New Year. New Focus.
Howdy Ya'll
(which still makes me cringe to say because I'm from Northern Virginia and we don't say that, but here in Tidewater Virginia, they do say it!)
2016 has been great for our business! We have taken over 31,000 photos. You can see our favorite shots here: We have had over 64 shoots or events and so many awesome people that we've met!
But now that we are entering 2017 and the WINTER TIME (which for an outdoor photographer is HARD in the colder months business wise), I have decided to reflect on a few things now that things are started to slow down.
1. What do I want my business to do?
2. What kind of photos do I want to take
3. What kind of person do I want to be in my shoots?
4. What is my overall vision in my business?
All these questions and more are filling my mind.
I look at photographers in just my area. There are over 1,000. I look at the internet. I belong to a group of over 42,000 photographers. YUP. So I'm a very, very small fish in a large pond of amazing artists.
As I started to look at my fellow photographers online. I had a tinge of jealousy, thinking, "Wow, I should just give up now."
But that got me starting to think. It got me thinking about my overall vision of my business.
I never started it to be the "best photographer in the area" kind of business. I never even started it to make money.
I just started my business because I believed that life really needed to be documented in a way that only I could do it.
In fact, my children are the reason that I started it and my clients are the reason that I stick with it.
I remember when I started out as an amateur. I would gobble up any knowledge like a sponge- like it was my breath. Then, I got so much knowledge that I started to think that I really "knew something about something." But I still had an amateur mentality of comparing my work to others.
Now I've been in the business for 4 years. I should feel more comfortable in my skin- so comfortable that I don't have time to compare myself to other people! In fact, I should be taking up all my brain cells and energy trying to serve my clients and make a great experience for them. All of my energy should be SHARING my knowledge with others and mentoring.
That's why I came up with great phrase: "Amateurs compare, while Artists share."
I think it's going to be my focus in the new year- sharing my knowledge and not having time for comparing my self to others!
So how am I doing that? By spending most of my time teaching, mentoring and reaching out to others starting their business- not for profit, but just for the joy of empowering others.
I also started a new wedding blog: The Better Half Bride to encourage positive discussions around real brides with realistic budgets that are tired of trying to fit into the "wedding magazine" mold. You see it here or even contribute articles: www.thebetterhalfbride.com
Well, that about sums it up! Thank you all so much for a great year and I hope that You will have a great 2017, filled with love and family!
Christal
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