So I am halfway through my year commitment of my Small Business Series! I wanted to write a little review and confession of my experience so far.
So Far: I LOVE THIS! I love what it is about, I love meeting new people, and I LOVE giving back to some of the most amazing people in our community. I’m extremely passionate about it and I enjoy every minute. I think I just found it more difficult than I anticipated…. but that is totally fine with me. I’m up for the challenge, and I have the work ethic to keep this going!
So here is the fun part!!! What have I learned so far from these amazing business owners!? What good has come out of this!? So much!
-I have made some amazing friends and mentors, some have even turned into clients or referred me clients (can we say bonus!)
-Rocky, from Rockbody Fitness, even pulled together a small business group just for women in our area, we are all learning from each other, and networking…. all started because of my time with Rocky!
-Amy, from Biker’s Depot, is helping me with a Styled Shoot next month, and her dad is coming to the workshop! so excited!
-The Etsy Shop feature brought me a few new followers on twitter (oh man do I need help in that area LOL)
-But the biggest and most important thing is that I’m really getting to see what it takes to run a successful small business. I learn something new, something different, with everyone I meet. I love learning, and this is such a real-life way to do it. It might not be business school, but I’m seeing real life people do what they love and make a business doing it! This brings me to my “Live Happy” series that is all in the works. I’m going to be putting together a pretty awesome event after my year of meeting with other small business owners. You will want to stay tuned for that if you share my love for this or if you want to start a business one day 🙂
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My December feature is a tad postponed, mostly due to my lack of organization this month getting ready for Xmas and wrapping up 2014.
Which brings me to my confession side of the blog….. It is funny, that my Live Happy Goals, and my Small business Series are very high on my priority list as far as what I’m passionate about and my long-term goals for business. However….. when it comes to the blog, and setting these up, there is no one holding me accountable, no client waiting for photographs, just me and my dreams, and desire to learn and be inspired. It is so much harder to stay on top of it and organized when I’m super busy editing and staying afloat with business duties. So naturally my schedule slipped up….This is one of the hardest parts of running a business…. the balance of it all. While I give myself major kudos for returning every single wedding and session in 2014 in two weeks or less, I did not have those kind of results with this side of business. I’m not afraid to admit that I’m far from perfect and still mastering my ability to wear all the hats it takes to run a business.
All of these small business owners would agree with me that these little “slip ups” are exactly what make us better. It is how we learn, and it is how we come up with a workflow that works for us. So in 2015, I hope to keep my Small Business Series going and adjust my workflow so that I’m not having such difficulty fitting it in. Even if it means I take less sessions, this is important to me, and all part of my bigger dreams 🙂
If this is your first time visiting my Small Business Series, you can see more here.
