Whew… where to even begin. This past Sunday, I found myself in New Haven, CT, sitting in front of a warm fire with a hot cocoa in my hand, surrounded by 20 other women photographers from all over the place, as we laughed & cried and shared the troubles and successes of our business (and lives). It was exactly as Mary, of Justin & Mary had described it… except better. There were so many wonderful things about this day that I’m not quite sure how I’m going to retell it. But here goes nothing…

I first heard of Mary’s “What’s Next Getaway” from my friend Brandilynn Aines from the Abby Grace Photography workshop I attended back in August (you can read all about that adventure here). 3 of us from that workshop decided to reunite (we missed you other girls!) and meet in CT for this event.

Stolen from the Instagram account of Megan Chase :)

Throughout the day, I sat cozied up on the couch and felt so inspired by all the other amazing women & photographers in the room. But it wasn’t just a nice day in front of the fire laughing & sipping cocoa… It was a day of serious reflection & asking myself the hard questions, “What did & didn’t work in 2013? Where do I want my business go? What are my goals and WHY? Do I want things because that’s what other photographers are doing? How will I define success?” Let’s just say my brain was running a million miles an hour throughout the day.

I remember thinking at this moment what a rare & special opportunity it was to be just feet away from one of the industry’s most well known & respected photographers, listening to her talk so openly & honestly about what DIDN’T work in their business in 2013 and what they’re going to do about it in the coming year. 

This getaway was such an amazing opportunity to really think about the areas that were successful in 2013, which was such a big growing year for me. I graduated from Hallmark, had my first full wedding season, moved to Hanover, NH, and had lots of great portrait sessions of all types. While there were successes, there were also lots of mistakes & learning opportunities– there are many things I know I’ll do differently in the coming year. For example, one of my goals that I said out loud (no taking it back now!) is that I would like to develop my blog more and become more consistent in posting on here.   I want to become a resource for brides planning their weddings and for other photographers just starting out in their businesses… I want to have a place where I can post photos from my sessions & my clients can share with their loved ones… I want a place (besides Facebook & Instagram) where I can tell stories & share these life adventures of mine.

I felt compelled to document this lunch of mine because it’s not often you’re served an old-fashioned coke bottle! 

So in order to give this blog of mine the love & attention it needs to grow, there will have to be some changes to make time for it. Speaking of time, simply put: I didn’t have enough down time with my husband this fall. We were both so busy (him with his medical school rotations) and I with my business, that I know going into next year I will need to carve out more time for us to be together. In order to give my blog & husband some lovin, something has to give. So I will be limiting the number of portrait sessions I take on in 2014 to be able to put more of my energy into my wedding clients & blog. Running a business is scary. Change is scary. But moving forward & growing my business is so exciting and I feel so blessed to have been able to share my fears & dreams in the comfort of that cozy living on Sunday.

So too-da-loo 2013… It’s been a great year but I’m ready for all the exciting things in store for 2014!

Justin & Mary’s Mantle. If this isn’t Pinterest perfect, I don’t know what is.