2023 Recap

Before planning for a new year, I try to take inventory of the year prior to identify strengths, weaknesses, accomplishments, and potential improvements.

In an effort to be transparent, I want to show you what that looks like for my business.

Topline Revenue

Questions I ask myself:

• What were my revenue sources this year and how do they compare to previous years?
• How did this compare to my goals?
• Where can I maintain for next year?
• Where can I increase next year?

Session Average

Questions I ask myself:

• What was the actual average vs. my goal?
• How can I increase this for next year?

Number of Sessions

Questions I ask myself:

• Was I ever overwhelmed?
• How were my turnaround times?
• Do I need to set new rules on how many sessions per week/month/year I can do?

Revenue by Lead Source

Questions I ask myself:

• How does this compare to previous years?
• How should this influence my marketing efforts next year?

I didn’t feel busier in 2023 than in prior years, but I think that is because I did about the same number of shoots, just more were paid and less were unpaid. In fact, in 2023, I took a lot more time off for horse shows and vacations throughout the year. Each year I seem to do a better job of taking more time to ride my horses and spend time with my family. For next year, I want to travel less for client work and increase my average by selling more printed art. I also want to bring Sadie on more trips!

I missed my annual revenue goal by over $50,000. When broken out by month, I had 4 months that beat the monthly revenue goal, and 8 months that missed the goal. I was on-track for my annual goal through the end of September, but in the fourth quarter I took a lot of time off for multiple horse shows, moving houses, and going on vacations. I try not to attach any emotion or worth to my revenue goals – they are simply there to help me forecast and plan. When I made my monthly revenue goals early in the year, the fourth quarter was historically very busy for me and I didn’t know that I would take this much time off to pursue personal endeavors. I will use this data to try to create a more accurate forecast for next year.

Other thoughts and lessons learned this year:

• Every opportunity you can… reschedule for better weather. I did a family session of my own in horrible weather and it was so miserable. It felt like a big waste of time and money and I never want my clients to feel that way. I think that being in front of the camera is important for a photographer (I’ve written more about that here: https://www.kmplearn.com/the-other-side/) but I try to be photographed 2-4 times per year. I learn something every single time.
• I offered more mini-sessions in 2023 and I’m still torn on whether I should formally/publically offer them going forward.
• I didn’t do much personal/un-paid work in 2023 and I missed it a lot! I want to plan some fun personal shoots for 2024. I’ve posted why I love doing unpaid work here: https://www.kmplearn.com/unpaid-work/
• I did more commercial and affiliate work in 2023 and I want to lean even farther into that type of work. I am also working on a new course about commerical work!
• I had to raise my travel rates to accommodate paying help to farmsit my new house + animals!

I’ve put together a few tools to help you plan for a new year if you would like a guided video course + workbook to help you assess your current business and set future goals! Check out the Making A Business Plan course – on sale now!