How To Set Your 2022 Photography Goals
I must admit, 4 or 5 years ago I didn’t plan my year ahead at all. I pretty much lived month by month, even week by week in some cases. Totally running my business in a non-proactive way. Then sitting back and wondered why the enquiries just weren’t coming in.
My marketing plan was literally non-existent. Apart from a few last-minute social media posts, shoved out here and there with no proper thought or planning. It was only when I took a long hard look at my business, to try and figure out what was actually working and more importantly, what wasn’t working, that it all started to come together.
After taking some time out to really study my previous year, by recognising and writing down all the wins, however insignificant they were, plus taking an honest look at the not-so-shiny moments, and realising what really did not work. It all started to make sense.
So, I now start every New Year the same way (and of course, this doesn’t have to be a New Year thing, this time of year just works for me, you can literally do this whenever it suits you). I take some time out to note everything that worked and didn’t work from the previous year. Looking at the goals that I kicked arse at, and the goals that fell by the wayside. These notes can then be used to determine what you want to achieve this year.
So, then with these notes, I then sit down with a huge piece of paper and brain dump!! I think of every possible goal that I could possibly want to achieve for 2022, and I try not to overthink it. I literally just scribble it all down!!
Then it’s time to start dividing your goals into Quarters (Q1 to Q4). The reason for this is a year is just too long to try and plan ahead. It’s about making it more manageable. So by dividing our long list of goals into 4 quarters, it’s already becoming much more bearable and less overwhelming!
I like to use Trello, in fact, I live my whole life on Trello. But this can be done in a notebook, a spreadsheet, however, you personally work best, but now create a section for each quarter;
Q1 (Jan to Mar)
Q2 (Apr to Jun)
Q3 (Jul to Sep)
Q4 (Oct to Dec)
I now take each of my goals and give it a quarter to sit in. Therefore already making my plan much more manageable. It’s important to be aware of any other commitments that you have that may determine how much time you realistically have. For example, I know that I will be rammed with weddings and family shoots during the summer months. Plus I like to squeeze in a family holiday around the same time, so I’ll keep things to a minimum during those months. But Q1 and most of Q4 are much quieter, so the perfect time to plan and take on any bigger projects.
Once everything has been divided into quarters, I go one step further and divide each of those lists into months. So for example the 10 goals I have for Q1 will then be split between January, February, and March.
It’s then time to go into each of these goals/projects and list down the tasks that need to happen in order for you to complete it. Now some of these goals will obviously be easy to achieve in one or two steps. Whereas other projects will need a lot of planning and forward-thinking.
It’s at this point I now grab my calendar and start working backward within each task.
So for example, I know that I’ll be offering Black Friday deals again this year, Black Friday being on the 25th November 2022. I’ll then add each of those smaller tasks into my calendar. Working backward from my launch date, so I know that when October comes along, I’ll be prompted to start planing the deals, designing the web page, etc. I’ll be ready to move through the process until I am ready to launch in November.
Once you have each of your projects added to your calendar you’ll be able to sit back and see your whole year planned and in writing (or on screen, whatever you prefer).
Now obviously there is plenty of wriggle room available here, it’s definitely not set in stone. I mean none of us know what’s lurking around the next corner. Maybe an opportunity arises that we would never have predicted and plans need to change. But it’s a start and if you need to re-evaluate in 6 months, re-evaluate.
At the end of the day, it’s pretty simple …. it’s about setting goals and taking action.
Since doing this exercise, my business has doubled year upon year. It enabled me to achieve both clarity and focus, meaning I know exactly what I want to achieve and how I plan to achieve it!!
Let me know if you found this helpful and here’s to kicking arse in 2022!!!!
Jennie
xx
