At the end of each year, I like to do a review of sorts. What was the year like? Did I do well, or could I have done better? What worked and what needs to be changed moving forward? But more than anything, the end of the year is the perfect time to pause and reflect on what transpired and appreciate the journey that I had the privilege of experiencing this past year.

In 2019…

A Rocky Start

To be quite honest, I didn’t really know which way things were going to go between January and May of 2019. The big reason for this was Elliot, my youngest son. He got diagnosed with a developmental delay (ironically it wasn’t academic learning, but emotional maturity) and he tested into a special education preschool in Westport. We didn’t know whether he was going to go to kindergarten. We didn’t know how much extra hand-holding he was going to need. But I did know that I 100% had to be there for him. Which meant that I had less time (and mental head space) to devote to my business, not to mention more time spent on trying to handle things at home (aka, trying to hold it together as my difficult to handle child kept being difficult to handle).

In May, everyone agreed that the best thing for Elliot was to go to kindergarten in September. While that didn’t mean that all issues were magically resolved, it did mean a more consistent schedule come fall.

And it’s not like things got easier either, just more predictable. And thankfully everybody survived all the transitions. Right now, Elliot is doing well in kindergarten and just got his diagnosis upgraded to a more suitable “emotional disturbance” category. While I understand that this is not something anyone actually talks about, I’ve met so many parents who went through similar situations with their own children that I believe it’s important to share this type of information. My child is outside of the norm (in many ways, good and bad), and we are lucky to live in a time where the support systems are in place to help him.

Expanding services

And with a more predictable schedule, I was able to expand my services. I’ve been working on headshots for a while on the fringes, and in 2019 I went ahead and made them an official part of my service roster. When I first tried doing headshots a few of years back, I honestly didn’t have the skills necessary to be comfortable with the process. I needed to learn posing, studio lighting, and putting people at ease before I could walk away from a headshot session feeling good about the results. I also had to do headshots in a way that felt true to my style (because the traditional headshot look does not resonate with me). So a few things needed to fall into place first, to say the least!

The other huge addition was Personal Branding Sessions. 2019 was the test year, to some extent, for this service. I will be refining these sessions at the beginning on 2020 and officially launching them in a few weeks. And yes, it takes a full year to work with clients, figure out what works and what doesn’t, and create a session experience that is both different from what everyone else is going and also the perfect fit for my client’s needs.

Coaching & Masterminds

I signed up for my first mastermind in 2018 and it wrapped up during the first part of 2019. I worked with an incredible photographer from Florida (plus a handful of other wonderful women who take photographs for a living) to streamline my business. While it didn’t seem like it at the time, this process helped tremendously (it took a few months for everything to sink in and to start seeing results - which is apparently fairly typical). Things changed on the back end and bigger numbers started showing up on my financial tracking spreadsheet, too. The rocky start at the beginning on the year turned into hitting my conservative income goal for the year. The key also being that while I didn’t achieve the runaway success we’re all told to strive for, I also didn’t run myself into the ground with stress by taking on too much work or mismanaging things.

I also did an intimate 6-week goal-setting workshop with a local coach (check her out here: https://wealthwithoutwoo.com/) towards the end of the year, as it became clear that having a mentor or coach really helps when it comes to business and personal growth. In fact, in many ways, it’s what sets the serious business owners apart from those who are puttering along hoping that things will work out in the end!

A Networking Group of Women

Let’s face it, I’m a solopreneur. I spend most of my time working by myself (aside from photoshoots, of course).. and it’s been a long-time dream of mine to find a local networking group I could actually be a part of on a consistent basis. As the primary parent of 2 boys, it falls on me to get them ready for school in the morning and manage activities in the afternoon. For some reason, a lot of networking groups love to meet at 7am in the morning, every week, or get together in the early evening (if you’re a parent, you know how impossible making any of these work typically is).

But as luck would have it, we got our own chapter of The Dames Collective (Fairfield County) in late 2018! Meetings are once a month on Friday morning at 9am (after school drop-off), plus some evening events for member’s only. It’s a women only group that’s such a supportive and nurturing environment, too. As a textbook introvert, it takes me a while to be comfortable with meeting new people and I’m still in awe every time I walk into the room filled with all those inspiring women. If you’re looking for a local networking group to join, I highly recommend coming to one of the Morning MindFUEL meet ups to see how you like it! Follow @damescollective.ct on Instagram for info on the next event and come hang out with us!

2020

Going into the next decade can be a little intimidating! Even at the tail-end of 2019, I made some HUGE changes in the family photo session process. Changes that will allow me to provide better service while optimizing my time and the time of my families. 2020 is going to be the year that defines my business growth and direction - it will be carefully curated with intention and aim towards loving service for my clients. It will be a year of self reflection, expansion, and building a business that’s 100% aligned with my core beliefs. And I’m really looking forward to it!