Today is December 30th, 2016

As a child I remember cleaning on the weekends with Spanish music blaring from my moms old stereo. Sometimes, it was a nice welcomed noise, and other times it was too early to hear music. (If you know what I mean). Nonetheless this cultural habit if you will, was definitely instilled in my nature. Preparing for the new year meant that you welcomed the new year with a clean home, and now with my business, this has meant a clean slate. Today, I like to think I made my mom proud by cleaning my home, and also clearing my mind for the new year.

I was always told as the new year comes to a close you are to reflect the years memories. These memories should be your accomplishments and also failures. Yes, failures.

To start the year off, I always write down my goals. This has always been the case, even as a child. My mom was a firm believer that if you wrote things down, it was easier to visualize your goals and to accomplish those goals. So with that said, my year in review is as follows;

-I was able to gain more clients this year through word of mouth and past positive client referrals. This is exactly what I have always wanted and it has finally started to come about. And I am extremely grateful for my past clients in referring me. Its always the best compliment and the most wonderful feeling of knowing someone values your work, and also values you as a person. This action of referrals only makes me feel happier knowing I have clients who have turned into friends.  Although I didn’t get to shoot a lot of weddings this year, I got to shoot a lot of engagements that have led to weddings for 2017.

– Re-doing my website and creating a platform that both my clients and I could benefit from was definitely a must this year. This was my largest project that I decided to undertake. I finally created a space on the internet that I loved and wanted to share. I also added albums to my client products. These albums are gorgeous and are definitely a product I can stand by and am proud to offer.

-Creating a blog and posting every day was one of my biggest goals of this past year. It went okay. My goal for the new year is to share more.  I didn’t quite reach my personal post limit that I wanted. I did however, reach my professional number of post that I wanted to blog about. So with that said, I have to share more of myself for next year. And I have already started some draft post to follow this goal through.

-One of my failures was not hitting my financial goal for the year.  I had a number in my mind for this year and I have doubled this number for next year.  As I look back there is so much more I could have done. I let my attention span of a mosquito get in the way. I don’t need to watch every episode of Stranger things in one day, or catchup on all primetime television in one week.  I need to be honest with my time and what I want.  I have to reevaluate what is important, and right now it is my business. I have purchased a few courses that I will be watching and hopefully learning from. I also added a few financial strategies I want to implement into my business. These strategy plans will hopefully bring me closer to that financial freedom I seek for 2017.

( If you want a recommendation on what I am reading and following try checking out Tony Robbins).  

-And finally, something I didn’t even plan for, I was able to have my very first commercial shoot with a large company. I worked with Walgreens this year, and it was an incredible experience. It was extremely humbling, and also gave me confidence in my craft and knowing that I have the ability and talent that a larger platform could want. I got to shoot locally their Red Nose Campaign. It had a few obstacles that I can now say I have learned from, but overall it was a very nice experience and I can’t wait to do something like this again. This ideally would be my photography dream to continue working in the commercial and editorial field.

I have always gravitated towards this type of style and I feel like I tend to always implement it with all types of photography that I do.

-One goal that I feel has always been on my business part of my list, is creating a brand. As I continue to grow and learn from other creatives that I admire, I have finally found my editing style that I love, and also posing and lighting that I feel have reflected the idea of what brand I want to portray.

 

Those were my key goals of the year, and like I mentioned before I did have some failures.

Ultimately though, I feel like without them I can’t be where I am right now. Honestly, I am grateful for those failures and obstacles that made my stomach hurt, and made me feel like I literally was going to die at that point in time. I have only grown from those experiences, and can now learn from my past and not repeat those occurrences. I think I had to learn from those mistakes too, to value what I do, my clients and also the product that I deliver.

Which now moving forward I have realized that it’s my worth, its my time, and it’s my talent that are my business.

 

To close off 2016…

I found this awesome quote by a painter that I love, he writes,

“I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.”

-Leonardo da Vinci

 

Hugs + Love  (And cheers to 2017)

-Paula