This past weekend ended the 2012 wedding season for me. Looking back over the year, I am overwhelmed by the opportunities and wonderful new clients this year brought into my professional life. I’ve worked with brides and grooms that are die-hard ambassadors for JQ Photo and I couldn’t be more thankful for each and every one of them. In the coming weeks, I’ll be working my tail off to finish up editing that last string of weddings I had every weekend. It was a wild ride, but I actually made it!
Being stuck on the east coast for the “Frankenstorm” allowed me a couple of unplanned “nothing” days to watch a twilight marathon in sweats, catch up on sleep, relax, and also write down some action plans for my off season. I’m hoping I’m held accountable to these so that I can hit the ground running next spring for another action-packed wedding season, another thriving year for JQ Photo.
Some goals for the next few months:
1. Work with a designer to finish, refine, and launch my improved brand! It’s almost in the final stages and it will be the basis for all my tasks after that.
2. Finish, refine, and launch my new website! A while back, I made some noise about launching a new site. The truth is, wedding season took priority and so I left it for November. I’ve been working on it here and there and can’t wait to get it up, with new branded elements included!
3. Decide on pretty, simple, authentic packaging for my clients. I’ve got a lot of ideas rolling around but need to decide and buy.
4. Design wedding albums for clients- can’t wait to get these puppies out and on coffee tables.
5. Invest in a tangible (not just digital) marketing kit. Something impressive to hand to potential clients. Something that sticks with them.
6. Client gifts- the ever impossible tasks of finding something perfect to treat my clients with.
7. Round up my first year of working with a CPA. Boy, has that kicked me in the butt.
8. Learn how to shoot film. Learn how to process it in the dark room. Shoot just to shoot. Can’t freaking wait for this. It’s about stinkin time.
9. Print my own photos- let my art hang in the walls of my home.
10. Organize, file, research on how to be more efficient on the things that don’t come as easily to me on the business side.
11. FINALLY attend WPPI in Vegas in the spring. Please Jesus let me get there!
11. And…actually look into hiring an intern for next season. Little old me? Having an intern? Believe it.
Cheers to the off season. Cheers to exciting things to come. To change. To improvement. To reviving my creativity and strengthening my brand and passion for the next year. Do other wedding photographers plan to regroup this winter? What are your plans? What advice do my readers have for me? I’d love to hear from you!
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