Five Investments I'm Happy I Made in 2017

Five Good Investments

Business Talk

As I worked through my Goal Setting process for 2018, I naturally did a lot of reflecting on the past year. Something I love to do is read what works for other people in their lives: routines, planning systems, books they loved, etc. While I understand what works for one person may not work for the next - there are times that I’ve discovered something life changing from another person sharing what worked for them.

That said, I really wanted to share with you all some of what I think are the best investments I made in 2017. As a note: you will see that I consider both time and money to be an investment. :)

Without further ado, here are the top five investments from 2017 that I’m really grateful I made.

 

Date Nights

At the beginning of our marriage, date nights were basically a default every night. (When it's just you two at home together every night, it just happens! :)) So to put a weekly date night on the calendar seemed a little pointless. Then with just one baby, having her tag along didn’t seem like too much of a big deal. (In fact, we were both pretty infatuated with her so we really liked having her with us all the time!) But once we had two kids, time to connect just became less and less and before we knew it, we felt a bit like strangers passing in the night. (Honestly, it’s a little scary how that can happen so quickly.) At the end of 2016, I made a goal to put my marriage FIRST before everything in 2017. And I am SO glad I did!

At the start of the year, I hired a weekly babysitter; every Sunday night. At first, this was to cover our MarriageWorks community gatherings, but soon after I made this arrangement in preparation, they announced they weren’t meeting at all until wayyyy later in the year! Ah! (Which we DID participate in and loved.) However, I kept our sitter lined up anyway.

I budgeted for this and made a long-term commitment to the sitter. She was setting aside her Sunday nights for this weekly job (and we got a pretty good “per job” price since we were committing to this on a regular basis). This really helped us stay accountable, because it wasn’t just us to consider if we wanted to cancel our date night.

Of course there were some Sundays we were out of town, in which case we would let her know weeks ahead of time. But there were also some Sundays where just one of us would be out of town. In that case, we would still have her come and it allowed the one who was at home with the kids to have some kid-free time and a night on their own.

While this investment was financial, it was also a large time investment... (just ask my Sunday Night Football loving husband!) But it was so very worth it. We got into a routine of going to the same place for dinner and drinks and it allowed us to create a new, safe place for us to open up and have some really awesome conversations this past year. I’m SO glad we made our marriage a top priority last year and we are both walking into 2018 with the same goals for our marriage this year as well. 

It’s exciting to look at how far we’ve come in one year, where will another year take us?! We are definitely continuing on with this investment as long as our bank account allows us to!

Self-Care

This is a really personal one for me. I was diagnosed with postpartum depression when Izzie (my second child) was four months old. She just turned three years old this month and the past six months or so I have finally felt like I could see through the fog. I attribute this to my girls getting older (Izzie can do so much on her own now! It has really freed up a lot of my time), my marriage growing stronger (it’s been rewarding to be able to share these burdens/thoughts with my husband in a way that doesn’t burden him but simply allows him to understand me more), and self-care.

What IS self-care, you ask? Well, this answer will and should look different for each person. In essence, it is taking care of yourSELF. Whatever that means to you. In my experience, it was learning WHO I am and WHAT I need most to be the healthiest, happiest me. And then, of course, giving those things to myself.

I’m a big fan of personality tests. Through these tests I have learned SO much about myself, my strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly - the good I bring to this world in my natural state. Meaning, when I am at my healthiest and happiest, what comes most natural to me? What is the good that I can provide to the people I love, and what do I not do well? Self-Care for me this year meant a whole lot of learning what I do best, what I don’t do great, and how to fill in the gaps for the needs of myself and those around me.

In practical terms, this is what all that looked like for me:

• Learning more about my Myers-Briggs personality and embracing my truths.

• Reading StrengthsFinder 2.0 and, again, embracing my truths.

• Speaking my truths outloud to myself, my friends and family. Some examples:

  • I may not be as driven as so-and-so, but I can handle a social environment with grace and I can make people feel loved and comfortable in a way that not a lot of other people can.

  • I may be sensitive, but instead of thinking of this as a negative, I now respect it as a privilege. I can sense when something is “off” in my body almost immediately. I can sense the energy in a room and try my best to either contribute or counteract it, whichever is necessary depending on the circumstances. I can sense when someone nearby is dealing with something heavy and I can be empathetic and careful towards them during that time.

• Clearing space on my calendar for things that fill my cup. This included a retreat weekend with The Motherhood Collective (for staff), a lot of one-on-one coffee dates with girlfriends, a marriage retreat weekend with Tommy (through our semester with MarriageWorks, which we really loved!), a monthly massage at MassageEnvy, and occasional travel to visit friends and family out of town. All of these things renew my spirit, my body, and help me feel “normal” again during seasons where sometimes I can feel anything but.

• Indulging in daily connection conversations with friends over the Voxer and MarcoPolo apps on my phone. Mama friends - if you haven’t downloaded Voxer, you are missing out! This is such an amazing way to connect with friends in a low-pressure way! My friends will send me voice messages while they drive down the road (because when else do mamas have time to themselves?!) and I’ll listen to them when I have a few minutes to open the app and listen in. I was able to rebuild and strengthen some of my closest friendships by using these simple apps in 2017.

Shifting to more business and professional investments…
 

17Hats (Client Management System)

For the past few years, I have been using a Client Management System by 17hats. Through this app, I manage all client information, contracts, invoices and workflows. This app is basically my business brain! If you are a photographer and you have more than a handful of clients a year, it would benefit you in huge ways to outsource your business management to an app like this one! It also has capabilities to manage client scheduling, bookkeeping and more.

One big change I made this year was to start using their Lead Capture Form feature. So, now when prospective clients fill out the form on my website, they receive an immediate email response with all of my pricing information and a link to the next step in the booking process! Basically this means my inquiry to booking process is almost fully automated. This has changed my WORLD! I used to spend so many of my office hours trying to tackle emails. However, because of my life season, I also was not in the office every day. That meant that sometimes prospective clients waited many days to hear from me! That’s totally unacceptable this day in age. I am excited for this new automated process and very grateful for the 17hats Management System!

I don’t think I’ll ever run my business without 17hats!

--> My goodness, I wrote this blog post a few days ago and it's amazing what can change in a matter of days! While I LOVE 17hats, it's the Client Management System that really was the game-changer for me. This week I made the decision to begin the process of switching to Tave. I'll write more about this as I settle into a new system and I'll keep you posted about whether it was a good move or not!!  

Acuity Scheduling

Another investment I made in 2017 that I am SO glad I did is using a scheduling software. Setting my business up through Acuity Scheduling has saved me SO much time writing emails back and forth (“Would these dates work for you? No? How about these?”)! Not only that, it has helped me set healthy work/life boundaries for myself and my family.

I created a couple of types of appointments such as Outdoor Portrait Session, Newborn Portrait Session, and more. Then I set my availability for each type of appointment. I can also put a price point on the appointments and require full or partial payment at the time of booking. While this is not currently my practice (because I do most of my invoicing through the 17hats program), it is nice to have available for mini session booking!

But the most valuable aspect of using Acuity Scheduling for me has been protecting my family days. It sounds basic: if you don’t want to book clients on certain days, don’t offer those days. But as an ENFP (see personality type notes above :)) and people-pleaser, I found myself constantly making exceptions for repeat clients and having a hard time saying no. Now I don’t say no, I simply don’t offer. :) It’s a win/win!

Thank you, Acuity Scheduling, for giving me my life back!

Studio Pieces

Throughout 2017 I invested in a couple of projects, furniture and wardrobe pieces in the studio that I am LOVING. Among these investments were new flooring, a nice wrought-iron bed, a neutral colored settee, a new neutral colored wingback chair and a handful of new pieces of clothing for the wardrobe. Having these items sprinkled throughout my images I think have really increased the quality of my work.

The white flooring has added more light to work with in the studio with a great floor-to-ceiling light-bounce, while also bringing a cleaner look to my clients final photos. With white floors, there’s less yellow in the space to work with so the whites are whiter and my images are overall brighter. I really love the new flooring!

In the past, I’ve photographed on a simple air mattress and while it did the job, there’s nothing like the look of a quality bed frame! I am excited to have a new bed in the studio in 2018 as well as a new settee and wingback chair to create different set-ups and add variety to studio sessions!

Here are a few pictures with some of the newest pieces:

And lastly, I’ve gotten my hands on a couple of gems for the studio wardrobe: dresses, blouses, and a few new items for children! I just received the mannequin I ordered (and my friends on Instagram named her Florence ;)) so I can begin creating an online catalog of the wardrobe pieces so clients can peruse the wardrobe from the comfort of their own space. For now, if you are interested in checking out the new wardrobe pieces you’ll need to schedule a complimentary, in-person consultation to come by the studio and see them yourself! I’d love the chance to meet you and talk with you about your photography needs! :)

So those are the big investments I made in 2017 that I’m SO grateful for! They each added quality to my life in their own ways - but all BIG ways! Did you make any big investments last year that you love? I’d love to hear about them!!

You can read more about my reflections on 2017 by clicking here.

Liz Cook is a family, birth and wedding photographer in Central Virginia. She loves to photograph emotional and discreet birth stories, the details of parenthood, and fun and easygoing couples in love.

Lynchburg Professional PhotographerTen Years In Business

Wanna know something crazy? Ten years ago this month I photographed my first wedding.

Wow. An entire decade!

I photographed the wedding on a Canon Rebel Xt camera with one SD card. I took breaks during the day to run out to the parking lot, download the SD card to my laptop, clear the card (omg I'm hyperventilating at this thought right now!!!) and run back to take more pictures. (Are you wedding photographers having a heart attack yet??) Oh, wait! There's more!! My camera battery died and I had the guts to ask a guest if I could borrow his.

Needless to say, I've come a long way. And the ride has been wild.

I still wonder sometimes why God led me down this path. Why did he take me, someone who does not handle stress very well, and put me in one of the most intense industries? Being an entrepreneur is serious business. Committing to capturing moments that are impossible to re-create is a huge responsibility. Putting these two jobs together creates a(n at times) stressful career! Luckily, I have been blessed with remarkable clients and colleagues who have freely shared support, encouraging words, understanding and (both welcomed and un-welcomed, let's be honest) constructive criticism.

As I look back on the last ten years in business, I am overcome with gratitude for this journey. And to still be IN business, at that! I have watched a lot of colleagues close their business doors for many different reasons. And for unknown reasons to me, mine continues to grow. I give the credit to God, because heaven knows, I have failed many times over.

I thought it would be fun to share Ten Life Lessons I've Learned as an entrepreneur, a professional photographer, a wedding industry member, a birth industry member, and work-at-home-mama during the last decade.

Can you relate to any of these?

1. There is always something to learn from a difficult experience. You can walk away bitter, angry, or sad, OR you can choose to reflect on the situation and learn from any mistakes you've made.
2. Your calendar is the best depiction of your priorities. You can say what your priorities are all day long, but it's how you are spending your time that one can truly see where your heart lies.
3. It is never a bad time to improve your time management skills. Like, ever. Just when you think you have this down to an art, you'll find another area where you can improve. Never give up fine tuning and perfecting time management skills! (P.S. My favorite resource for whipping myself into shape is FocusBooster!)
4. Failing is not the end of the world. If you're like I was and you can't give yourself grace and learn to accept that you are a flawed human, then running a business will probably never be enjoyable. I had to let go of my expectations of perfection before I could simply take a deep breath and tell myself "failing is not the end of the world." I remember being pregnant with Sunday and I was currently on the road traveling from Fredericksburg to Lynchburg. I received a text message from a client who was waiting for me in Richmond. She was sitting on a park bench with her daughters and mother, thinking I was running a few minutes behind. But, in reality, I was two hours away singing at the top of my lungs to a song on the radio. Getting that phone call gutted me. A genuine mistake, a "pregnancy brain" moment. I called Tommy and said "I want to quit this work. I can't do this... I cannot handle disappointing another client like this." It felt like THE END OF THE WORLD. But, you know what? It wasn't. I am human, and I'm going to make mistakes. I just had to pick myself up, brush myself off, share my deepest apologies, and do what I could to prevent making the same mistake again. Grace, not perfection. 
5. Proper handling of stressful situations takes practice (and a whole lot of grace). The best thing you can do is stay calm, take a deep breath, and begin to problem-solve. I know this is common sense, but learning how to put this behavior into practice is truly an art form for a personality like mine. Ha! Of course, I'm still working on this... habits are tough to break! 
6. Accepting people just the way they are and/or letting go of unhealthy relationships is one of the best things you can do to find peace in your work and personal life. I didn't really think this one needed much explanation. 
7. Sometimes it is better to let go of control, even when you own your own business. For example, outsourcing a handful of business tasks has been one of the best decisions I have ever made, both personally and professionally. When you are not a professional at something, hiring another professional to take care of those items not only improves your product and experience for your clients, but it also helps you get back to focusing on that which you ARE a professional in.
8. There are seasons in life and this is more than okay, it's a beautiful part of life! Seasons come and go. I've always said I will run this business as long as life, and God, will allow me to do so. Over time, this business has seen different seasons: I have focused on wedding photography, then birth photography, and recently studio work has been the forefront of my focus. This business has changed names twice. Did you know I originally began with the name Love & Laughter Photography?! Ah, I love to look back and see that my heart is still in the same place as it was in the beginning - capturing love and celebrating life! <3 Each of the seasons I've had in my business has followed the path of my personal life and what has been best for myself and my family at that time. What an amazing journey.
9. No communication is the worst communication. Even if you have bad news to share, sharing it honestly (and quickly) is better than not sharing it at all. This is obviously a good life skill, but a difficult one to master. As someone who hates sharing bad news, I have had to learn the hard way a few times that it is truly better to share bad news than to hide from sharing anything at all.
10. Personable service and client relationships are a part of a high-quality experience, but not a necessary part of a successful business. Hear me out. While I have a gift of compassion and I am very personable, I have had to learn that not all of my clients want that as a part of their experience. What they want is a business transaction - good images in return for a financial investment. For a long time, I spent too much time pouring into personal emails, long client conversations, and extra special gifts. While these are good things, they were not always the best use of my time. If you are beginning a new customer service business, take it from me: keep your systems simple until you have them down to an art. Then bring in the personal touches. 

And I thought it would be fun to finish out this post with a blast from the past... a few images from my first year of business. Whew! Let me tell you, this is really not that fun for me. But, I thought it was only fair to share that, yes, we all start somewhere. I have to share my genuine gratitude to each of these clients (and friends!) for trusting me at such an early stage of my business and photography journey!

Also, I had to grab these pictures off of Facebook because they are all stored on a hard drive tucked somewhere in the depths of my files. Ha! 

Okay, I can't help it! I have to redeem those pictures with a few of my favorite weddings from 2016!! Here is a glimpse at some of my most recent work. 

Are you planning a Lynchburg, VA wedding? I have photographed over 150 weddings over the last ten years and would love to capture the story of your wedding day. I am currently booking 2017 and 2018 weddings. If you are interested in having me capture your love, I would love to sit down and chat with you! Simply send me a message and we will plan a time for you to come out to the studio to share your story.

Are you beginning a photography career and looking for business coaching? I am currently booking a very limited number of mentoring sessions in 2017 and would be happy to send you more information about my availability. Send me a message and we can start the conversation!