Still a day and a half left in the month, but with the usual Monday housekeeping, I thought I'd get the picture of where I stand.
Admittedly, I have some anxiety. April and May in particular were better advertising months, but the accounting is such that I won't see it for awhile. I'll probably have to borrow a little to keep the cash flow, even though I'd rather not do that. Still, I've come to accept that I'm essentially funding my own start-up at this point. I have relatively clear goals in mind, rough time lines, and measurable results for what I've been able to do so far. The risk, at this point, is tolerable.
I really started to dig into metrics for CoasterBuzz last week. Winter was terrible in terms of traffic and revenue. However, dozens of tweaks have had significant impact, and I can associate every boost with something I did. The end result is that page views and views per visit are both way, way up over last year, which compensates for a decline in visitors. The visitor count is trending upward though, fortunately, and it seems mostly search related. I'm still navigating that issue, but if I can get back to the same level of visitors without diluting the pages per visit, that would be magic. Home page tweaks are likely what I need to think about the most.
Of course, this all compliments the new product in the pipe line. I'd like to have something usable by the end of July (so would Walt, I'm sure), but I'll have to really buckle down to make that happen. Right now I feel pretty confident, but only because I don't see a ton of obstacles. Yet.
I have an unlikely but possible lead on some contract work, and if that becomes real, I'm going to take it. I need the mental stimulation and social interaction in the worst way, and it would be with people I know and like. Like I said, it might be a long shot, but it would be more than ideal. A couple of months on that and I can pay off the honeymoon.
So anxiety aside, I feel relatively comfortable. I'm not going to do the Williamsburg trip (sorry, Ken!) because the timing just isn't very good. I have a sense of purpose and plans sketched out, and I'm hitting milestones. Here's hoping they lead to a more sustainable "salary" by the end of the year, if not sooner.