Goals for 2019
Virginia Wedding Photographer: goals for 2019
Reflection
I cannot reflect on the past year and plan for the coming year in December. December is supposed to be a time to meditate on the coming of Jesus as a baby, a time for advent, but let’s be real, it in the past December has been a time of getting my list done so I can crash when Shipyard shutdown comes and my husband is home. When January does come and the tree and lights are put back in the attic, that’s when I feel the anxiety of the coming year and how little I am prepared for it.
It seems that everyone else has figure out their lives and are ready to achieve big dreams and here I am, scrambling. My temptation is to just pull out a notepad and write down some goals and words and dreams, but I know I would be setting myself up for failure. I know this because I have learned that I am an internal processor and I need space to do it.
I need to reflect.
Emily P. Freeman says in her podcast, The Next Right Thing (Episode 61), “I believe that in order to move towards those things we most want in our lives it’s vital to first look back.”
Count your failures, even if it hurts, remember your victories, and carefully choose your goals. That has been my mantra these last two weeks, and you can read more about those in this blog post from last week.
Here is what I have come up with for 2019.
My word: Less
Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Less spending, less stuff, less of my pride and selfishness, less of myself. I want to die to self so that I might gain more of Christ in my life and that means there has to be less. My biggest failure this past year was how busy I let everything become and how much anxiety ruled my life. This will be true for my business as well. Not necessarily less work, but there will be less things in my life to take my focus from what I love about this job, knowing, serving and loving my couples.
If I am going to be their best photographer, I need to center my focus on them. This also might mean that I will have less goals. If my list is too long I will just be overwhelmed and forget most of it, so prioritizing has become a must.
Personal goals:
- Paint more. Spend more time with oils and finally finish a painting for my mantle and in my office. Sell one original.
- Read more life-giving books. Read both business and Christ centered books. One for one: one fun book and one life-giving book at a time.
- Fundraise for our adoption. Come up with a plan to raise $15,000.
- Become more involved in our church. Get to know the women better. Our church has an amazing women’s ministry and that is a huge blessing.
- Love my Bible Study Fellowship girls more. Learn to do the homiletics better and call 3 girls a week with the intention of having a good and full conversation.
- Get Gracie on the neighborhood swim team and start piano lessons.
- Let Fridays be about going to the park or pool or spend time with friends. Paint and rest better.
- Do advent for myself in December!
- Memorize more scripture.
- Slow down, have less anxiety over my schedule and remember that I am a limited person!
Business goals:
- Focus on my couple’s story more. Get to know more facts about their lives and blog their dating and proposal story.
- Build up my Etsy shop and enjoy it more. Paint what I love and sell it. Instagram more of my paintings.
- Instagram and Facebook images that are more meaningful and better reflect my heart rather than what’s just pretty. Tell a better story and get in front of the camera more often.
- Stretch my creativity at weddings and in my personal work. Study more techniques and figure out what I love vs just doing what I know how to do.
- Learn film! This has been on my list a while now!
- Get more organized! Track spending, booking trends and workflow. Create a workflow for longer work days starting with a prayer, blogging and reflecting.
- Take off on Fridays!
- Find my personal voice in the wedding industry. One thing I know is that I am not like anyone else and learn how to communicate better through my blog and social media.
- Focus more on the Williamsburg area. Love on those vendors and venues so that in 2020 I can stay closer to home.
Dreaming Bigger: 2020
- Shoot a wedding abroad
- Shoot another NYC engagement session
- Book 15 or more weddings at my new prices for 2020 (more about that later)!
- Book a shoot or wedding in California (figures crossed for Big Sur or Carmel)
- Shoot a New England Wedding
- Fully fund our adoption
“Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment as to the Lord” - C. S. Lewis
Weddings of 2018 I love to share!
Two Rivers Country Club Wedding