My first real payment for graphic design work

Friday, I received my first real payment for some of my graphic design work. Now, this isn't the first time I've gotten paid for work, just the first time that I charged what would be considered a market rate(and I was still below, but much better for me!)

I've done a 4 page, 2-color quarterly newsletter for my union local in the past which has won some internal rewards, but I was paid only $100 per newsletter(I also created the logo for this). I've created a logo for our Democratic Women of DuPage and that was a freebie. I've also done some projects for friends which were either for a nominal fee, free or bartered -- good for the portfolio, but doesn't help much on the purse.

So, now, I've done a couple of brochures for my husband's place of employment and I received a check! I think, this year, I will be able to report a profit for IRS, a small one, but its a profit and that's all that matters!