My Yearly Goals Revisited: How Did I Do in 2022?
Last year as we were wrapping up 2021, I shared the mistakes I made in my business over the year and what I learned from those mistakes. I also shared how I planned to work on those pieces of my business over the next year. And while I feel I did well overall, I found there were still plenty of lessons to be learned - because let’s face it, nobody’s perfect and no business is either! Keep reading to find out how I did with these goals in 2022.
Mistake
Taking On Too Much
In 2021 I let my inner people pleaser take over and took on too much. While I’ve often shared my story about shifting to branding photography from weddings and families so that I could have my weekends back and spend more time with my own family, I kind of sabotaged that mission by taking on more than I could handle. Before I knew it, the year was over and I was feeling just as burned out as I did at the end of wedding season.
Lessons learned and 2022 Goal: When it sounds like it will be too much for you to take on, it likely will be. At the end of 2021 I decided to be more careful with my calendar going forward, only booking what I know what I can take on. Also, I decided to continue outsourcing certain parts of my business to save me time and allow me to work on the parts of my business that I enjoy. And the biggest lesson learned and goal for 2022 was to stop the people pleasing and say no when I knew I needed to.
How did I do in 2022: I am happy to report that I feel like I maintained a much better work/life balance this year. In February we escaped to the warmer weather in Florida for a few days, and then to Costa Rica for a week’s long adventure in April. One piece of the puzzle I may not have calculated into my 2022 plans is the major renovation project we’re currently in the thick of on our home. But I still was able to take 3 weeks off to visit family and friends as the contractors kicked off the work.
Part of my success with this is always planning ahead and blocking off my calendar. This has helped me to stick to my designated shoot days (mostly) and set boundaries with my freelance urban design projects, allowing me to feel more balanced. I also did not take on any big business projects this year like major launches or business renovations. I focused on what’s working and kept going with that!
Mistake
Squeezing People In
As a people pleaser, I never want to disappoint my clients. In 2021 I was pretty good about keeping to my schedule, even with the extra urban design work I took on. When I’ve previously tried to squeeze people in, I realized in 2021 that if people want to work with you, they are willing to wait for your schedule to open up. And if they aren’t willing to wait, they’re probably not a good fit.
Lessons learned and 2022 Goal: Again, the message here is to not be afraid to say no and maintain the boundaries you set for yourself and your business. In 2021 I learned that I need to be clear about booking times and I decided that for 2022 clients they would need to get in touch at least a month in advance if they want to get on my calendar.
How did I do in 2022: Again, I did pretty well with this in 2022 … until Q4. After taking off those 3 weeks at the beginning of our home renovation in August, I felt the need to make up for some lost time with my regular clients. So while I may have slipped up a bit at the end of the year, I have been better about saying no and not shooting more than two days a week. Going forward, I want to be more efficient with booking clients and now that I have my very own studio (so exciting!), I hope to book more in studio sessions and that will be more accommodating to my clients.
Mistake
Managing Every Single Part of the Business
Before 2020 I was the definition of solopreneur. I managed every single part of my business, for both my photography work and my course. You name it, I did it. When I started outsourcing, it was life changing. I won’t lie, it was hard to take that step into letting others handle different parts of my business because my business is literally ME. But since taking the leap, I’ve made an effort to outsource wherever I can, like with my blogs and graphics, and image editing. Doing this allowed me to create a great workflow. It’s also allowed me to work on the parts of my business that I really love which makes my job so much more fun!
Lessons learned and 2022 Goal: Don’t work on a part of your business that you don’t enjoy or have time for. Find someone who understands your brand and specializes in that task and then pass it along to them. That was what I planned to do in 2022 and I am happy to give recommendations on the contractors and service providers I use to help keep my business running.
How did I do in 2022: I am continuing to outsource where I can, including content creation, image editing (ImagenAI is amazing and I am exploring their culling operation as a beta tester. If you want to get your first 1500 photo edits for free click my link) and I’ve added bookkeeping and client gifting. I have decided to cut social media management out of my budget. While I still post and I’m active on Instagram, I find that a lot of my work has been coming still from referrals and my blog (thanks to SEO!). In 2023 I am focusing on streamlining my business even more by opening a studio and hopefully that will allow me to cut back on some travel time and leverage the ability for clients to come to me.
Mistake
Not Taking the Time to Strategically Launch my Course
I would like to debunk the myth that having a course is just an easy way to make passive income. It’s not. So much goes into creating a course and launching is exhausting. Some entrepreneurs thrive in launching, but in 2021 I lost the gusto for live launching The Brand Photographer Method so I opted to relaunch a new evergreen funnel. However, there is still a lot of work needed to be done to get people INTO that funnel. To put it simply, I just didn’t have the energy to focus on it.
Lessons learned and 2022 Goal: In 2021 I learned that it’s important to set time aside for strategizing but make a launch schedule that is realistic for YOU. I decided in 2022 that I would block off my calendar during launch time so I could be super present for when my funnel was running, and have the time to tackle any tech snafus.
How did I do in 2022: Welp, let’s just say plans sometimes change! As of the end of 2022 The Brand Photographer Method will be closing. Part of my decision comes from the fact that it’s not where the money is, but I also know that if I wanted to really scale the course I’d have to cut back on my photography client work and that is not aligned with my personal goals. In 2023 I will be investigating 1:1 mentoring through Jessie Wyman Photography, but the course will be put on hold from here on out.
My Final Piece of Advice
As we say goodbye to 2022, the major lesson I am walking away with is to keep a close eye on expenses and business financials. Given the state of inflation, my husband and I looked at our personal finances to really see where we could cut back. Let’s just say I found out we spend a lot on food! I am also going to take a deep dive into my business finances to see where I can make some much needed cuts and where I can increase profits while lowering expenses. But at the same time I’m also seeing where I can invest in time-saving activities which would allow me to shoot more or take on more paid work.
That being said, I’ve done some cutting back already, including eliminating expenses that are related to my course. I’ve switched from a paid Planoly account to a free Social Champ account, and I’ve cut out social media management expenses. And I keep track of all of my expenses using Quickbooks and by outsourcing to a bookkeeper which has really helped me streamline my finances. I’m also going to be revisiting my numbers to make sure I am still profitable and able to reach my goals.
As mentioned, sometimes looking at your numbers also means investing to make your life easier. Many of my clients are taking bigs steps in building their brand, which sometimes involves a new website or marketing strategy that will also need photos. So, if you’re looking to grow and make changes next year, and think you will need a branding session, grab my planning guide so you can start to prepare for your shoot. And don’t forget to get in touch about a month or more before your ideal shoot date!