2019 goals

I still can’t believe 2019 is here, the year I finally take my photo business full time.

This is a business/personal post of self reflection over the last few years. Posting it here for accountability!

I’m in awe, honestly. I’ve just been following paths, opening gates, creating connections, taking thousands of photos, and working towards a goal of taking my business, Christina Best Photography, full time.

I didn’t know when the transfer to full time photog would happen, but I knew that I had to do it eventually, and it’s finally here!

Last Friday I had my last day with Parabo Press (formerly Photojojo), the company that I’ve been working remotely for since 2014. I knew then that I would use this job to help grow my photo business.

Recalling the last handful of years:

2014 figuring out life, and figuring out what I wanted to do with photography. Gaining confidence and experience.

2015 the year love won, and I decided to shoot weddings for real. (I had shot a handful between 2011-2014 but wasn’t sure about it yet. Weddings are a big deal!!) I second shot a bunch in the fall of this year.

2016 continued to learn, grow, was still shooting a lot of photos of flowers but shot more weddings. Got engaged at the end of the year.

2017 another continuing year. We were wedding planning. I shot a lot of portraits, assisted photographers, shot even more weddings.

2018 got married, kept growing, continued networking, was apart of 22+ weddings, decided to go full time!

2019 it is here, it’s time to put all my efforts into my business!!

I feel like I’ve been hibernating the last few weeks, which I am thankful for. I took a break from shoots (aside the one with my friends in Tahoe) over winter break, along with a social media cleanse. I realized how much time I spent scrolling and thinking in Instagram captions.

In any case, it was lovely to be present with my wife, Anna, while she was on winter break from teaching. I should probably do that one a quarter or so to keep my head clear and take a break from the life of scrolling.

With the break and time of rest, I am excited to get back to the hustle, the grind, the entrepreneur life!

I’m super excited to grow my business and provide people with beautiful and captivating imagery. I can’t wait to tell stories, share moments, and improve my craft. I look forward to getting to know people from behind the camera, to witness and document once in a lifetime moments of love and joy, and to grow!

Business Goals:

Book 2-6 more weddings through my own business, and start booking 2020 weddings
Portrait or Family sessions 2-4 times a month, more during spring + fall (family photo season)
Blog 2-4 times a month

Improve layouts/beautify your blog
Share more tips/event shoots/personal

IG posts at least 5x a week, try to post more than once some days!

Schedule posts a month out (try that once to see if you like it)

Quarterly Newsletter with updates!

(working on it!!)

Test FB/IG Ads more thoroughly
Grow business
Attend monthly events- TBB/Creative Mornings + try a new event!

Personal Goals:

keep in touch with self, family, friends
stay humble
give your wife more foot rubs (just for you, Anna!)
clean eat 80% of the time
be diligent about hydration
gym 3x a week
self care/self love
cook and clean consistently
Make lists and work on projects over time

Work on big projects for a bit each day
Small projects, block out time to get it down
This can be cleaning/home/organization/photo/etc

gratitude
maintain balance

If you read this, thank you! If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my goals, or anything that might help a small business owner out, get in touch. I’d love to hear from you, and more importantly, I’d love to take your picture.

Cheers,

Christina

Photo by Katee Laine

Blog

Stomp Musical!

Tea Party with Lila

Monday Reflection January 28, 2019

2019 goals, a personal post

Annie and Shawn