Considering how slow the Spring and early Summer months dragged along this year, it’s hard to believe that we’re now in September and the final quarter of the year. A few wrenches were definitely thrown into my plans, but I made the best of the situation and to be quite honest, things haven’t been as bad as I thought they would be.
This is an interesting time for me because I’ll be turning 40 in December, and while life is not what I’d imagined it to be at the this age when I was 25 (I thought I’d be married with at least 2 kids, lol), I’m not unhappy about it at all. If anything, I’m excited for what’s to come. The pandemic forced me to slow down and handle a few things that I had been putting off for a while (I finally got a new car, and I have been having a blast working on my apartment and really figuring out my style), so while I’ve still been busy with work (I lucked up in my niche because all my main clients still needed photos for content), I’ve been able to have more of those slower moments to pour into myself like I used to when I worked an 8-5.
Which brings me to the 4th Quarter. How do I want to close out my year?
Well, my blog turns 10 at the end of this month (can you believe it?!), so I really want to continue to evolve my content and creativity. I made my first makeup tutorial a few weeks ago and really had fun with it, so I want to do more (and I have all of the products to do it haha). I also want to finally publish my blogging workbooks. I don’t plan on holding workshops any time soon, but there’s still a lot of valuable, relevant content in those guides (I have 3) that I don’t want to go to waste, so my goal will be to redesign them and make into digital downloads.
I really want to move into a house. I’m very traditional in some ways, so there are a few things that I haven’t done since I’m not married, but I have no control over when that will actually happen, so I’m going to spend this last quarter paying off more debt so that once my lease is up next Spring, I can either rent or buy a house (I need the space and quietness, lol).
photos: AFLD Creative
I also want to find a natural light studio. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE working outside because there is nothing like working with the sun, but I want to continue streamlining my business and my own natural light studio will allow for so much more flexibility and creativity. I follow a few photographers who shoot in a similar niche as me in other cities and some of their clients? Man, the studios and and air bnbs that they get to work in sometimes are so beautiful and inspiring, and I want to have a space that will allow me to do the same. It can serve as a photography studio, but also an office for me, or even a small event space for workshops and things like that. I’m claiming it!
As I type this, I realize that basically, this quarter of the year will be spent doing prep. Prep to close out a few projects, while also prepping to open and walk through new doors. It’s taken a lot of hard work, focus and sacrifice to get where I am now and I’m so thankful for the lessons I’ve learned and any mistakes I’ve made along the way. There’s still some goodness happening in the world right now, and it’s helping to keep me motivated every day.
What’s your focus for this quarter?
