Do THIS Before You Goal Set for 2024

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One crucial practice I firmly believe every business owner needs to do at the end of the year is a comprehensive analysis. This involves not only looking back at your numbers but also reflecting on the things that brought you joy and those that didn’t. 

Setting Mindset Goals

Let’s begin by addressing mindset. Before setting goals for 2024, it’s essential to look back at 2023. How did the year go? Do you want it to look the same? Do you want any sort of growth? What can you cut out and what can you add? And I’ll be honest, I’ve made attempts to move forward in a new year without doing this assessment, and I felt completely lost and unfocused. 

So, how can we intentionally set goals for the new year? The first thing you should do is take a mental assessment. Think back to 2023 and write down the things that brought you joy in both your business and your personal life. If you had more of those in 2024, you would be happy. 

Now, think about the things you did in 2023 that made your stomach drop, those things that gave you anxiety whenever you think about doing them. If you were able to cut those in 2024, would that be a positive change for you? 

Next, I want you to think through who or what in your life helped you hit those things that brought you a lot of joy. It could be a certain circle of friends or people in the industry you’ve become close to. On the flip side of that, is there anyone that pulled you away from those things? Research shows that you become like the 5 closest people around you, so it’s crucial to surround yourself with people who are going to help propel you forward. 

While conducting this assessment, you also need to take into account how you are feeling at the end of the year. Are you on fire or are you drained? How do you want to feel at the end of 2024? Do you want to feel the same as you do now? It’s important to do this because if we don’t change anything, why on earth would we expect 2024 to look any different? 

Setting Financial Goals

As we think about mindset, we also have to look at numbers too. One of the reasons I love numbers so much is because numbers don’t lie. Regardless of how you’re feeling, the numbers are going to reveal how your business performed this year. I have a free Excel sheet to help guide you through this. 

Let’s walk through this sheet together. 

1. The first thing is to look at what you brought in gross for this year. This means before any expenses or taxes. 
2. Next, categorize your income into different segments, whether it’s newborn, weddings, family, senior, etc.  
3. Finally, put down the number of those shoots you did for each category.

This exercise is going to help you see how much you averaged per session in each category. It will highlight the areas where your higher-income shoots came from. Not only that, but it will help you understand how many shoots you need to do to reach your goal and if you are needing to charge more for any of those sessions. 

So, as you are doing this goal-setting assessment, ensure that your goals align with you. Evaluate your numbers and mindset because having these in place before you set up your goals will help make them more attainable and achievable in 2024. 

I am actually offering a free training in January on being able to set goals and being able to add in products to be able to up your session averages, and I would love for you to be part of it! If you’re interested in adding products to your sessions so you can grow your session average so you can take less, but actually make more, then this free training is for you. We are also going to be talking about clearly setting these goals and averages per session. Don’t worry because if you can’t make it, we will send out the replay. I hope to see you there!

In this episode, we chat about:

• Why it’s necessary to do an analysis at the end of each year 
• Checking in on your mindset – How are you feeling? Are you full of energy or are you drained? What brought you joy this year? What gave you anxiety? 
• Evaluating your numbers – How much did you bring in? What shoots brought in the most income? What do you need to change for 2024? 
• A walk-through of the free Excel sheet 

Connect with Christa

Want more info on adding in prints and products for BIG sales? Send me a DM on Instagram @‌christa_rene or check out my website https://christarenephotography.com/

More about the Uncapped Photographer Podcast

The Uncapped Photographer Podcast is a podcast for established photographers teaching them how to uncap their offerings and setup in their photography business without the burnout. Every other week, Christa Rene Robinson will share the clear and concise actions you need to take to grow your photography business. This is the info she WISH someone had told her much, much sooner that would have allowed her to grow even FASTER!

This podcast is for you if you are ready to hit the next level in your business and income so you can build the life of your dreams!

Christa is a wife, mom, and photographer turned business coach with 10 years of experience in the industry. If you’d like to connect or work with Christa, reach out to her on Instagram @‌christa_rene. You can also learn more about her on her website https://christarenephotography.com.