Wow. I can’t believe it’s 2012 already. I remember being young and thinking about how the year 2012 was like D-Day. And this was long, long before I had even heard about the Mayan calendar. This has more to do with the fact that I will hit the big 3-0 this year. Cry, cry, cry.
But this is all besides the point! Business-wise, 2011 was a pretty good year for me. I learned a LOT this year – I really realized how much “business” goes into a photography business. It’s probably only about 25-30% photography, and 75-80% everything else. I consider 2011 to be my first successful year in terms of bookings. I forget sometimes that my business is still very much in its early stages – which is due to the fact that it keeps me so busy…which is not a bad thing!
With that in mind, I’ve been thinking a lot about goal setting for 2012, and what I hope to accomplish this year. I thought I’d share it with all of you so you can get a better sense of who I am and how much I love what I do
1. Blog more
I’ve been getting much better at this, thankfully. I enjoy blogging, and mostly what keeps me from doing so is time constraints. But I’m really going to try to continue blogging at least three times a week. Fingers crossed…
2. Update my website, then update it again and again
I want to continually make sure my freshest content is on my website. Right now it’s not and I hate knowing people are visiting it and not seeing my most current work. I’ve considered switching over entirely to a blogsite (a website that is actually a blog but a little fancier) and I’ll re-evaluate that later this year.
3. Find ways to streamline as much as possible
I’ve spent 2011 streamlining my editing process, and have improved the turnaround quite a bit. Now I need to turn my attention to streamlining all across the board – to blogging, to posting on Facebook, to responding to inquiries, to managing my expenses, and even to booking more efficiently.
4. Spend more time with clients
Not just literally, but in all ways. It’s the little things that can make a big difference. My relationship with my clients right now is great, but I know it could be better (ie, sending a card for illness or birthday). Again, this is largely in part due to time constrictions, but it’s definitely something I want to work on. Personalized gifts, a note here or there – these are things I really want to focus on.
5. Blog with Pinterest in mind.
I recently got onto Pinterest (feel free to follow me!) and boy, is it AWESOME. And it makes me realize how some of my blog images are unpinnable (for example, two vertical images I would put together but that were of different things – like the cake and the card box, for instance). It may even change the way I photograph things, thinking about how it would look on Pinterest. I want to make all my images super pin-worthy. I’ve already added a “pin it” button to every post. Can you tell I really want my stuff on Pinterest? LOL…look how pinnable this bouquet is! (shameless, I know)
Here are some long range goals I hope to accomplish within the next 5 years…
1. Take this shindig full time
I have a day job, which I do enjoy, but at some point I definitely want to take my photography business full time. Right now I’m averaging about 5 hours of sleep a night (as it is, I’m writing this at 2:15 a.m. on a weeknight), and I don’t really have a social life. It’s tough to keep it up, but I am so determined to do this, that I know it’ll all be worth it. In order to take it full time, I’ll need to pull in about $80-$100K a year in order to account for paying taxes and to cover overhead. Mark my words: it will happen.
2. Get a studio space
This is something I daydream about and I know I can do it at some point…just not sure when.
3. Hire an office manager/assistant
Oh man. When this happens I will sing from the rooftops!!
4. Get a wedding published on Style Me Pretty.
I don’t think this needs any further explanation…
5. Do a destination wedding
Preferably with palm trees!
Technorati Tags: 2012 resolutions, people, photography, thoughts
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