Every year around this time I like to do a little reflection on the past year. Look at the goals I set for myself...see how far I've come...how far I still want to go. Overall, this has been a very good year! My wedding business has grown exponentially in the past 3 years. First year I did 20 weddings, last year I did 48 weddings and this year I finished out the year w/ 72 weddings!
And again like last year I pretty much doubled my income! This is amazing for me and it's allowed me to do a lot of things this year that I'd only dreamed of. Now again, not to say I'm rolling in the money..but I did okay, and I lived okay this year. I still of course want to continue to grow next year but I'm also realistic and know there is no way I'll see that sort of growth again.
So let's take a look back at my goals from last year and how I did:
1. Travel More - I did travel this year...took me almost the entire year to do it but I did at least get one really good trip in lol! I'm not going to lie, it's hard to justify taking time of work and worrying about the jobs I might be missing out on but I also have to take a break sometime and just enjoy life! So in Nov. I went to India for a two week tour...which in turn turned into a 3 week tour! I figure almost 2 years w/out a vacation I can take an extra week lol. And the business didn't complete fall to bits or anything like that lol. I of course wasn't able to keep up w/ things the way I would have liked but I didn't really miss that much work so it was okay. Plus the trip was a life changing adventure so no matter what it was worth it!
2. Learn Moderation in Living - I think this one is definitely more of a life goal than a yearly goal...b/c I still need to work on this one lol. I think I did better this year for sure but one this is for sure the word "moderation" was definitely not in my vocabulary in India or over Christmas lol.
3. Grow My Business EVEN MORE - As I mentioned above I definitely did this one. Going from 48 weddings to just over 70 was a huge growth. I did more commercial work as well and even had a few cool gigs - def. I highlight was seeing my work on Billboards across Toronto for the Orville Redenbacher campaign.
4. MORE Self Promotion - Yeah I definitely did some good work on this front. I was definitely very proactive about getting reviews and pics from past brides for promotional materials. I built an EVEN better wedding website! Got connected w/ some cool companies for product reviews, did some guest posts on other blogs and even had my work featured a couple of times on Style Me Pretty...but again can always improve ;)
6. Debt & Savings - This is one goal I DEFINITELY am proud to say I achieved! I paid of my Line of Credit - $20 000 in just over 10 mths! This is probably one of my biggest accomplishments EVER! There was a point where I'm not going to lie I NEVER saw that thing going away but I kept working and working and putting ALL the money I could onto that thing until it was gone! Savings...I've definitely worked on that one too...I actually have money in the account. Plus I was able to save enough to send myself on that 3 wk vacation to India. My credit card is always paid in full. Still have a bit of student loan but that's not bad. Still do need to start saving for the future...like investments and stuff.
7. Read More! - Yep definitely been doing that! Even read two books over my vacation. Feels good to be reading again. I probably still could work on keeping up-to-date w/ current events around the world...as I will admit gossip sites are an addiction of mine but not necessarily that informative about the REAL world around us lol.
There are some other goals I achieved for myself this year that I didn't necessarily have set at the beginning of last year.
I started looking after myself a bit better. Went to the dentist for the first time in over 4 yrs...EEK...happy to say though still no cavities :) I must be blessed w/ good genetics for teeth! Got new glasses. Started to see a massage therapist...with my job comes a lot of back problems and I need to stay on top of that stuff! Even finally made an appt. for a dermatologist...although I had to re-schedule it for Jan. b/c my original appt. happened to fall during my extra week in India.
Plus one thing I've really jumped into full force in just the past mth is working on my HOME...and making it a HOME! I'm not going to lie I have trouble w/ decorating and home stuff...I've moved around A LOT in my life and therefore never really done much decorating. The thought of it actually stresses me out...but this year I decided to invest in me and my home! Before I was always making excuses that I could spend the money on more important things but w/ the debt paid off I thought now was time.
I love my apt. and in Apr. I'll have been here 2 yrs...time to actually make it feel like a home lol! With the help of a friend I built a Home Studio to host my trials at...this is very exciting and it looks so professional! I also redid the layout of my living room. Bought a new desk and made a new office space to go along w/ my new studio! Bought a rug as the old one was looking a little rough lol! Plus I've added a lot of storage elements to my apt! I want to de-clutter EVERYTHING! I hate clutter and I want things to look as clean and professional as possible! I feel like de-cluttering my living space will help to de-clutter my life!
So overall it's been a good year and I've done a lot of good stuff! Next post I'll write about my Goals for 2013...and boy do I have some lol!
And again like last year I pretty much doubled my income! This is amazing for me and it's allowed me to do a lot of things this year that I'd only dreamed of. Now again, not to say I'm rolling in the money..but I did okay, and I lived okay this year. I still of course want to continue to grow next year but I'm also realistic and know there is no way I'll see that sort of growth again.
So let's take a look back at my goals from last year and how I did:
1. Travel More - I did travel this year...took me almost the entire year to do it but I did at least get one really good trip in lol! I'm not going to lie, it's hard to justify taking time of work and worrying about the jobs I might be missing out on but I also have to take a break sometime and just enjoy life! So in Nov. I went to India for a two week tour...which in turn turned into a 3 week tour! I figure almost 2 years w/out a vacation I can take an extra week lol. And the business didn't complete fall to bits or anything like that lol. I of course wasn't able to keep up w/ things the way I would have liked but I didn't really miss that much work so it was okay. Plus the trip was a life changing adventure so no matter what it was worth it!
2. Learn Moderation in Living - I think this one is definitely more of a life goal than a yearly goal...b/c I still need to work on this one lol. I think I did better this year for sure but one this is for sure the word "moderation" was definitely not in my vocabulary in India or over Christmas lol.
3. Grow My Business EVEN MORE - As I mentioned above I definitely did this one. Going from 48 weddings to just over 70 was a huge growth. I did more commercial work as well and even had a few cool gigs - def. I highlight was seeing my work on Billboards across Toronto for the Orville Redenbacher campaign.
4. MORE Self Promotion - Yeah I definitely did some good work on this front. I was definitely very proactive about getting reviews and pics from past brides for promotional materials. I built an EVEN better wedding website! Got connected w/ some cool companies for product reviews, did some guest posts on other blogs and even had my work featured a couple of times on Style Me Pretty...but again can always improve ;)
6. Debt & Savings - This is one goal I DEFINITELY am proud to say I achieved! I paid of my Line of Credit - $20 000 in just over 10 mths! This is probably one of my biggest accomplishments EVER! There was a point where I'm not going to lie I NEVER saw that thing going away but I kept working and working and putting ALL the money I could onto that thing until it was gone! Savings...I've definitely worked on that one too...I actually have money in the account. Plus I was able to save enough to send myself on that 3 wk vacation to India. My credit card is always paid in full. Still have a bit of student loan but that's not bad. Still do need to start saving for the future...like investments and stuff.
7. Read More! - Yep definitely been doing that! Even read two books over my vacation. Feels good to be reading again. I probably still could work on keeping up-to-date w/ current events around the world...as I will admit gossip sites are an addiction of mine but not necessarily that informative about the REAL world around us lol.
There are some other goals I achieved for myself this year that I didn't necessarily have set at the beginning of last year.
I started looking after myself a bit better. Went to the dentist for the first time in over 4 yrs...EEK...happy to say though still no cavities :) I must be blessed w/ good genetics for teeth! Got new glasses. Started to see a massage therapist...with my job comes a lot of back problems and I need to stay on top of that stuff! Even finally made an appt. for a dermatologist...although I had to re-schedule it for Jan. b/c my original appt. happened to fall during my extra week in India.
I love my apt. and in Apr. I'll have been here 2 yrs...time to actually make it feel like a home lol! With the help of a friend I built a Home Studio to host my trials at...this is very exciting and it looks so professional! I also redid the layout of my living room. Bought a new desk and made a new office space to go along w/ my new studio! Bought a rug as the old one was looking a little rough lol! Plus I've added a lot of storage elements to my apt! I want to de-clutter EVERYTHING! I hate clutter and I want things to look as clean and professional as possible! I feel like de-cluttering my living space will help to de-clutter my life!
So overall it's been a good year and I've done a lot of good stuff! Next post I'll write about my Goals for 2013...and boy do I have some lol!
1 comment:
I'm in the process of creating studio space in my home too. It will make my life much easier come bridal season. I also feel I'll get more done in terms of product testing and blogging if I have an area set up all th time. Good luck this years with your goals.
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