Umm….how is it December 31st? Where did this year go? Holy hell people….did you blink and miss it too?

The real question isn’t so much, did you accomplish all the things you set out in January - but did you have a fabulous time this year? So many people seemed to have a crappy 2019 and are looking forward to 2020. Tell me about your year in the comments.

Personal

We’ll start with the personal side of things because that’s the boring part right?

I spent the first part of the year recovering from my ankle surgery in Dec 2018. Good as new and I was back to pole by February - even if I wasn’t quite 100%.

I spent several weekends in Prescott with the spouse - we have a cabin there so he at least tries to come up regularly, I try to come when I’m not working. One of my favorite things to do while I’m here is get in some time at the hot yoga studio. It’s not something I do in Tucson (though I am aware of at least 1 location) and honestly, I don’t think I’d want to. It’s a nice cross-training/not my normal activity/take my mind off everything activity. We also came up for the 4th of July and watched fireworks from the granite rocks of Watson Lake.

In July I once again completed in the American Pole Leagues US National Championship. I “skilled” up after winning Amateur last year so this year I competed Semi-Pro. While I was delighted with my routine (save for a few things that day….and then dozens more after I watched the video a few times)….I ended up placing 4th out of 6. I actually missed the podium by like 0.4 points. Next year.

We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary with a weekend of drinking in Sonoita. We stayed at Kief-Joshua vineyards and checked out the local pours.

Business

Wow. This year we photographed 47 amazing women & couples. It was a banner year and I took some big steps to turning my dream further into reality.

In January, we had back to back weekends of bridal shows with the Arizona Bridal Show (Phoenix) kicking things off, followed by the Tucson Bridal Expo (….Tucson…). We added many new women to our club from those shows and you’ve seen a few of their gorgeous images over the past year.

I also had the amazing Matt Mathews come out at the end of January and do a 2 day intensive Boudoir Makeover with me. We redecorated the studio (and I got rid of SO MUCH STUFF)….it’s truly turning into a space I love being at. We also did some shooting/posing work with a wonderful woman who answered my model call.

I ventured to Vegas in Feb for my annual trip to the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International conference….where I don’t actually attend the conference. While I was there I took a couple cool workshops (that you’ve probably never seen the images from…) and got shot myself - which you may have seen a few of the images from.

In June we went back to Phoenix for the summer edition of the Arizona Bridal Show. We tried out a new booth location that was a smart move and again, welcomed several new faces to our ranks. We also participated in the Ultimate Wedding Giveaway which brought SO many people through our booth - it was amazing and overwhelming.

In August, I jetted off to Denver for a weekend retreat with Matt Mathews - I wanted to refresh what we had gone over in January - and quite frankly, I just love the social aspects. I also started to realize that there IS a wealth of business knowledge in my head that others can learn from.

In November, I celebrated my birthday in San Antonio at the Association of International Boudoir Photographers Annual Retreat. I once again, volunteered to strip down (I have a theme) and was shot by several very talented artists. We also spent 2.5 days focused on our business and learning how to take things to the next level.

Most importantly this year, about May/June, I made a huge commitment and joined a Mastermind community focused on the business of photography. I have seen so much of the rewards from that over the latter half of the year - and I haven’t even been able to complete the entire course yet. I look forward to putting more pieces of that into play in 2020.

Probably the most important thing - fueled from the Mastermind - is that in 2020 I plan to do a little restructuring. As you may recall from a blog post earlier this year, I intended to set some boundaries for myself and my business. Well, let’s just say, I didn’t do a great job. So I’m trying again. :-)

There will be more of this coming in the future, but please be advised that I have already started putting into effect a “No Work Sunday” policy. Short of an emergency situation (a boudoir emergency??) if I am not at the office on Sunday (which in 2020, will be rare), I will not be responding to emails, texts, messages, phone calls, carrier pigeons, drive-bys, smoke signals, paper airplanes or other forms of communication. I will also be working on creating business hours and doing my best to keep communications within those times. I know that for nearly all my clients, this is the first time they’ve ever done this and its a little nerve-wracking. I’m happy to respond to your messages and texts….but I also need to spend time focusing on me (and my spouse…he cares too). I’m sure you all want to leave work at work when you go home…. so do I. :-)

Other 2020 Business Goals:

• Photograph 60 women - we already have 21 on the books so I feel pretty confident about this one happening!

• Expand session availability (i.e. more days of the week!)

• Shoot more couples

• Redecorate the studio (again - gotta keep it fresh for my repeat offenders!)

• Grow my FB group to 2,000 members

• 1500 IG Followers (@unleashedboudoir)

• Amp up our email marketing - mostly because FB is a dick

• Maybe we’ll finally pull off a weekend shooting marathon in Phoenix

• Grow the business by 75%

Wishing you a bright & wonderful New Year and a fabulous 2020!