I’m a firm believer that if you want something to happen, you need to say it out loud — or, well, in this case, write it on your blog. Something about putting it out for the world to see makes you more accountable to follow through. Before I get into my goals for 2016, let’s follow up to see how I did in 2015 (if you want to read these more in depth, head back to the archives here!)…

Business

• Capture all my 2015 weddings well. Done!! I photographed 28 weddings total; 20 of my own and 8 as the second shooter. It’s been a crazy year, but such a blessing!
  Attend 2-3 awesome workshops. I finished this goal early in 2015 — I attended For the Love of Film in February and The Littlest Workshop this spring. 
  Integrate film into my work. I’ve mostly been shooting film for styled shoots and anniversary sessions and will be attending another film workshop this May in Charleston, SC!
  Refine my client gifts. I finished this goal before the season started so all my 2015 brides could have the same experience! I may change it up in 2016 as my business grows!
  Streamline my workflow. I focused on this throughout the season but I’m feeling pretty good about it as we enter 2016. 
  Design & order a new sample album. Done!
  Book an international wedding. This didn’t happen in 2015, but there is always 2016!

Personal:

• Travel somewhere new. Yes! I visited Charleston, SC twice this year and went all over Europe with Rob — for the first time, we saw Austria, Prague, Slovenia, Croatia, and Switzerland together!
  Maintain fitness. errrr…
  Learning to say no. I actually think I did really well on this! It’s definitely one of the biggest challenges for me and something that is always a work in progress.
  Read more books. I read a few, but not nearly as many as I used to. 
  Photograph more personal work. I did this with travel! I’d still like to do it more for capturing day-to-day life.

Now let’s dive into my goals for 2016!
Business

• Capture all my 2016 weddings well. It may seem like cheating, but this will always be my number one business goal — my clients are the reason I do this job and I want to be serving them to the best of my ability!
  Implement client management software. I purchased a 2-year subscription to 17Hats during Black Friday and haven’t touched it! Before the 2016 season kicks off on March 19th, I’d like to input all my clients and automate some of  my systems. 
  Develop a bridal guide for my clients. I absolutely love my Bridal Business series, but it would be so helpful to my clients to have all this information in one place! 
  Continue blogging 2-3 times per week. This might seem like a gimme, but blogging is a LOT of work, especially during busy season. I love being able to connect with my clients and peers through this platform, so I want to continue placing an importance on blogging. 
  Be more strict with my photography budget. I had a lot of big purchases to make in 2015, but now that those are out of the way, I’m feeling very comfortable with my equipment for wedding days. I need to be intentional about any other purchases going forward to ensure I am fulfilling a need and not just a want. 
  Book an international wedding. Not because I feel like I have to, but because I want to. Travel is a huge part of my being and I can’t image how much fun it would be to combine these two loves. 

Personal:

• Travel somewhere new. Again, this may seem like cheating, but this always be one of my personal goals! I love traveling with Rob and don’t want to lose that sense of adventure.
  Continue to cook and bake for fun. When my old hobby (photography) turned into a career, this sort of fell by the wayside. I’d love to continue using it as a creative outlet with no pressure!
  Work on my food photography. This goes hand in hand with the above; I feel like I could learn a thing or two about how to photography my creations better!
  Finish our home projects. Since we moved in to our home in 2013, we’ve been wanting to restain our deck and find some furniture/umbrellas so we can actually enjoy summer weekends out there! There are a few other odds and ends to finish up this year as well. 
  Spend more intentional time with family and friends. I’m working on finding a better balance to ensure weekends off and post-office hours are filled with lots of Rob, Granger, and my family and friends. 

I’ll be honest, there are a LOT of big goals on this list and there is absolutely no way that 365 days is enough to accomplish all of them! But there is no time like the present to begin trying and as they say, “it’s better to have tried and failed than to not have tried at all”. Cheers to an amazing 2016, friends!