Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hi, and welcome to another episode of Sustainable Photography. It's October, which means it's getting closer to the end of the year and a new year. And every year for the past few years, I've planned out the next year at the end of the lost, and this year will be no different. Every year I also kind of get better at it. I learn new things and I just do do it in different ways. Like for example, in my mentor program, we have now started adding a quarterly plan check in as well, just to see how things are actually going and what it's going to take for you to actually get to the place where you want to be. Maybe you've already started thinking about 2025 and what's next for you and your business. But if you've ever planned out your year before, you know that things might change. There might be some challenges that just pop up out of nowhere. So what are you going to do? You have to try to be flexible. So let's talk about planning in a way where you don't feel like you're stuck. Before you start planning out your year, it's important that you know what your values are and what your vision is for the year. When you know what truly matters to you, it's going to be so much easier for you to navigate those changes that might and probably will show up along the way. Maybe instead of having a fixed revenue goal, which is something that I normally recommend that you have, maybe it's better to have some growth goals. For example, that you increase your bookings by 10%, that you increase your prices by 15%, that kind of stuff. And even if you do want to have a fixed revenue goal, I do recommend having multiple goals, like a minimum goal, a medium goal and a stretch goal. That way you know that you're aiming for your middle goal, your kind of normal goal. But if it all fails, then you know you have your minimum goal that you know, like, okay, at least I got there. And if you do reach your normal goal, then you'll have a stretch goal as well. Something else to reach for to stop you from being complacent and just kind of give up along the way when you really could have done so much better. As I said, we have recently implemented quarterly check ins in my mentoring program and I do still think it's important to plan your whole year as one. But once that's done, it's really helpful if you just break it down into three month blocks and then do those check ins, because then you can see, how did I do so far, what do I need to change or tweak moving forward? Just check in what worked and what didn't work. What am I happy about? And it's so much easier that you're going to feel better when you stop and actually look at what's going well, instead of you just keep going without ever reflecting back. When you're building your business, you might realize that there are some gaps. Maybe there is something that you don't know how to do. Maybe there's something that you want to learn more about. So make sure that you add some kind of growth into your goals and your plan. Make sure that you include some kind of personal projects. Make sure that you break down the thing that you want to achieve and how you're going to get there so you see what's missing. Several of the people in my mentor program have done different workshops and are really working on improving their photography style. And it's just so wonderful to see how they're thriving and how they're building their business in the creative direction that they really want. If there's anything the pandemic has taught us is that we don't know what's going to happen next. So you want to make sure that you have a backup plan, that you have money set aside for an emergency, that you have money set aside to be able to pay yourself, that you have insurances and whatever it is you need to keep your business afloat. Sure, we can never know what's going to happen, but maybe there are some things you can do to just prepare yourself for the what ifs. Great contracts are a must, for example, because they're not there for when your assignments go as planned. They're there for the times when they don't. And there might be things that you yourself haven't experienced yet. And that's why I always recommend you having them checked by a lawyer. You also want to think about your mindset when you're planning out your year, especially when you're looking back to see how last year went, to see how last quarter went. You want to focus on the progress that you've made. You want to see what has gone well instead of beating yourself up for where it didn't go as planned. Because the goal of having a plan and having goals isn't to reach them necessarily, but it's to get closer to where you want to be. It's to move in the right direction. So that is why it's important to celebrate all those wins that you've made and all the progress that you've had. You can even take this one step further. And every single week you can look at the previous week to see how did this week go? What went well? What can I celebrate? What have I achieved? What have I completed? Because it is so important for the work that you will continue to do for your mind to be open, to keep working for you. Basically, planning out your year can mean so much in terms of how you succeed, in terms of what direction you take.
[00:05:54] That's why I have a planning workshop every single year, and this year is no different. But there is one significant difference. This year it's a one day workshop. That way you can do the lessons beforehand and then we can all sit down together and plan it out. We can do the work together to make sure that you walk away with a plan over 2025. If you want to join, which I really hope you do, you can go to www.engvilcolnas.com minicourse and there you'll find what you need to sign up. This year we only have 40 spots. Previously it's been sold out with more spots, but this year I want to do it more exclusive. It's 40 spots only and the price is $97 and I'm going to run it both in Norwegian and English so you can sign up to the one that fits you the most. And I can't wait. I've gotten such good feedback of this workshop and I've had people joining me year after year and I hope to see you on that workshop. It's October 23 and of course there's going to be a replay and everything like that. But if you can join live then that's going to be so amazing.
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