Hooray! You made it to Day 2! How did your SWOT Analysis go?! Now that you have that done, it’s time to line out the goals and values for yourself and of your business.

We all get why goals are important, but why line out values? Values help us stay on track and to help us say yes to the best things and no to things outside our scope. Anyone else have trouble with that? Just me? That’s okay!

Start with your own personal values. Think of at least 3-5 “things” you value. They can focus on areas like family, financial security, spirituality, community, relationships, environmental, etc! You can look back at your SWOT Analysis and use some of the things there for setting goals. Do you want to strengthen one of your weaknesses? Make goals for that!

Once you have your values lined out, list out 1-2 goals for each value!

Again, I’m the type that loves seeing examples to help me get going, so here’s what I wrote out the first time I did this exercise:

Personal Values and Goals

• My Family
  • Spend at least 20 consecutive minutes a day one-on-one with Darrow (2 year old son).
  • Family outing once a month.
• Love/Marriage
  • Get up in the morning with Cameron (husband) rather than sleeping in with Darrow.
  • Have a minimum of one date night a month.
• Faith
  • Spend a minimum of 15 minutes a day in the scriptures.
  • Devote Sunday completely to the Sabbath, taking a break from all things photography or blog related and devoting my time to family and God.
• Intentional Living
  • Leave the computer off until lunch
  • Use the Life Binders (planning and organizational binders that include planning tools and spaces for budget, meal plans, schedules for the family, Academy courses, church responsibilities, and blogs) daily to plan, keep track of, and organize life.
• Security
  • Get an emergency fund in place (a minimum of $1000)
  • Have the first ½ of Cameron’s student loan paid off by the end of 2017

Now, do the same but thinking about business values and goals! Start with the values first (they can be some of the same things as your personal values, but should have some different areas as well). Then fill in your goals! Again, remember to look back over your SWOT analysis. This can give you some great ideas for things to work on or protect!

Business Values and Goals

• Confidence
  • Work weekly on The Academy courses
  • Read at least 3 motivational/self-help/business books a year.
  • Write one “educational” post a month.
• Balance
  • Refine blogging schedule and stay on schedule.
  • Stay off social media until lunch.
  • Limit shoots to a maximum of 2 a week to keep from getting overwhelmed and to be able to keep up with other life responsibilities (family, church, friends, homemaking, etc.)
  • Watch for when good is overcoming best.
    • “We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.” –Dallin H. Oaks
• Friendships
  • Community over competition
  • Get together with the ladies in the PhotograFriends group
• Progression
  • Upgrade cameras without going into debt
  • Change blogging and website platforms and designs to be more professional.
• Families
  • Client gifts that promote togetherness and invoke good memories.
    • Redbox gift cards and popcorn.
    • Free print of favorite shot
    • Christmas ornament
    • Simple game
    • Family/Marriage book (depending on stage in life)
  • Include family/marriage quotes in blog posts
  • Write more family related blog posts beyond just client photos.
  • Expand the Family Portrait guide to send to clients when they book

Great!! Doesn’t that feel good to have lined out! When we know our values, we are better able to build our businesses on a solid foundation that works towards something important.

Come back tomorrow for part 3…finances!