I want to let you in on a secret…
I am not as organized as I want to be. I have the best take off and I can get the triple back off with out a flaw but I usually don’t stick the landing in my execution. I have found that this season, this weakness has been more exposed since I have tightened up so many other areas of my business and has become the thing that I feel the most drive to correct.
Being Pregnant with kid number three has throw some bright lights on the things that will be a hindrance if not corrected, and pose hurdles I don’t think I can over come on the strength of being cute. Giving birth won’t remove as many of the hurdles as I would like to think. Babies, as I recall, make you tired and a bit spacey – pregnancy brain is really just an introduction to Newborn parent brain which morphs itself into oh my god there are three of them now brain. So, I’ve decided to kick some things into high gear and while on maternity break I’ll be revamping Pinxit Photo, from top to bottom.
Hence why I said maternity break, not leave cause I don’t expect to leave much work undone here.
The first thing I will be implementing will be a scheduled work week, my family needs me to be mom, more consistently. Which means not changing plans at the last minute to accommodate every request my clients call with. Knowing when I am on call and when I am not, when I can take a last minute session and when I can’t, When I am available for phone calls and when I should be tucking people into bed and paying attention to my husband. You know, the basics.
So introducing my new hours effective immediately
Studio Hours
Tuesday and Thursday noon to 7 p.m. (available for client meetings by appointment and portrait sessions)
Wednesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (available for client meetings by appointment) and (available for for portrait sessions by appointment til 7p.m.)
Friday noon to 4 p.m
Saturday: Reserved for weddings & sessions. No Office Hours. All calls and emails will be returned on Monday.
Closed Sunday
Mondays are my administrative days, so I won’t be taking client meetings but I will be working on all the fun stuff (i.e administrative stuff -the joy! )
I am hoping that with this new schedule I am leaving enough time for clients who work 9-5 to be able to still come in on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which have always been my target meeting days anyway for some reason, and with Mondays being my admin days I can get more of the daily grind stuff done early in the week and not feel like I am playing catch up come Wednesday. The beauty of this is nothing is set in stone, and I have the choice to be flexible – which I am hoping to employ with a bit more selection than I have in the past, as what is the point of boundaries and schedules if you throw them out at first sign of any difficulty. Except for Sundays, I feel like I need to place a renewed focus on my faith and making time to pray and worship is paramount for me right now, so I will not be taking any additional Sunday portrait sessions at all. Sunday weddings are available at a price premium.
I’ve also decided to minimize my time in my email box and returning calls. The primary number for all clients is 314 827-4686, if I don’t answer this line, it truly means I am involved with something that requires my full attention, and I will call you back during my scheduled time in the day for call backs and email returns, unless the office is closed. If the office is closed I will return your call or email on our next business day.
My clients truly mean the world to me, I LOVE that they trust me to create such awesome images, and I take that trust very seriously. Which is the number one reason why I feel like I need to make these types of changes to my business. As much as I love what I do – it is a business, and I cannot treat it like I am working for my buddies. Much as I hate to admit it, i do feel like my clients are family by the time we get to the album. I am working for you, and you deserve a business that acts and respects the investment you have made. One that is working to build the value of your investment. It is what I look for in the businesses I choose to patronize. It is what I want for my clients, most of all, I don’t want my businesses business to kill the fun and passion that I have for my work. In talking to other photographers this is the thing that I fear kills more new businesses, when the new car smell of entrepreneurship wears off. And I want to be prepared to keep the fires burning in my belly.
Alas, I guess This is enough business talk for one day, I think I wanna get on top of this new burst of energy and kick butt for the rest of the day.
Speaking of which I’ve got a new Senior Rep, who I am excited about shooting this week, and I am looking for several more so if you know a high school junior, (i.e. going into 11th grade this fall) please feel free to send them my way, they can earn free sessions, prints and cash! And get great images to boot! And to close out this post I am going to post a shot of St. Francis Xavier that i took with Lance Omar Thurman earlier this year, I’ll be blogging that wedding soon!
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