So we’re a few months into the new year now and I thought it would help me stay accountable if I listed my progress with the goal list I made at the beginning of the year! I’m happy to say I’m actually doing pretty well so far! I still have a lot left to do, but it seems pretty manageable!

• Develop client gifts. IN PROGRESS. I’m switching over to PASS this year, so I had to think of some new things to send in lieu of my adorable (if I may say so..) dvd packages. I think I mostly have these gifts ironed out, but there’s almost always room for tweaking, so we’ll see where these end up going!
• Implement PASS. IN PROGRESS. So far so good!  I’ve been rolling it out bit by bit for wedding clients and I’m loving not having to go to the post office every. other. day.
• Tweak my workflow. IN PROGRESS. Well I think this will continue to evolve as I actually get into the meat of wedding season, so I can’t really say I’ve done much on this front yet.
• Start a monthly duty day. HAVEN’T STARTED.
• Simplify bookkeeping. DONE. I’m using a SUPER simple google spreadsheet system and I love it! It’s really easy and I have been keeping up with it so far.
• Invest in new gear. This month is going to be do or die. Haha. I’m planning on adding a 5dmkii (full frame….FINALLY!!!), A 50 1.2, 35 1.4 and 135 2.0 between April and May.
• Better work/life balance. Coming up with an email system helped with this. But I also have decided that I have to just not be so hard on myself…and I have to realize that my ideal day doesn’t look like what everyone else’s does and I don’t have to have any set schedule. If I want to work on a Sunday afternoon, I can. If I don’t, I won’t.
• SECRET PROJECTS. UHHH… Okay so two of the secret projects were ideas I had that I’m not 100 percent sure if I even want to do anymore. I’m not really sure!

I’ve also had some time to develop a few other goals that I’d like to accomplish by the end of  this year…maybe!

• Book ten 2014 weddings. I’ve booked one so far! Yay! Nine more to go!
• Plan a honeymoon/getaway with John. We haven’t been on our honeymoon! We skipped a traditional honeymoon right after the wedding so we could afford the wedding photographers we wanted and I think it’s finally time we save up and go somewhere! I don’t know that we are traditional island honeymoon people though, so we’ll see where we end up choosing to go!
• Experiment with film on the side. I still have two rolls that I bought last year…I just need to find something really pretty to take pictures of. I have a styled shoot next month that I’m putting together with my former bride/friend Amanda, so maybe I’ll use some of it then! This time I promise I will get my film developed!
• Give the blog a facelift. I love the website Ravyn designed for me, but I think the blog could be a little better. I’m excited to be working with Krista Jones to freshen it up a little bit!
• Volunteer. I feel very strongly about wanting to do more to give back to my community, but I’m not sure what that looks like right now. I do know that I want to spend more of my time dedicated specifically to serving others! At this point I think this just means doing the best I can to give my time and resources to those I feel called to help. I would really like to be a part of something more organized (maybe habitat for humanity or something?) but my schedule is always so crazy it’s hard to commit to something that requires regularness (is that a word??). This has been a challenge for us because I don’t feel like there are as many organized volunteer opportunities that aren’t church based…and since we don’t attend church, it’s been tough to find something to get involved in.
• Utilize social media better. My goal is to really sit down and look at how each different social media outlet really affects my business and how I can best use each of them to drive traffic here to the blog.
• Finally make and order a sample album. I think I have decided on my album company (Madera), the only thing holding me back is actually seeing one of these albums in person:( I missed their party at WPPI and they didn’t have a booth…so I haven’t been able to actually touch one and see how it feels in my hands.
• Host a client party. I love the idea of having a party at my house where all of my clients can come over and hang out, bbq with us, and meet/ mingle with all of my other clients. Most of my clients are similar ages/have similar interests so I know they would get along great and it would be so much fun to hang out and get to know everyone. Unfortunately I don’t have a house or a yard that would accommodate this yet:( So I’m still looking for another affordable way to bring all of my clients together!

Well, that’s what I have so far! Can you believe the first quarter of 2013 is almost over? We are three months into 2013 and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all! How are you guys doing with your goals? Any new goals you’ve decided to tackle this year?? Share them with me in the comments!!

(My office assistant)