Back in December, I wrote a blog about the 12 Things I’ve Learned in 500 Days of Mei Photography.
Today, now at 818 Days of Mei Photography, I went back and read it again.
I’m really glad I did.
I wrote the blog as a way to help people in a similar stage of their businesses realise that they are not alone. All the worries, panics, fears and insecurities are normal and part of the journey. Somewhere along the way, I forgot about it.
“It” being both my blog post and the information within it. I really need to learn to take my own advice.
In the last few months, this roller-coaster ride that is setting up and running your own business has felt a bit shaky. This is thanks to a variety of reasons but at lot of it is linked to the very first point -> lots of ideas + not enough time = lack of focus and a bit of a burnout.
Burnout is pretty severe sounding. It’s not as bad as all that but I am getting bogged down in worrying about all the things I’m trying to do and not really feeling good enough to do it all. And to be honest, I can’t do it all. At least not at the same time. Somewhere along the way I forgot that again and I’ve had to take a step back to refocus.
I’ve never been one to be short of ideas. And I’m the first to admit that not all my ideas are good ideas. So I have to learn to take time to think about what is useful and worthwhile before diving straight in.
And that requires planning.
I love planning. The act of it that is. The charts, timelines, budgeting etc. I am one of those people who actually enjoy it. At least to a certain extent. But for some reason, when the excitement of a new idea or project takes hold, the planning stage goes out the window and I dive in at the details end. And then a few weeks/months/a.n.other amount of time later, I’m left with a lot of half finished projects which I didn’t have a clear end point and feeling like I’m treading water instead of achieving anything.
And no wonder. With no clear end point, how can I know if anything is finished? What am I trying to achieve with all these ideas? A greater good like #RealGirlsRealBeauty where the aim is to help people? To meet more people who might be future customers and make my business sustainable? To increase awareness of the work I’m doing? Or to improve my craft and upskill? Lots of ideas are great but if they quickly become useless without any point.
So here’s the thing, by the end of BLOGtober, the goal is to update and refresh my Business Plan and have clear outlines and priorities for these many ideas floating about in this creative but sometimes impulsive mind of mine!
Wish me luck… I’ll need it! x