I literally cannot believe I have a walking 10 1/2 month old already. She’s no pro of course, but she’s on her way very quickly. A little too quickly. Part of me is SO thrilled to watch every milestone, but a little piece of my heart breaks along with that thrill because it’s just moving too fast. I am loving every milestone she hits, but I just want to savor each one a little more slowly. It may be the most cliche phrase on Facebook these days, but I am LIVING that cliche every day of, “SLOW DOWN, TIME!!!”

As we rapidly approach her 1st birthday like a rocket into outer space I am reminded that this means I have to get my head back into the game of growing my business. I told myself that I wanted to take a step back for at least her first year, and that already doesn’t seem like long enough. I’ve obviously continued to work my business, but my focus wasn’t to grow it or build new relationships (other than with my clients of course) – my focus was to keep booking, and keep things moving, while not shooting quite as much as in previous years so that I’d have more family time. Then, I told myself, after the first year I’d pick up the pace a bit more, and start focusing on some aspects of my business that I put on the back burner for the last 12 months.

So I’m working on it. Today I started Monday Accountability Meetings with my dear friend and fellow Entrepreneur, Annie. We set ourselves goals for the week, and discussed our over all objectives for the remainder of this year. I’ll enjoy every moment of this coming month the way I have enjoyed these last nearly 11 months with my precious girl… office hours two days a week, plus shooting, and all of my downtime is with her. Then after her birthday I’ll be putting in a few more hours and setting a few more goals. I LOVE my business. I LOVE what I do. But my favorite thing in the world is to be Brynlee’s Mom. So I’m setting my expectations at a very reasonable level. They are lower and less aggressive than they were before I became a Mom, and I know they’ll stay that way until she’s in school… I’m setting myself a pace that I am comfortable with that I feel will enhance my business reasonably, without taking away from my daughter. This also means I’ll be able to continue to go the extra mile for the clients I DO take on, as I will continue to be selective going forward so as to keep some weekends open for family time.

I think it’s important to set ourselves reasonable expectations, and even more important to hold ourselves accountable to our goals if we want to keep things moving. The best part is, I have my bestie on the line every Monday so that we can help each other do these things! I encourage everyone to try having an accountability partner they check in with weekly. Whether this is for personal goals (weight loss, home purchase, vacation planning, life planning, debt demolishing) or business goals (as an employee working toward a promotion, or an entrepreneur trying to grow their business), having someone you check in with weekly will keep you on the right path.

Below are some images of one of the couples I’ve chosen to work with this year, Judy & Isaac. My time spent with them was full of laughter, conversation, beautiful views, and all kinds of love!

Take a look at their extended Engagement session at two of their favorite locations in Irvine:

For more information on engagement and wedding photography in Orange County and beyond, please visit http://www.briannacaster.com

Peace & Love,

Brianna.