December can be a trying time for photographers running a business. As business slows down, discouragement can creep in. Luckily, however, January is around the corner, which means a new beginning and new goals for a new year.
The new year can be a magical time for small business owners. October through December can often be the peak of the off-season for photographers. Having a slow season can often lead creatives to feel inadequate or unsuccessful in their business ventures. But with a different mindset, the photography slow season can also offer rest and rejuvenation, leaving January to be a month of refocusing and intention.
Focusing on Rest and Goal-Setting
Instead of thinking of December as a time of slow business transactions, consider this season as a time of rejuvenation for your business and yourself. Now is the perfect time to start focusing on personal projects or tackling business goals that you haven’t had time to achieve in the past. This is also a great time to take a break from your business, particularly if you’re feeling a bit of burnout. If you’re feeling discouraged about your photography business, try shifting your mindset to viewing this time as a time of rest instead of a time of discouragement and failure.
The end of the year is also a great time to start considering what goals you’d like to achieve in the new year. Goal-setting is imperative to running a successful professional photography business, because it allows you to set a business plan in place and gives you a roadmap for what you should be doing in your business daily, weekly, and monthly. If you ever feel aimless in your business, you can always revisit the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year to reassess your business plan and what you need to change.
Making a Business Plan
Speaking of a business plan, January is the best time to put a solid business plan in place. Not only does goal-setting allow you to set milestones for yourself throughout the year, but it also allows ample opportunity for brainstorming about how to stay busy during the entirety of the year, even when you’re not photographing clients. Your business plan should include financial goals, as well as personal and business goals like personal projects, marketing plans, social media strategy, and so on.
December is the best month to start readying your business for the new year. With the proper amount of strategy and planning, you can make 2019 the best year yet for your photography business.
Lead Image by rawpixel.com via Pexels, used under Creative Commons.
Appreciate the reminder, but like... how do I business? This just boils down to December is a good time to plan for the new year. The same article could be written about getting in shape.
And it wouldn't help me get in shape, either! :-D
Pretty much this.
It is as if someone wrote an article on how to lose weight advising to eat less and exercise more.