Every year I sit down and reflect on my past, present, and future of my business. I make this blog post every year so I can keep track of my goals, hopes, and wishes. It’s fun to look back on past years and see what I prioritized and what I hoped the next months would look like.

I’ve found that writing down your goals and making them public is a great way to not only solidify what you want out of life, but to create some accountability. I have no desire to sit down and say that I didn’t complete any of the goals I had set out for myself. Instead, I want to say that I completely crushed all my goals and went above and beyond what I ever could have dreamed.

I highly suggest you do this for your own business and life and see what you can discover. In looking at 2020 and planning for 2021, I can see that although this year was crazy and I wasn’t sure if I would meet my goals, I ended up doing way more than I ever though possible. I changed the course of my life and business this year, and I can’t wait to see where I will take myself in the years to come.

Here are my 2020 Review and 2021 Goals!

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2020 Review

2020 was a year no one will ever forget, for obvious reasons. Everyone’s lives were turned upside down, and it felt like we were strapped into an emotional rollercoaster we couldn’t get off of. Despite everything that happened (and the several breakdowns), this is a year I’m extremely grateful for. Looking back, I’ve done so much, and I couldn’t be more proud.

– I photographed 5 weddings, 14 engagements, 4 wedding styled shoots, 35 JMU seniors on the Quad, 12 seniors and friends in and out of Harrisonburg, and several family sessions

– Road-tripped with my best friend and we visited 5 states and saw family members. We continued our state drinks challenge and now have 16 states done!

– Drove along Skyline Drive 17 times, drove Blue Ridge Parkway 5 times, and hiked 20 times

– Ramped up my photographer education by blogging a lot, starting a YOUTUBE CHANNEL (!!!!), and focusing on blogging education as I started to create a course for photographers all about blogging!!

– Hired a virtual assistant to help me do tasks while I’m in grad school. This is just the beginning of the team I hope to build in the future!

And that’s just the stuff I can count. I went through an entire rebrand with a designer in the spring, renamed by business Sydney Kane Photography, and made a completely new website so it reflects my Shenandoah adventurous spirit. I created and implemented behind the scenes workflows, improved my client experience, and found new and exciting ways to spread my love of photography. 2020 was rough, but honestly it was the best year of my life.

How I Accomplished my 2020 Goals

My biggest goal for 2020 was to continue to make free education for photographers. In 2019 I was just beginning that journey, and it’s wild to see how far I’ve come. Since my rebrand in spring, I’ve created 14 blogs, 13 YouTube videos (alongside 10 videos I made for client education), several freebies, a whole page for blog education, and I’ve started my journey of creating my first course all about blogging for photographers. I’m extremely proud of all the content I’ve created this year, and I can’t wait for more to come in the future.

My second goal was to continue my journey of self-education. My biggest part of that was reading business books, and I started a journey of reading one business book each month. I didn’t quite hit that goal (I got to 9), but I’m excited to continue that tradition into next year and every year after that. In addition to books, I dove fully into business podcasts, YouTube videos, and paid education. My favorite piece of education this year was Amy Porterfield’s Digital Course Academy. Although I haven’t finished it, I can already tell that this is the gateway to the rest of my life.

My third goal was to continue to explore the Shenandoah Valley, especially Skyline Drive. I counted, and in 2020 I drove along Skyline Drive 17 times, drove along Blue Ridge Parkway 5 times, and hiked 20 times. I’ve never loved this area more, and I can’t wait to continue exploring it in all seasons.

My last goal of 2020 was to do things for me. I wanted to build intentional time for me to read, to go on road trips, to see my friends, and to enjoy my senior year in college as I started grad school. Due to lockdown I was a bit restricted in seeing my friends and traveling, but I was able to still see my best friend every week and go on one road trip with her. I read 48 books this year, and I’m incredibly happy I made it a priority. I’m proud of how much time I made for myself this year, but I think I can do even better next year.

My Goals for 2021

I have BIG goals for 2021. I’ve always been ambitious with my dreams, but I’ve never been so driven to make them happen. There’s a lot on the line here, but if I put them down on paper (or on blog), I know there’s a better chance it will all happen. Call me crazy, but this is how I hope my 2021 will look:

1. Survive through student teaching until I can graduate with my masters of education in May.
2. Put out a ridiculous amount of free content. For the first half of the year I want to continue with 2 blog posts and 1 YouTube video per week (one portfolio post, then one client or photographer education). For the second half of the year, I want to bump that up to 3 blog posts and 2 YouTube videos per week (one portfolio, one photographer education, then rotate between photographer education and client education for the third). Eventually, I want to get to one portfolio and two photographer education posts every week once I’ve made all the client education I want to create.
3. Fully launch my blogging for photographers course, make it better, then launch it again.
4. Continue my journey of self-education. Continue to listen to podcasts, watch YouTube videos, and read one business book per month. Additionally, I want to work my way though all the paid education I’ve ever bought. There are a lot of courses I want to revisit and a lot of courses I’ve never gone through.
5. Continue to make time for me. Take days off. Read more books. Go on more hikes. Explore my area more. Travel if I can.

Amongst all of this, I’m moving out of the house I’ve been in for 4 years, I’m starting a travel blog, and I’m saving up for a year in Europe. Who knows what will happen along the way in 2021, but if it’s anything like 2020, we’re in for a wild ride.

2021, I’m coming for you.

Check out my blog to see everything I’ve done this year!

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