After taking some time with my new baby (who just happens to be the cutest, smiliest, bestest baby around) and some special family holiday time, I’ve realized some important things:
Life is short (and feeling shorter each day) my kids are growing up WAY too fast, and I am missing it right before my eyes. I need to treasure and capture some more of my OWN families moments and take care of them (and myself) more. I LOVE working from home and for myself, but I feel like I am always working and have a hard time shutting it off. Learning to ‘un-plug’ is my new years resolution.
I LOVE my job. I love that I’m able to do something every day that makes me happy and in turn, my clients happy.
I may not seem busy to you because I don’t blog or post as much as I should. Honestly, it’s hard for ME to find time. I shot 95+ sessions in 2012. All different types of sessions, from births to weddings and everything in between. HOLY CRAP, almost 100 sessions. I’m ecstatic and feel so blessed to have made that many memories for that many special families. BUT it’s not just the time you spend with me behind the lens at our session, there is about 8-10 hours of additional time PER SESSION that goes on. Not to mention the hours of time it take to run a business, ie: marketing, scheduling, planning, communication, endless editing, bill paying, taxes, insurance, maintaining expensive equipment, continuing education, managing a studio, etc. Remember, I am also a stay at home mom to four very busy and active kids. This all gets quite demanding for one person (ok, soap box over).
To summarize, I LOVE my job, but I LOVE my family more. DON’T WORRY I totally plan to keep on capturing YOUR families memories and coming up with some super awesome new ideas for 2013 (let’s face it, we have 4 little mouths to feed now, plus ours every once in a while, so working is a must). But what I need to do is figure out a REAL work schedule and narrow down the days and times I am shooting and stick to that. This will allow me to give more to my clients, the business side and also give more to my family. So please understand my “business hours” just as you’d understand your hair dressers, dentists, chiropractor, dog groomer, coffee shop or liquor stores hours.
My business seems to continue to be a work in progress, but it always has been most important to me to make sure that I am able to do great work, come up with fun ideas and create an awesome atmosphere and experience for you.
I am still working to figure out that ‘perfect’ schedule for myself and my family. Also working on marketing plans and ideas for new sessions in the upcoming months, so stay tuned. In the meantime, start to think of what milestones and events you are looking to capture this year. Let’s collaborate and come up with a completely out of this world session that just screams YOUR LIFE!
xo Paula
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