48: Choosing Enough: My 2025 Revenue Breakdown & Business Audit

🎯 The Invisible Number That Was Killing My Business

Are you chasing a revenue number you can't even define? Launching and launching and launching, feeling like you're never making enough, but you don't actually know what "enough" even means for your business?

I was there too. On a hamster wheel of constant launches, planning, filling, and repeating with an invisible revenue target that just kept moving. Every month felt like I was running toward a horizon I'd never reach. Sound familiar?

This is my year-end recap, but it's not just about the numbers (though I'm sharing all of them, including what I made, where it came from, and what I'm doing differently in 2026). This is about the decision that changed everything for me in 2025: choosing enough on purpose.

Before we dive into my complete revenue breakdown and the exact audit questions I want you to ask yourself, grab my year-end recap carousel templates. They're free, they're in Canva, and they'll help you do this reflection work alongside me. Get them at thecreativebodega.com/blog/48.

💔 The Burnout Moment That Changed Everything

August 2024. I was very close to burnout, honestly. Working with a therapist who was also like a business mentor, and she said something that stopped me in my tracks because it was something I had never even thought of.

She asked: "What do you actually need to make, Emily? How much money do you actually need to make for your family?"

I'm the main earner for my family. It's not a position I love being in, and it puts a lot of stress on me. It freaks me out, if I'm being completely honest. But here I was, chasing this invisible number without ever defining what I actually needed.

My husband and I were having monthly meetings where he'd ask (very reasonably, for forecasting purposes): "What are you projected to make? What are you launching next?" Even though he wasn't forcing me to launch anything, all I heard was pressure. Constant pressure to produce, to make money, to have a plan.

So we sat down and had a real, honest conversation. We calculated what our family actually needs. What my minimum is. What "enough" means for us.

Seeing that number and knowing what I was already making took so much pressure off me. I realized I didn't have to launch something the next month just because I felt like I should. I could choose when to launch based on energy and desire, not arbitrary revenue targets.

That one exercise shifted my entire 2025. It gave me permission to choose the business I want to live inside, not the one that just looks impressive from the outside.

📊 My 2025 Revenue: The Complete Breakdown

I went back and forth with my husband about sharing these numbers publicly. I don't feel like I owe it to anyone, and it's completely private and mine. But when I've seen creators I respect share the numbers behind the scenes, I'm all ears. I'm intrigued. I want to know what's possible.

So here's what I'm sharing: what I made, where it came from, and what it actually means after expenses.

I made $320,000 in 2025. That's 3% less than I made in 2024. And I'm perfectly fine with that. Actually, I'm happier than I was last year because this revenue came from intentional choices, not desperation launches.

Before you think that's all profit sitting in my bank account, let me break down reality. I employ three people: my virtual assistant/community manager Nicole, my brand strategist Steph (who both help me co-coach in live programs), and my podcast editor Scott. That's about $15,000 per year in contractor costs. Then there's taxes. My estimated taxes for 2026? $75,000. So yeah, the number sounds impressive for little old me working from the fourth bedroom of my house, but a lot comes out.

Where the Money Actually Came From

Live Courses: $152,000 (52.7%)

This was my highest revenue source. I ran three live programs this year: The Visual Edit in January (my signature program that's coming up again, by the way—get on the waitlist), Start and Grow Your Email List in May, and The Messaging Edit in September/October.

Why do I love live teaching? I legit love it. There's so much accountability, movement, and progress that comes with live programs. It's my jam, and I'm not changing this model anytime soon.

Membership: $147,000 (51%)

My Content Coven membership came in second place, and I've loved every single minute of it. I love the women in it, the camaraderie, the support, the challenges I run, and seeing people reach their goals. I would never go back on this decision. The membership is the core of my business now.

Affiliate Income: $13,000

I'm an affiliate for Canva, FlowDesk, and Later.com. I've really paired back my affiliate relationships because I only want to promote what I actually use and love. This also includes money I made as a Canva Verified Expert (one of 43 in the world, which is still wild to me).

Instant Access/Digital Products: $9,000 (1.5%)

This is the lowest revenue source, and it's completely intentional. I barely talk about my instant access courses anymore because I wanted to focus all my energy and marketing on my membership and live programs.

Want some context? In 2023, instant access products brought in $127,000 for me because digital products were huge that year. In 2024, there was a massive industry shift and I made $25,000. This year, I essentially stopped promoting them and made $9,000. It just shows you have to keep up with what's happening and what's working. The membership model makes so much more sense to me now because I want people to get real results, and I truly believe that happens in a community setting.

Ready to build a content strategy that actually supports the life you want to live? Get on The Visual Edit waitlist for January 2026. It's my signature program where we create scroll-stopping, strategic content without burning you out. Join the waitlist here.

📈 The Numbers That Actually Matter

Beyond revenue, here are the metrics I'm tracking that tell me about the health of my business:

Membership Churn: 9%

This is the percentage of members who cancel in a given period. Mine has leveled out around 9%, which tells me my membership experience is consistent and valuable. That was higher last year, so I'm really proud of getting it down. My goal is to keep it consistently below 10% month over month.

Email List Growth: 5,000 new subscribers

I gained 5,000 email subscribers this year, and I'm very happy about that. My email performance is phenomenal: 53% average open rate (industry average is 20-30%), 99.4% deliverability (for all the FlowDesk haters who say it has poor delivery, I call bullshit), 2.7% click rate (average is 1-2%), and only 0.4% unsubscribe rate.

This is why I pound the "own your audience" drum like nobody's business. This is where my sales happen. In the emails.

Instagram Growth: 20,000 new followers

I gained 20,000 Instagram followers this year, which is great, but it's an ego number to be really honest. I care so much more about sales, my email list growing, and my open rates. Instagram is where people find me, but email and podcast are where they buy from me.

Podcast Rankings: Top 1.5%

This is my 48th podcast episode of the year. I haven't missed a single week since I started in March. According to Listener Notes, I'm in the top 1.5% of marketing podcasts in the world, which is just freaking awesome. My listening numbers keep going up and up, and I'm getting more DMs from people who found me through the podcast instead of Instagram. I love that.

🔍 Your Year-End Audit: The Questions That Matter

Here's what I want you to do. Grab a piece of paper or open your notes app. The goal isn't perfection. It's gaining awareness around your honest answers and the numbers you're not tracking yet but probably should be.

Category 1: Capacity and Energy

What did you resent doing this year? And what brought you the most joy? These two questions tell you everything about what to keep and what to cut.

When do you do your best work? Think about the time of day, the days of the week, and particular seasons. I'm really big on being energy-led because it helps you work smarter, not harder.

Category 2: Offers and Revenue Mix

What percentage of your revenue came from each offer? For me, it was 1.5% instant access, 51% membership, and 52.7% live courses. Knowing this helps you see what's actually working.

Which offer created the most stress per dollar? And which created the least? If something is bringing you the most stress and making you the least money, we're going to think really hard about cutting it back.

If you had to cut one offer for the next 90 days, what would be the positive chain reaction? How would that feel? Sometimes less is actually more.

Category 3: Owned Audience Health

What was your email list growth this year? Total net new subscribers. Mine was 5,000.

What's your email performance? Look at average open rate, click rate, unsubscribe rate, and deliverability rate. These are huge and so easy to find in your email platform.

Where do your new subscribers actually come from? Did they subscribe through your website, social media, your link in bio, or your podcast? You need different forms to track this properly.

Do you have at least one evergreen lead magnet that matches what you sell really well? Your freebie should relate back to your offer. That's really important for conversion.

Category 4: Enough and Boundaries

What's your private "enough" number? Keep it to yourself if you want, but you need to know it. Is it monthly or annual? My husband was looking at my numbers month over month, and I had to explain that my business doesn't work that way. I have low months when I'm not launching, and we have savings for exactly that reason.

If income already met "enough," what would you stop doing? What would you do with your time instead? This question is gold.

What's one boundary for 2026 you can actually stick with? Examples: not being on social media on weekends, capping your membership or cohort at a certain number (I do 30-40 women max every time because I want it to be a great experience), setting a maximum number of launches per year, or creating buffer time between launches.

🎯 What I'm Focusing on in 2026

I'm owning my audience even more. That means growing my email list and continuing with my podcast. If anything, I'm backing off social a little bit (or at least not putting as many eggs in that basket). My podcast and newsletter are where I'm focusing more of my energy.

Instagram is still one of the first places people find me, and I'm absolutely showing up there. But I'm doing everything in my power to get people onto my email list or listening to my podcast to really grow that know, like, and trust factor even more.

The big headline for me? I made less, but by design. I found out what my minimum was. I found out what "enough" meant. And I'm happier with the business I'm running.

Bigger isn't always better. Better is better. And sometimes better looks like fewer plates spinning, deeper delivery, and more margin.

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode

• Year-End Recap Carousel Templates - Free Canva templates to share your 2025 wins and audit your year

• Join The Visual Edit Waitlist: my once-a-year, crazy-hands-on program where we build your brand rules, core templates, file system, and publish-on-busy-days routine together (launching live mid-January with limited spots - join the waitlist for first access and early bird discounts!)

💕 You're Allowed to Choose Enough

If 2025 felt like a lot, please hear me: You're allowed to choose enough.

Enough clients. Enough launches. Enough revenue to support what you need in your real life.

You can build a business that fits you now and then change it later when your season changes. That's not giving up. That's leading. It's finding your minimum. And if that's what allows your nervous system to feel safe, then more power to you.

I'm proud of you. It's been a great year. Here's to choosing better over bigger, and to owning more of what actually moves the needle in 2026.

If this resonated with you, I'd love to hear about it. Comment on Instagram, save this post for later, or share it with another solopreneur who needs permission to choose enough. You can find me at @thecreativebodega, and don't forget to listen to the full podcast episode for even more behind-the-scenes details about my year-end audit process.