Celebrating 2013 | Big Changes & Resolutions

I absolutely love the month of January. It’s always full of planning, preparing, looking back on the prior year… all while moving forward! Earlier this week, I met with two of my closest friends Liz and Ryan over New Years Day brunch to chat about our dreams and plans for the coming year.

It was so refreshing to share my hopes and fears with two of the most genuine and down to earth people you could ever meet! Today I’m grabbing coffee with another photographer and true sweetheart, Melissa Manzione to continue discussing business ideas and strategies that we both hope to implement in 2013!

Yesterday I took a huge step in my business and went from a Sole Proprietorship to a Limited Liability Corporation!

That’s right… I’m officially Natalie Franke Photography, LLC!  Crossing my first New Years goal off my list felt empowering and I’m all setup to begin my first year as a full time photographer! In working on my New Years goals I have a few that I wanted to share with all of you –

– Big Goals for 2013  –

1)  Blog More. Write More from the Heart. 

A. The Monday Musings Blog Series:  I’ll be kicking off my new blog series, Monday Musings, next week and I can’t wait to begin sharing all the rambling thoughts and inspired ideas of this twenty-something wedding photographer! (I’m so excited for this little series that I can barely stand it!)  I’ll be using this series to share, teach, and inspire… And I hope you take a moment every Monday to kick off the week on my blog!

B. Telling Your Love Story:  One of my favorite parts of blogging is writing about my couple’s love stories. I want each and every couple to see themselves through my eyes and writing intro’s to blog posts is one of my favorite parts of the process! This year, I’ll be refining my story-telling methods to express how incredible each and every one of my couples through my words!

2) Enhancing the “Natalie Franke Experience”: I’ve been doing a little soul-searching lately, thinking about the experience that I want to provide each and every one of my couples! This year, I’ll be working on a few things to show my clients how much I love them! The first begins with a little lavender remedy that I’ve been working on for my brides in the weeks right before their wedding… Because who couldn’t use a little relaxation and pampering!? – More details to come in a future Monday Musings post!

3) One Date-Night Each Month: All of my photography friends can relate when I say that I’m always missing in action Friday through Sunday! Between weddings and portrait sessions, I’m always working when everyone else is off from work. After seeing his puppy-dog eyes when I worked every single weekend last year, I promised that I would begin scheduling time “off” that we can spend together! Cooking new recipes, exploring local restaurants, taking day-trips together, crabbing in the summer – I’m ready to schedule in a little fun for the two of us!

4) Encouraging & Empowering Others: I love meeting with other photographers, bloggers, and wedding professionals to hear what inspires them, to learn what they live for and how I can help make their dreams happen!  This year, I want to help others reach their personal and professional dreams. I want to sit down with the people who inspire me and work together to positively influence our industry. I want to create a network of positivity!

Other Dreams that I want to make happen in 2013: Photograph an International Wedding, Travel Somewhere New, Photograph Past Couple’s Newborn Sessions and Anniversary Sessions, WPPI,  AND Marry my Best Friend… of course!