The first day of March is here and if you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you know that I always like to start my month with a little goal post! Although, I feel awful about it…but last month I wasn’t able to post any of my goals! Partly because I forgot but also because the end of January was a pretty busy time for me & I just couldn’t get my crap together! This month though, I knew I wanted to start the month off on a good  foot, so here it is! Day ONE of March and I’m posting my goals! I sure have my crap together for these next 30 days, that’s for sure! 

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Business Goals-

+FINALLY get a new portfolio website.  I’m tired of JUST having a blog as a website.  It doesn’t look that professional if you really want to know the truth of it! I’m planning on building a portfolio website and having a blog as an entirely separate page.  I’m planning on working with Media Novak, so far they’ve been wonderful to work with via email. Since this is a HUGE investment, its taken a while for us to finally be able to do this, but hopefully I’ll be able to make that payment to them by the end of this month! Wish me luck!

+Blog every week for my new blog features: “Married Mondays“, “Wedding Wednesdays“, and “Business Fridays“.  My goal is to pre-write these blog posts at the beginning of the month, or at least at the beginning of each week! Blogging is something I definitely want to get better at in 2016, so I’d figured I’d hold myself accountable with this challenge.  I’ll also be blogging all my current sessions & weddings on Tuesday & Thursday.

+Design, create, print, and have in my hands an actual album of my portfolio! This has been a tough one for me, y’all. So many of my clients want to hold something tangible in their hands when they meet with me to talk about their wedding photography.  Having all my portfolio images online just isn’t cutting it anymore! I’ve looked at a couple different album companies, but I have a great feeling with RedTree Albums.  I’ve also started offering my clients with an optional album add-on to their photography collections.

+Buy new equipment/supplies for the upcoming 2016 Wedding Season.  I’ll need extra light stands, strobes, memory cards, and second shooter equipment.  I’m also in dire need of new shooting dresses to wear on wedding days and shoes.  I’ve worked in just about every shoe imaginable, but I want something simple, cute, and comfortable (am I asking too much?!) I’m probably going to be ordering black Tieks here in just a bit! Who has a pair of them and can tell me if they’re worth it or not?!

+Start coaching sessions.  So far, I’ve gotten quite a response for my recent “Coffee & Cameras” Coaching sessions and I’m super excited about this! I can’t wait to start meeting everyone who is interested in learning more about running a business, my own tips behind the camera, and post production.  I’m also throwing in some headshots as well for all attendees!

Personal Goals-

+Run, run, RUN! Last night, we were planning on going to our local aquatic center to get memberships, but I told Phillip that I think we should wait on spending money every month for a “gym membership” until we get disciplined to ACTUALLY work out.  We’ve definitely put working out on the back burner…but who could blame us?! We’ve enjoyed our newlywed life a little too much! He gets home from work, we eat dinner, and we become snuggly, cuddly couch potatoes. I’ve made a commitment to start back my running every other day.  I swear, when I started running back in 2013…weight FELL off me.  Running for 30+ minutes every other day this month…oh yeah, I’ve got this!

+Get our interior doors painted.  This is something we DIDN’T do while we were updating our house before we moved in.  Painting doors SUCKS & we quickly found that out when we started painting a couple of our interior doors and almost lost it when we were on the second coat.  We’re planning on buying/renting a sprayer and painting them all at once. Oh, this outta’ be fun!

+Do a little bit of Spring Cleaning! I’ve been in a “Spring Cleaning” mood ever since January.  I swear y’all, my house is never ridiculously dirty & I typically try to keep it pretty organized. But we’ve all got that one room/closet that we just throw anything into.  THAT is what I’ve got to clean out! I’ve got a monstrous hall closet that is just begging to be cleaned out.

+Begin planning our anniversary trip for June.  We’re planning on going to Charleston, SC. It’s going to be SO hot, but it’s a place where Phillip hasn’t been in a while and it’s one of my favorite places on earth! I want to do ALL of the touristy things while we’re there like a carriage tour, visit the plantations, and eat at my favorite restaurant — Justine’s Kitchen.

+Visit a little town/city somewhere close to Charlotte for a day-date.  I’m thinking of Greenville, SC or Concord, NC or Pinehurst, NC. We shall see! I’m always up for a little weekend adventure!

Thanks so much for reading! Here’s to a very successful month & having my crap together! (Hehe! 😉 ) XO! -Emma Loo