2024 Business and Personal Goals

Updated: February 9, 2024

It’s that time of year again when I like to take some time to relax, reset, and set intentions for the upcoming year. Usually, I do this in January because December is always a whirlwind. It’s the busiest time of year for family photographers. Between our busy work schedules and preparing for the holidays, life can get pretty hectic. Therefore, I prefer to wait until after January 1st to really sit down and set my intentions.

After reviewing my goals from last year, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I actually achieved some of them. (I know this sounds terrible, only hitting a few of them.) I’m learning that it’s crucial to either adjust my expectations or be better about revisiting my goals more frequently throughout the year.

This past year, I tried adding a visual element to my goal-setting by creating a vision board, making it the background of my computer. I’m not sure if it helped or not. I did achieve some big personal goals that included building a new pen for my tortoise, cultivating a habit of reading, and running the SF marathon with my partner – one of my proudest accomplishments in 2023.

Well, that’s enough reflection for now. Let’s dive into my goals for 2024! (Yes, some of them are the same as last year’s 🙂)

Skyler’s 2024 Business and Personal Goals

Focus on SEO and hit 92% website health.

Last year I wanted to be an “SEO wizard,” haha. Silly Skyler. This year I’m aiming for gradual monthly improvements to enhance my site health.

Triple my monthly website traffic.

In tandem with SEO efforts, my goal is to gain more traction online.

Get a minimum of 5 publications, features, or photography awards.

This is an area I’ve kept on the backburner for too long and deserves priority in 2024. Increased features and publications lead to better SEO through additional backlinks!

Continue to nurture my Instagram community.

Like last year, I want to focus less on numbers and more on connecting with my audience. Yes, this includes more frequent posts, but it also means worrying less about perfection, being more vulnerable, and connecting with other creatives.

Make improvements in our apartment space. (Another recurring goal from 2023.)

This includes tasks like adding more art to the walls, building some simple furniture for our school of plants, and finally getting curtains put on our windows. (We’ve acquired the curtains. Now we just need to add the rods!)

Prioritizing mental health and my overall well-being is an ongoing journey for 2024.

It’s funny cause this is something I’ve actively engaged in for a long time. I read self-help books and listen to manifestation podcasts. I’ve tried daily affirmations and/or gratitudes. There are still post-it notes around my apartment with affirmations written on them! I try to give myself grace, a reminder that many people go through similar cycles. Still, I recognize the need to intensify these efforts in 2024. I honestly don’t exactly know what that entails at this point… haven’t quite figured it out yet, haha. But I’m starting my year with a dry January (until my birthday, at least) and delving into You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero. I’m open to any other suggestions including book recommendations if you have them in the comments below!

Photograph 10 weddings!

I actually just added this goal mid-January when I launched my new Wedding Price Guide! If you’ve followed me for a significant period of time, you’ll know I never really advertised weddings in the past. I would photograph one here or there – for a friend, a cousin, or perfect client who found me online – but it wasn’t until recently that I felt like the universe was telling me to dive deeper into weddings. You might think I’m “woowoo” for saying that, but it’s true! I started booking more engagements and getting more wedding inquiries, so I finally said to myself, “I need to learn to serve these clients better!” So I volunteered for more second shooting gigs, enrolled in a wedding course, and created my first ever Wedding Price Guide. Wanna know the best part? I’m doing a limited time offer on Wedding Packages for those couples getting married in 2024! Wanna learn more? Check out my Wedding Price Guide here!

I’m going to wrap it up there. Like last year, I’m trying to focus on fewer goals throughout the year. There are a few other things I’d like to focus on that I won’t call goals….instead I’ll call them aspirations. 🙂 Here are a few of my aspirations for 2024.

Skyler’s 2024 Aspirations

Spend more time with friends and cultivate deeper relationships.

I want…more friends. There, I said it! As a gal living with her partner in a city of over 800,000 people, I can’t say that I’ve built as many deep relationships as I’d honestly like. The envy of seeing other groups of girlfriends grabbing brunch together or walking back from the gym together is real. I’d like to have more of that in my life. So this year I want to be more intentional about making plans with my current friends and deepening those relationships, but also putting myself out there and building new friendships. Wish me luck! (Pssst! If you want to be friends, send me an email or DM and let’s grab coffee or brunch!)

Be a healthier version of myself.

Don’t we all want this? But seriously, I want to develop better habits such as cooking more, eating healthier, reducing alcohol consumption, staying hydrated, and incorporating daily exercise, even if it’s just a simple walk.

In total transparency, I had a “moment” on New Year’s Eve. I think I was so indoctrinated (is that the right use of this word?) with all the New Year’s posts and everyone’s accomplishments and all the amazing things that happened to them in 2023 (which is honestly so wonderful and I truly love it when people share their wins!), but then I got thinking about my 2023 and reflecting on all the stuff I didn’t do and hadn’t accomplished. It felt like nothing really big happened, almost as though I were in the exact same place as when I started the year. It was a thing and I had a moment. Thankfully I snapped out of it and was still able to enjoy an epic New Year’s Eve show at the Fox Theater (String Cheese Incident, anyone?!).

All this is to say, I needed a reset. And that “moment” made me realize how much I need to refocus on my mindset and mental health. After some good sleep and a nice dose of You Are A Badass (just reading the book makes you feel like you can do anything, seriously!), I can honestly say that I’m excited for this next year. I’m super grateful to have a partner that loves and supports me unconditionally. When you have that, you can do anything, right? 🙂

I made another vision board this year but decided it would be a vision board for my life ahead – not just year 2024. I used a bunch of photos off the internet instead of my own and I’m not sure if I can legally share it on my website. So I’ve decided not to. Instead, I’ll share some of my favorite silly iPhone pics in honor of a year that was honestly pretty epic. 🙂