I always love to start my “Goals’ post by recapping how things went over the past year! It’s a great way to see how far you’ve come and see what still needs to be done in the upcoming year! After all, not accomplishing a goal isn’t a loss, it’s a challenge. 

So here it goes, 2016 goals! 
Business

• Capture all my 2016 weddings well. Absolutely completed this one for all 20 weddings! It was a fantastic season as a Washington, DC wedding photographer and I’m looking forward to another starting in April! 
  Implement client management software. Done! I migrated all my clients and contracts into the system to have it up and running before the 2016 season kicked off. It’s streamlined my booking process and I can’t recommend it enough if you’re on the fence. 
  Develop a bridal guide for my clients. Another check mark! All future ALP clients now receive my Couples Guide at booking!
  Continue blogging 2-3 times per week. I’m happy to say I maintained this all year! Pre-blogging has been a huge help in accomplishing this goal. 
  Be more strict with my photography budget. Meh… I can’t say I did great on this. It wasn’t bad, but I definitely purchased many props and small equipment items that I didn’t necessarily NEED. 
  Book an international wedding. This didn’t happen this year and I’ve decided that that’s okay! I’m realizing how much I truly love shooting in DC and have expanded my business to include fine art film anniversary sessions and hope to continue to grow that side next year as well. 

Personal:

• Travel somewhere new. My favorite goal to accomplish! We traveled to Scotland and Ireland together last year! 
  Continue to cook and bake for fun. This was a major fail. Besides making Christmas cookies and few cakes for friend’s birthdays, I barely baked all year! 
  Work on my food photography. See above :( 
  Finish our home projects. This one is completed, but I cannot take the credit! Rob worked tirelessly on stripping and re-staining our deck and it looks fantastic! 
  Spend more intentional time with family and friends. I actually think I did okay on this one! Were there times I had to skip seeing people? Of course, but that’s just life! Overall the time I WAS off, I was constantly busy with our friends and family! 

Now let’s dive into my goals for 2017!
Business

• Capture all my 2017 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! We have another 20 wedding scheduled for 2017 and I have no doubt each one will be incredible! 
  Continue The Portrait Project. This little project started off as an idea and grew immensely in 2016, thanks to the beautiful women who willingly agreed to model for me. I want to shoot enough of these sessions to share one every month of 2017. 
  Have new headshots taken. I still love all my headshots that were taken during my coaching session with Katelyn, but that was back in 2014! I think over two years later, it’s time for a refresh. 
  Up my packaging game. I want to make sure I’m keeping my gifts and packaging fresh so that I am continuing to WOW my clients! 
  Be published in a magazine. I always want to include one BHAG that scares me to say out loud and this is mine for 2017. I’ll be the first to admit this is just an ego goal. Magazine do not provide the same SEO benefits of other features, but more than anything, I believe so much in printing your photos and think there is no greater honor than seeing them in magazine form!

Personal:

• Travel somewhere new. Always. This will always be a goal :) 
  Continue to cook and bake for fun. I did not focus on this last year so I am challenging myself to focus on it more this year! 
  Read 7 books. I used to read ALL the time. all. the time. Seriously, 2-3 books per month. Now? Maybe 2-3 per YEAR. I want to make time to ensuring I’m continuing to educate my mind. 
  Spend more intentional time with family and friends. Again, this will always be and should always be a goal. It’s the most important one of any on this list. At the end of the day, I love my business but without our friends and family, none of that matters. 

Image Source [1]