
2011 left me filling very drained, and a little burned out. I am sure lots of photographers experience this after the holiday rush, this year was just particularly bad. My kids were sick… not all at once, but usually one at a time, and I was stressed, tiered, and emotional from it all. I even had a muscle twitch on my eyelid that lasted 4 days from not sleeping. (talk about annoying!)
Every cloud has a silver lining right? Thank goodness…
Today I started the day with coffee (of course!) and a pad of paper. I wrote down everything, not just business goals, but personal goals as well. I don’t want to be known as the really great photographer that is really really behind and slow. I feel like that is what I am right now, and I hate that. I have to change the way I work, and I am excited about the changes.
Boundaries…. I didn’t have any….well, I thought I did but I really wasn’t honoring myself, God, or my family because I said “yes” to too much. This year is all about living more simply, and having boundaries.
I have been de-cluttering our home (toys, clothes, socks …I know socks are clothes too, but I have to mention them specifically because I don’t like them so much.) and de-cluttering my computer, and my mind. There are too many things going on and I have to cut some out.
Here are some if the things written on my pad of paper…
What do I want my business/photography to be known for in my area?
-Children and family specialty (custom) photographer
-specific style and specific in what I say yes to for sessions
-providing a quality product and image
-planning with the family before the session their needs and wants for their home
-providing a great experience with the session
What are my business goals?
-work on a special project once a week (stay tuned for more on this!)
-sales sessions in the studio to help with decision making
-no working on days when the kids are home with me (at all!!!)
-planning my week before it begins
-hiring someone to do my bookkeeping, and possibly sales sessions and ordering
-exercising and sleeping more (this is under personal and business!)
Personal goals
-Exercise! Sleep!
-Spend quality time with God everyday, even if it is just reading bible stories to my kids
-date night with Bryson at least 2 times a month
-photograph more nature and get really artistic…for fun!
-draw and paint for fun!
-keep up with laundry … and throw away all the socks (go to wal-mart and buy more socks)
-cook supper more often (plan meals before the week begins)
-print all of 2011′s snapshots of our family.
-Work with Bryson on designing our home we want to build someday, and compromise (ouch!) on what I want (I want beauty, he wants efficient… artist and engineer collide!)
So, why share this with you? Because I need to. You are holding me accountable now…. and I want to be open and honest with you. I love what I do for a job, and I want to keep on loving it. I am so passionate about art, specifically photography and I am not very good at this business stuff. Growing pains are hard, and pretty painful! Thanks for sticking with me through them. As always, I am honored to be your photographer, and I am excited to start fresh in 2012.
by cyphers2
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