How Much Money I Made In 2023
It's tax season, so I'm doing my accounting of how much money I made as a coach, speaker, & meditation teacher on Insight Timer in 2023.
While I know colleagues who outsource their bookkeeping, I still do everything myself. Once a month, I put on some music, go through my income & expenses, and manually write down everything—business and personal.
It's my "financial practice" to pay attention to what's coming in and out.
Something I always appreciated about certain online creators is their transparency in how much money they make.
I've considered sharing a monthly revenue report but have yet to commit.
Two years ago, I wrote about how much money I made as a meditation teacher and coach in 2021, which you can find here.
This post was a diary of all the income I ever made and a celebration of hitting the illustrious " figures".
It also showed how much money I put back into this work through coaches, courses, and retreats.
A mentor told me that every $1 I invest in myself will eventually come back 10x.
I took that to heart and think about it before every investment.
What I didn't tell you in 2021 was the breakdown of where the revenue came from. I didn't share how much money I make on Insight Timer, coaching, or in-person classes.
So, for this year, I'll share all my revenue streams.
Before I get to 2023, I'll note that in 2022, I made $110,540.67, about $4k more than in 2021.
In 2023, I made $122,371.73.
This was an $11k jump. Although not huge, it's nice to see it on an upward trajectory.
Now, let's talk about the sources.
2023 Revenue 1-1 Coaching: $53,385.55
It's a GRIND to make your money jumping from class to class, studio to school, and constantly seeking new opportunities.
I track my work hours in an app called Toggle. I have one called "Lead Generation," which was mainly for booking classes at schools. From 2018-19, I spent over 329 hours, and the ROI was not good.
Once I started seeing 1-1 clients in 2019, everything changed.
Coaching was not only rewarding but also possible to do from home. (This was pre-COVID.)
Also, I understood its value from having had a coach on and off throughout the years.
Learning coaching skills and developing a 1-1 practice can be essential for meditation teachers, as it supplements the other work you do.
Most coaches make two mistakes:
They charge too little. Unless you have a large audience or don't want to do anything else besides coach, if your package or sessions cost less than $100/session, it will be a grind to make your living from coaching.
They charge too much. They take some "High Ticket" training and buy the coaching dogma to make your prices super high, but then they can't energetically hold the container.
I've made both mistakes.
Pricing is nuanced, and it depends on what you want your life to look like and who you want to help.
Do you want to coach 20 sessions a week or five people a year? Your pricing will change depending on that.
For example, you can do well with $100/session for 20 clients a week. (These many sessions would leave me drained and offer no time for other work.)
Just as the person coaching five people a year will do well charging each $20k and having ample time to pour into them.
There is no wrong or right. You have to know your energy, who you're working with, the value you're offering, and what feels true to you.
My mission is broad, and I feel deep in my bones the drive to impact millions. My coaching packages are fairly expensive because, beyond my credentials and experience, every hour I spend 1-1 is not spent on the millions.
I also only have the bandwidth for 8-10 clients, especially when answering voice messages, reading documents, and offering feedback throughout the week.
You can take the therapy model and offer no contact between sessions, but I find it more fulfilling to be on the journey with people.
Charging well also means I can offer discounts to people whose currency is vastly different from the US dollar or who are a great fit but need financial support.
I can talk about coaching fees for days, and I'll share more about them on my podcast in the future.
2023 Revenue from Insight Timer: $39,261.47
This number is $2k lower than 2022. As Insight Timer began premium tracks, it has diluted the revenue for courses. I'll save my old head lament for another day. The fact is I AM SO GRATEFUL for the money I make from Insight Timer.
Every month, I make it a practice to look at the statement, slow down into my heart, and pour thanks into it.
While I spend hours creating content, this income is passive, meaning I'm making money while I sleep. It's a dream come true, and I don't take it for granted.
If you're into spirituality or self-development, you can find a home on Insight Timer. It's the YouTube of mindfulness, but it pays better. It's not too late. Listen to my interview with Nhi Nhi Le: Is Insight Timer Worth It?
The bulk of the money comes from course streams and comments. Insight Timer incentivizes teachers to respond to comments by paying a percentage of the revenue, which is great for everyone.
Here is the breakdown of where my Insight Timer revenue comes from.
The benefit of growing on Insight Timer is that people seek me out for 1-1 Coaching and other offerings.
2023 Revenue from Motivational Speaking: $14,350
For over six months in 2022, I worked on developing a presentation for High School students called "Greatness Is a Whisper."
You can see a demo video of the talk here: Greatness Is A Whisper Demo Reel
I am so proud of this work, yet I struggle to connect with kids. It's less rewarding for me than other areas. Plus, with schools, doors don't open for me. I constantly have to pry them open, which is a strain.
Promoting this talk brought me back to the grind of reaching out to schools. This time, I streamlined the process through apps like Mail Merge, which let me email a bunch of schools at the same time—pretty much spamming them.
For whatever reason, I think it's okay to spam schools, but not you. This cognitive dissonance is one of many reasons that schools are not where I am most aligned.
So, in true Human Design Manifestor fashion, I created the talk, got it out there, recorded the video, and then said, Ok, that was fun—What's next?
This speaking "tour" was excellent training for me. I see a future in speaking, but it's not quite there yet.
2023 Revenue from Meditation School: $6,621.15
Co-teaching in David Gandelman's Meditation Teacher Training was pure joy. It barely even felt like work. This revenue is the culmination of guest teaching, small group mentorships, and one-on-one sessions with students.
This training was a highlight of my year. It made me realize how much I LOVE helping emerging meditation teachers and coaches. It was the catalyst for me to start my podcast, The Art & Business of Meditation and Meraki Mastermind.
I'm back again this year, and excited to see where it goes!
2023 Revenue from Meraki Mastermind: $5,316
Meraki Mastermind started in late October, so this is solid for a few months of revenue.
This offering means so much to me. My life changed when I joined my first mastermind, and once I left that, I wish I had a more niche mastermind to help me in meditation.
I keep describing this offering as PURE, like the feeling of hitting a golf shot on the money. Since its inception, there has been a flow and alignment unlike any other offering. I don't know where it's going, but it continues to be more rewarding every week.
My forecast is for Meraki Mastermind to be a solid leg of income this year. I am so grateful I can make money doing something I'd do for free. That's when you know you're on to something!
2023 Revenue from Aura: $2,082.88
Aura is another meditation app where I share my meditations. Two years of weekly posting have led to steady growth. Aura pays differently depending on how many track plays you have. A few of my tracks reached over 5k, which means I can now get $.15 a play, which is amazing. I forecast this number will go up in 2024.
2023 Revenue from my book Find Your Truth: $641.67
I once naively thought that when I wrote my book, it would magically sell, and I'd have thousands of dollars in passive income! Maybe after I get on Oprah, but the truth is that a lot of people in the industry will tell you that it's NOT the place to make money.
A highlight of 2023 was publishing the audio version of Find Your Truth, which is the reason that $641 is higher than last year.
I started running Amazon ads to promote the book, so I sold a lot more copies. However, I never got it profitable, often spending $1,000/month to make $800.
2023 Revenue from Simple Habit: $408
This is another app I have meditations on. I can no longer add new content, but they still send me a few hundred bucks every six months. I'll take it.
That, my friend, is roughly my $122,371.73 revenue. (I didn't include some one-off classes and workshops.)
I hope seeing these numbers is inspiring or, at least, interesting.
Now, let's talk about investments/expenses.
2023 Business Expenses: $41,200.60
I won't go into the nitty gritty, which includes all the tech it takes to run things, but I'll highlight a few key areas.
Assistant $6,584.10
Since 2022, I've been working with a virtual assistant, which has been a GAME CHANGER. It's so nice not to have to do all the things I don't want to do. It allows me to streamline processes and keeps me focused on my zone of genius. (Thank you, Joyce!!)
Coaching & Coach Training: $3,670
I didn't work 1-1 with a coach this year, so this is down significantly from 2022. Instead, I had a few sessions here and there with people and invested in my coaching skills with Aletheia.
Because of this training, I feel more confident in my coaching skills than ever. I am continuing to study with Aletheia in 2024.
Transformational Events & Conferences: $16,012.88
Maybe a post-Covid splurge? Lol
It was incredible to do some deep work around multiple areas, from Holotropic Breathwork to a Couples Workshop and networking at conferences.
Audio Editing: $2,053.65
I've been working with the same editor since 2019. He edits all my meditations and podcast episodes. Unless you absolutely LOVE audio editing or have no money, I'd recommend outsourcing your tracks at a price that you can afford. It will free up more time to record and, ultimately, make more!
So $122,371.73 revenue and $41,200.60 expenses = $81,171.12 in profit. Pretty solid! (Note this is pre-tax.)
Other Financial Stuff
I don't budget. Listen to my talk about Designing Your Rich Life.
I donate 5% of my revenue to charity. My regular monthly contributions include Givewell, Center for Action & Contemplation, and Reality Changers. I save others for spur of the moment. Last year I made significant donations to the Himalayan Children's Fund and One Love Prison Meditation Project (Listen to my interview with the founder Tim, here).
This money goes into its own account, so I have it whenever something comes up or a cause asks for a donation. I love knowing that I can give freely and that my income impacts more than just me. I know 5% is minimal, but it's a start.
I also have a "fun account" that gets 5%, so whenever I'm in a new city, I have no guilt about going to restaurants and spending money on whatever I want.
My bank account, Novo, makes it easy to set this up so that whenever money comes in, a percentage automatically goes to these buckets. I also have a bucket for "Life Happens" (random emergencies) and taxes.
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Money is neutral. It can be a blessing or a curse.
I'm continually checking my intentions around money because I feel positioned to use it and speak about it generatively. (Hear me express how psychedelics helped me identify greed here.)
Money is not meant to be hoarded or grasped. It's meant to flow. See my practice, Finding Flow and Ease with Money.
Send me an email and let me know if you found this helpful or if you would like to see me share a monthly income report.
Thanks for reading!