Normalizing $20K Months in Your Business

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Today’s Newsletter at a Glance

• Why most income plateaus are rooted in psychology, not just strategy or effort.

• The simple systems that turn “random good months” into a predictable income baseline.

• How to build a weekly rhythm that supports consistent five-figure months.

What Has to Change Before Your Income Jumps

There is a lot of noise online about “$20K months” as if it is a magic switch you flip once and never think about again. In reality, going from $0 to consistent five-figure months is less about a single breakthrough and more about a series of quiet, unglamorous adjustments. The good news is that those adjustments are learnable. You do not need to be a marketing genius or work around the clock. You do, however, need to look honestly at how you think about your business and how your work is organized.

The first shift is psychological. Many people get stuck at low or inconsistent income because, internally, they still see themselves as a freelancer who “takes projects” or someone who is “trying to make this work.” To reach consistent $20K months, you need to begin relating to yourself as the owner of a business, not just a person doing tasks. That sounds abstract, but it shows up in simple ways. Owners set clear revenue targets. They decide who they serve, how they help, and which offers they will stand behind. They stop changing direction every time they feel uncomfortable. When you start to view your work as a business that deserves structure, your decisions become less emotional and more intentional.

Another psychological shift is moving from outcome obsession to process trust. It is natural to refresh your bank account or email and worry about where the next client is coming from. The problem is that this constant checking pulls you away from the activities that actually generate income. A healthier stance is to define a small set of daily and weekly actions you can commit to, regardless of what results show up that day. For example, you might decide that every week you will have a certain number of sales conversations, send a set number of personalized outreach messages, and publish one helpful piece of content. When you measure yourself on following through with the process, the outcomes start to feel more stable and less mysterious.

There is also the question of what you believe is “normal” for you. If earning $3K or $5K in a month feels comfortable and familiar, your nervous system may react when you suddenly have a $15K or $20K month. You might delay sending invoices, undercharge, or unconsciously ease off the actions that created that result. A practical way to gently expand your capacity is to regularly visualize and plan for higher income as if it is no big deal. Break a $20K month into simple pieces. For instance, four clients at $5K each, or ten clients at $2K each. Suddenly it stops feeling like a fantasy and starts looking like a real, achievable set of numbers.

Once these internal shifts begin, you need practical systems to support them. One of the most important is a clear, focused offer. Many people try to reach $20K months by selling many different things at many different price points. That usually creates confusion. Instead, choose one primary offer that solves a specific problem for a specific type of person. Make that offer the main “engine” of your revenue. When you know what you are selling and to whom, it becomes much easier to build repeatable systems around it.

Next comes a simple client acquisition system. You do not need complicated funnels to start. What you need is a weekly rhythm for finding and nurturing potential clients. This might include identifying new people to reach out to, following up with those you have already spoken to, and consistently sharing useful insights where your audience spends time. The key is that these activities are scheduled and tracked, not squeezed in whenever you remember. Many people underestimate how powerful it is to simply keep showing up, week after week, with genuine, helpful contact.

Delivery is another place where systems matter. If every new client sends you into a scramble, it will be hard to grow. Create a basic onboarding checklist. Decide what happens during the first week of working with someone, how you communicate, and what materials they receive. Use templates where you can. The more of your delivery you can standardize, the more mental energy you free up for growth activities. It also improves the client experience, which naturally leads to referrals and repeat business.

Finally, put a simple money system in place. Decide on your target monthly revenue and reverse engineer it. How many clients do you need at your current price point to reach $20K? How many conversations typically lead to one client? These numbers do not need to be perfect. They only need to be clear enough to guide your actions. Track your income weekly, not just at the end of the month. Notice patterns. When you can see the relationship between your actions and your results, you gain a sense of control that reduces anxiety and keeps you moving.

Reaching consistent $20K months is not about discovering a secret that everyone else has been hiding from you. It is about aligning your identity with the business you say you want, and then reinforcing that identity with straightforward systems for selling, serving, and managing your money. If you choose one psychological shift and one practical system from this newsletter and put them into practice this week, you will already be moving closer to the level of income you want to call “normal.”

Stay tuned for more insights and tips from my “All Things Hollywood”, "Bestseller by Design" and the “Million Dollar Author” platform. Your journey to becoming a successful author continues here!

Until next time...

Travis Cody,
Million Dollar Author

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