A Year in Review – 2016

This is the 3rd year in a row that I’ve answered this exact set of questions looking back at the year that is quickly slipping away & looking forward to the new year that is upon us! 3 years in a row – it’s officially a tradition! It’s really fun to look back now over the past 2 years and read what I was most proud of, what I learned, and what I was most excited for – it’s fun to see the progression of my goals growing and changing. Shout out to Jamie Delaine for originally inspiring & sharing the outline to this post 2 years ago!

If you’d like to go back and read over what I wrote the previous 2 years I have done this, click here for 2014’s version and click here for 2015’s version!

And if the ridiculous amount of words in this post intimidate you – I promise I’m not offended by you choosing to skip this one (there are over 2,300 words!). In the next few weeks I have a lot more “pretty” posts planned – my favorite wedding, engagement, and portrait session images from 2016, as well as some Abby Saturday bloopers, plus the ever-popular “behind-the-scenes” look at me while I’m “on the job”! Stay tuned!

LOOKING BACK
What are you most proud of this year?
2016 was a different kind of year for my business. After relocating at the end of 2014, I expected 2016 to be my first “down” year & it has been. After 3 years of my business routinely growing and doubling, 2016 was still a great year, but not quite as big as last year. And to be honest, I’m okay with that. That fact alone (that I’m not freaking out over my business not exploding) is an accomplishment to be proud of!
Along with that, since I did not book as many weddings as I had last year, I was able to pour more time and effort into serving my brides & grooms. I was able to work with each of them to create a wedding day timeline and help them in a more personalized way in regards to planning their day & afterward creating their album. I also was able to turn every wedding I photographed in 2016 around in 2 weeks or less! I feel like I was able to institute some really solid business practices and workflows that will continue to make my business streamlined and running smoothly!

What was the biggest risk you took?
Thinking back over 2016, I feel like there were 2 major risks I took – one paid off really well and the other not so much:
The first major risk was a risk in my husband. I had 2 weddings in 2016 that I needed a second shooter for that Ellen would not be able to help me with. I was between a rock & a hard place – I have hired second shooters in the past, but every time I’ve done so, it’s been a huge struggle (mostly just because Ellen is so amazing, reliable, we work so well together, & simply put: no one else is her!) So, after a lot of thinking and praying and talking it through, I made the decision to train Derrick as a second shooter. Way back in 2010, he shot a wedding with me & he did really really well. I already knew that he had a good eye and a good feel for the camera (he’s made several mini-movies as well as running a very successful YouTube channel) but he would need some education as far as shooting in manual & working a wedding day. He shadowed Ellen and I through 2 separate (and very different) weddings and then he shot the following 2 weddings with me as my second shooter. I was nervous to toss him into the mix like I did, but in the end it paid off so well. He took some of my favorite images ever from those 2 weddings! He sees things totally different than I do & we worked well together! A huge risk that paid off really well!
The 2nd major risk I took was with my website. Back in January, I knew I wanted to revamp my website, but I didn’t want to spend the month+ that it would take to do it myself. I moved forward in hiring a designer that I had admired for a long long time and was so excited to give someone else the monumentous task of building my website. I felt so professional. Several weeks of questionnaires and emails back & forth brought about the website I had for 2016. I wasn’t quite satisfied with it. And then it began really acting up. I always had had the most lovely comments about my websites and suddenly I was getting the feedback that it wouldn’t load or it was extremely slow, that the text was impossible to read, that the page’s coding was messed up, problem after problem after problem. I emailed my designer with all of my concerns and she didn’t respond to me for over a week. I was so frustrated. Eventually, she did fix some of my issues – basically getting my website back to a slowly-working-order – but it had put a permanent bad taste in my mouth & I was devestated. I had spent so much money on this new website that simply wasn’t working for me. And as salt in an already festering wound, I found out about 3 specific solid leads that were sent to my website over the period of a month and none of them panned out.
That being said, I knew I needed an update and as soon as I got out of wedding season, it was the first thing on my to-do list! Thankfully, after some research, I was able to upgrade my website program & completely redesign my website myself in less than a week! I am super pumped over the results! It’s fresh and new and updated and even though it still needs a little tweaking, it’s done & I love it!

What did you learn this year?
I feel like I learned so much in regards to workflow and putting processes into place for my business to run more smoothly! I learned a lot about batching and automation and little puzzle pieces that really made things easier for myself! I was determined (for the most part) to only work on my business while Braelynn was napping or in bed and that meant I needed to be more on-task, more dedicated, and less distracted when I sat down to work. I’m so excited that I was able to really pull everything together, input new processes to make things easier, and still feel like I had a balance (most days) of being a stay-at-home Mama who was also running a full-time business.
I also learned all about sales tax! YAY. Not. I’ve been paying taxes through my business for the last few years, but Pennsylvania changed it’s sales tax laws this year, so now I have to add sales tax to everything. Sorry future brides & grooms! That being said, I didn’t feel like it was right to suddenly add sales tax to the end of my 2016 bride’s & groom’s wedding photography invoices, so my business simply absorbed all of those additional taxes for 2016. It hurt, but I felt like it was the right thing to do.

What do you wish you had made more time for?
I wish I had made more time for myself. That’s one of my biggest goals for 2017: self-care. If Mama ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy. But seriously, I found that I was pouring into everyone (mostly my husband & daughter) but not myself which led to burn-out in a personal place of my soul. I am now truly seeing the benefits of taking some “me” time every day to either read, or journal, or do a little exercising (or all of the above) and I’m determined that 2017 will be so much better in the self-care department!

What are 3 highlights (business or personal) of your year?
1. Braelynn turned 1 in 2016! We hosted a rather large birthday party for her here at home & even though we got the largest snow of the year that weekend, everyone came! She loved all the attention and opening all the presents! It’s so crazy to think that her 2nd birthday is just around the corner (a month away!) I think I’m going to have a tougher time with her turning 2 than I had with her turning 1!
2. We took a week in May & went on vacation with my family to Tennessee! It was one of the most memorable vacations ever! Not only did we make the 8 hour drive down all together in my parent’s big van, but we stayed all together in a 3-story house. It was Braelynn’s first big trip & first official vacation & we had a blast! We hiked, shopped, ate, and went to Dollywood where we enjoyed shows, music, & roller coasters! It was a lovely, very relaxing week together.
3. I attended my first photography workshop!! It’s the craziest, most “God-thing” story you’ve ever heard (you have to go read it here, it’s so cool!) and I was overwhelmingly blessed to be able to attend. I was so inspired & encouraged and it couldn’t have come at a better place & time. I was in a very discouraging place with my business and after the Passion To Profitability Workshop in Morgantown, West Virginia, I left so uplifted! I still am and have never been so incredibly humbled by the gracious heart of another. Callie Lindsey – you are the BEST!

LOOKING FORWARD
What “word” do you want to define 2017?
Fearless. I have so many ideas and things I want to do with my business, but to be honest, I’m terrified of most of them. I’m naturally an introvert (I distinctly remember hiding behind my Mom as a little girl no matter where we went) and deep down inside, I’m still that little girl hiding. I know that I can push myself out of my comfort zone to do uncomfortable things and I know that the rewards are always abundant! It’s just getting to that point that is the challenge. So, fearless.

What are 3 big goals (business or personal) for 2017?
1. I’ve already given away my first goal: a more balanced approach to self-care. It’s okay to take some time for myself – just a few minutes is not going to kill anyone and Kara is a much happier and thoughtful person after some time working on herself.
2. My goal for 2017 is to book 12 weddings. That number has been my goal for the last 3 years and even though I technically (only on a technicality) hit it in 2015, I fell shy in 2016. I really would like to hit that magical yet elusive number of 12.
3. Like I already mentioned, I have several big ideas that I want to work on in 2017 that will help grow my business, especially in the location I’m currently living in. Don’t get me wrong – I love my clients in the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania & New York, but it’s tricky booking weddings up there because they’re so far away! It’s so nice to be able to come home, be able to back-up my images to my home computer that night, and sleep in my own bed after a long wedding day. All of my ideas though started with a new, fresh website that I was proud of – so that box has now being checked. I can now start into my other 2 goals of joining the Norwin Chamber of Commerce and beginning to reach out to other wedding vendors for a few projects I have in mind. Again – word of the year: *deep breath* fearless.

What do you want to stop doing in 2017?
This is the most challenging question! I always have a really hard time answering this one.
I would like to stop being such an introvert. I like to “hide” behind my camera, “hide” behind my baby, “hide” behind my family, “hide” quite literally over in a corner. Okay, that last one is a bit stretching it, but I’m tired of feeling sorry for myself like I’m the invisible one in the room. I’m only invisible if I allow myself to be! It’s time for the invisible state to come to an end!

What things excite you about the upcoming year?
Well for starters, we kick off the year with the HUGE event of my little sister getting married!! I still can’t believe it, but it’s true! And it will literally be here before we know it (I better buckle down in writing my Matron of Honor Toast soon!) Then comes Braelynn’s 2nd birthday!
We have plans to continue renovating our house with a new roof, continuing to replace the old windows, cutting down the tree in the backyard, and adding insulation to the 3rd floor so it’s a more useable space!
I’m also excited about warm summer weekends at Deep Creek, lovely trips to visit with Derrick’s parents, game nights with my siblings, and continuing to watch Braelynn grow and learn! 2017 is going to be an exciting year for us! We don’t have any “official” vacations planned yet, but we’ll see what the year brings!

What do you want to learn in 2017?
One of the things I’d really like to learn more of in 2017 is SEO. I know that’s a sort of “pandora’s box” but every time I dig in and read some blogs or listen to a webinar, I learn something new! I’d love to get my website to Google’s elusive “page 1” and even though I know that’s a huge task to undertake, now that I have a fabulous new, stunning website, I’m ready to show it off! Let’s do this!

So, there you have it! If you’re interested in playing along and looking back over 2016 & looking forward to 2017 along with me – here is the list of questions to copy & paste! If you do, would you tag me in your post either on Instagram or on Facebook? I’d love to read up on your year in review & your goals for 2017! You can even grab my graphic to use! Here’s the link to download it!

LOOK BACK
What are you most proud of this year?
What was the biggest risk you took?
What did you learn this year?
What do you wish you had made more time for?
What are 3 highlights (business or personal) of your year?

LOOK FORWARD
What “word” do you want to define 2017?
What are 3 big goals (business or personal) for 2017?
What do you want to stop doing in 2017?
What things excite you about the upcoming year?
What do you want to learn in 2017?