Planning for Success: Setting Goals for the Second Half of the Year

Can somebody explain how it's already July?

I swear I was just sitting down to figure out what I wanted to accomplish this year, and now we're halfway through it.

Every July, I take some time to review my business goals, look at what I've accomplished, and decide what I want to focus on for the remaining six months.

And occasionally, I look at something I wrote down in January and wonder what on earth I was thinking.

But that's part of the process.

Running a photography business rarely goes exactly as planned. Clients change their schedules, opportunities come along that you weren't expecting, and sometimes a project that sounded like a fantastic idea six months ago doesn't seem nearly as important anymore.

That's why I think a midyear business review is worth doing.

Not because you need another excuse to create a to-do list, but because it's a good opportunity to figure out whether you're still working toward the things that matter to you.

Start by Looking at What You've Accomplished

Before you start making new goals, pull out the ones you set at the beginning of the year.

Yes, even if you haven't looked at them since January.

What have you accomplished so far?

Maybe you've booked more sessions than you expected. Perhaps you've improved your editing skills, introduced a new service, developed relationships with other businesses, or finally updated the website you've been meaning to work on for the last three years.

And don't overlook the accomplishments that weren't on your original list.

You might have handled a difficult client situation particularly well, improved a workflow, or figured out a better way to manage your schedule.

Those things count, too.

I also like to look at the numbers. How much revenue has the business brought in? How much have you spent? Are your bookings where you expected them to be? Are you actually making money on the work you're doing?

You don't need to turn this into a three-day accounting expedition, but you should have a reasonable understanding of how your business is performing.

After all, if one of your goals was to increase revenue, you need to know whether that happened.

And preferably whether you kept any of it.

Take a Look at What Didn't Work

This is the part that can be a little less fun, but it's just as important.

Which goals haven't you accomplished? And more importantly, why?

Maybe you didn't devote enough time to a particular project. Maybe you underestimated how much work it would require. Or perhaps something unexpected happened that changed your priorities.

Sometimes the problem is that the goal wasn't realistic in the first place.

For example, if you planned to photograph 40 sessions this year but only have enough time available for 20, you're going to have a difficult time meeting that goal without making some significant changes.

Other times, you discover that something you thought you wanted isn't actually what you want anymore.

That's perfectly fine.

You're allowed to change your goals when you have better information than you did when you set them.

What I wouldn't recommend is automatically moving every unfinished goal to the second half of the year.

That's a great way to end up with six months of work crammed into three.

Instead, decide whether each goal is still important, whether it needs to be adjusted, or whether it's time to take it off the list.

Decide What Actually Needs Your Attention

Once you've reviewed the first half of the year, it's time to decide what you want to accomplish during the second half.

This is where I'd encourage you to be selective.

There are probably a dozen things you could improve in your photography business. That doesn't mean you need to tackle all of them between now and December.

Look at what's happening in your business and what you want it to look like.

Are you struggling to attract enough clients? Are you booking plenty of sessions but not making enough money? Are you spending so much time editing that you never get around to marketing?

Or is the business doing well financially, but you're working far more hours than you want to?

Those situations call for very different goals.

For example, if you're already booked to capacity, setting a goal to increase the number of sessions you photograph might not make much sense.

You might be better off looking at your pricing, average sale, or how much time each client requires.

The point is to choose goals that address something meaningful in your business rather than setting them simply because they sound like the things a successful photographer is supposed to do.

Make Your Goals Specific Enough to Measure

I'm a fan of setting SMART goals. That means making them Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

It sounds a little corporate, I know, but the concept is useful.

"I want more clients" isn't particularly helpful because you haven't defined what success looks like.

"I want to book 10 equine portrait sessions between July and December" gives you something specific to work toward.

The same goes for financial goals.

Instead of "I want to make more money," you might set a goal to increase your average client sale by a certain amount or reach a specific revenue target by the end of the year.

Just make sure the numbers make sense.

If your goal is to generate an additional $5,000 in revenue, for example, you need to understand how many clients or sales that would require at your current pricing.

And don't forget that revenue and profit aren't the same thing.

A goal that brings in more money but requires considerably more work and expenses might not accomplish what you actually wanted.

Break the Big Goals Into Smaller Projects

Once you've decided what you want to accomplish, figure out what needs to happen to get there.

Let's say your goal is to book 10 additional equine portrait sessions before the end of the year.

What will you need to do?

Maybe you need to update your website, create a marketing campaign, contact potential referral partners, or improve how you follow up with inquiries.

Each of those projects has its own tasks.

And those tasks need somewhere to live besides the back of your brain.

I use a combination of iCal, Trello, and a good old-fashioned legal pad on a clipboard.

I'm not particularly concerned about whether your system is digital, paper, or some combination of the two. Use whatever works for you.

The important thing is having a way to keep track of what needs to be done, when it needs to happen, and whether you're making progress.

Other options include Asana, ClickUp, Monday.com, and Todoist. There are plenty of choices, and you don't need to try every single one.

In fact, spending the next three weeks researching productivity software is probably not the best way to accomplish your goals.

Put Your Goals on Your Calendar

A list of goals is a starting point. It's not a plan.

If you want to accomplish something, you need to make time to work on it.

That might mean blocking off an afternoon to update your website, setting aside a day to create marketing content, or scheduling time each week to follow up with potential clients.

And remember to consider the photography business you actually run.

If fall is your busiest season, planning to rebuild your entire website in October might not be particularly realistic.

Likewise, if you know you'll be traveling, attending conferences, or photographing a large number of sessions during a particular month, account for that when you're setting deadlines.

Give yourself enough time to do the work without assuming that every day will go perfectly.

Because it won't.

Don't Forget About Your Own Education

Not every goal needs to be directly tied to bookings or revenue.

Sometimes it's worth learning something simply because it interests you or gives you another way to approach your photography.

I recently attended an abstract photography workshop. It's not something I had done before, but I enjoyed learning something different.

And you never know when a technique or idea from one type of photography might become useful in another.

You might decide to attend a workshop, participate in an image competition, improve a particular technical skill, or spend more time photographing personal projects.

Professional development is worth considering when you're deciding how to use the rest of the year.

Just be realistic about how much you can take on.

Review Your Progress Before December

One final suggestion: don't put your new goals somewhere and forget about them until the end of the year.

Check in regularly.

Once a month is a reasonable starting point.

Look at what you've accomplished, what's behind schedule, and whether anything needs to change.

Maybe a marketing campaign isn't generating the inquiries you expected. Maybe a project is taking longer than planned. Or perhaps an opportunity has come along that's worth adjusting your priorities for.

You can make changes as you go.

That's the whole reason for reviewing your goals in the first place.

What Do You Want the Rest of Your Year to Look Like?

You don't need to finish every project you dreamed up in January to have a successful year.

And you don't need to spend the next six months trying to make up for everything you didn't accomplish during the first six.

Take an honest look at where your business stands, decide what matters most, and make a realistic plan for the time you have available.

I'd rather see a photographer accomplish three things that make a meaningful difference in their business than spend six months frantically working on 15 projects that never quite get finished.

And if one of those projects is finally organizing the collection of sticky notes currently masquerading as your business plan, that's probably a reasonable place to start.