For those interested in tracking progress...

First, thanks to those who commented and emailed with their support. It is appreciated.

Second, I did away with the traditional money-tracking thermometer. It would be a pain to update earnings regularly that way, so I decided to streamline the process. If you are interested in charting my progress toward $100K, you can look beneath the piggy bank on the right sidebar to see how close I'm getting/how far away I am.

Six figure me? One year challenge...Risking public humiliation...

Within a year from today, Content Done Better will net $100,000 before taxes. That's my goal.

In order to put my feet toward the fire, I have decided to share that goal publicly.

Why would I (a) disclose earnings information and (b) set myself up for public humiliation if I fall well short of the goal?

First, I believe that making the goal public encourages accountability on my part. When one shares a goal with others he or she naturally feels an additional incentive for completion.

Second, although I originally started this blog primarily as a means of branding and marketing my services, it has a steady core readership of writers. I think it would be nice to show new writers that you can make a living this way. I have to admit that I will get a kick out of proving a few naysayers wrong, too, but that really isn't my primary objective.

I am starting today and the countdown to $100K will end in one year.

I have added two components to the blog to help track the project. On the bottom of the right sidebar, you will see a familiar money thermometer that will track earnings. I'll try to update that at least once a week. Below it is an automatically-updating reminder of how many days I have left.

A note about the accounting: Every time I put money into my bank account, the number goes up. Every time I spend out of the bank account, it will go down. I often use PayPal to "park" money temporarily, in order to pay partner writers, renew/purchase domains, etc. That money won't count until it goes into the bank. My goal is to post $100K in net earnings before taxes.

Today started with a $350 payment. I am over 1/300th of the way there already.

Edit 10/3: If you are interested in reading more about the challenge, including a mini-faq, please feel free to read this post.