5/8: What would you like to accomplish in the next year?
Thanks to @lyxzen, @rambo, and @missy for blog homework as always!
This is actually the perfect time for this blog homework...like, eerily perfect. I'm not sure how many people on SG know this, but in addition to shooting for SG & Cosplay Deviants, I also run my own wedding & portrait photography business. I've been in business for just about 5 year now, and at the beginning of this year, I decided that this was the year to make photography my full time job instead of the thing I wish was my full time job while I struggle to fit it into my 50 hour work week.
I've spent the last few months agonizing over this decision, and decided to give myself the deadline of my birthday (August 17th) to make some changes. You see, my day job was at Walt Disney World, as a club level concierge at one of the deluxe resorts. As much as I'd loved the past 5 years working at Disney (in 4 different roles!), it was getting to a point of not only being too much work but also resenting the place I had previously loved so much. My role was so specialized, and it had been months since they had trained anyone - normally that's not too bad but we lost about 25 people over the last year or so who had previously worked in the role either frequently or as needed for coverage, and as a result, everyone in my role was working 6 days a week mandatory overtime since at least January, if not earlier. Everyone was completely burnt out, and on top of it, I was struggling to keep up with editing & client emails and phone calls, and it was killing me to have to hurt my business like that.
Luckily I was recently able to find a part time job that I'm starting next week! I'll be working two or three days a week, and in a few months I'll have full benefits including medical, which was one of the things I was most worried about when considering quitting my job! I'm so thrilled to finally be able to make photography my REAL job with this part time job there as a sort of safety net (plus if I have slow weeks for photography, I can pick up hours!).
So! What would I like to accomplish in the next year? I'd like to be able to look at my finances and be in a place to not have to have a part time job as a safety net - I want to really, truly be my own boss full time. I'd also love to travel in the coming year to meet & shoot SGs and hopefuls around the country! I wanted to plan a Florida/Georgia/Carolinas road trip this year but the idea had to be shelved - hopefully I'll be able to work on making it a reality in the next year. I'd also love to participate in a big shootfest - they look like so much fun and an amazing way to meet new friends! I'm also going to make sure I get to hang out with @sunshine at some point because without her I wouldn't be where I am now (<3), and I'm also going to shoot as many sets of @lenoira as it takes to make that girl pink!
