Setting Goals During a Pandemic: The Fool-Proof Way to Keep Your Business on Track with Erin Youngren
Episode 26: Show Notes.
It’s important to continue to set business goals and push forward, even during times of crisis. Today’s guest is Erin Youngren, who is an educator and photographer. In this episode, Erin talks about setting goals for 2021, and you might be thinking, “How do I set goals when there is so much uncertainty in the world right now?” Well, Erin has the answer for you. She walks us through exactly how to plan for the future, even during a pandemic, and how to set goals that will keep your business moving forward. She also shares some of the ways that her and her husband have kept their business on track, the apps they use for productivity, and she tells us about the Thrive Business Intensive, and how it could be beneficial to your photography business.This episode is certainly relatable for everyone in the photography industry, so make sure to tune in today!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Erin introduces herself and the photography business that her and her husband have built.
- Erin says she married into photography and then they started shooting weddings together.
- Working with her husband – Erin says they have always worked together and they love it.
- Planning for 2021 can feel strange and difficult, since all our plans were turned upside down and disrupted coming into 2020.
- Setting goals, planning ahead, and staying on track is the framework in Erin’s business.
- It feels like spinning your wheels when you’re not making forward progress in your business.
- Start with a long-term vision – Erin suggests taking two days off to create your five-year plan.
- Each year, work out two-three things you can do that year to help you achieve that five-year plan.
- Adapt plans and previous goals by updating your five-year plan annually or quarterly.
- Erin and her husband created new one-year goals, which is what carried them through 2020.
- Avoid getting overwhelmed while planning by avoiding shiny object syndrome – stay focused!
- Erin encourages her students to set aside few of their best hours every week for “focus time.”
- Productivity apps that make Erin and her husband’s lives easier, such as Asana and Tavé.
- Erin talks about her course, the Thrive Business Intensive, and how it can benefit listeners.
Tweetables:
“2020 has been a crazy year for wedding photographers in particular. Anyone in the event industry has been totally turned upside down. There is this trauma of coming into another year and wanting to plan ahead, because all of our plans were disrupted coming into 2020.” — Erin Youngren [0:04:23]
“We have been able to weather this storm in a way that our business is still moving forward, and we are still going after our five-year vision in a way that we wouldn’t have been able to without this framework. We have been able to rise above the chaos, cut through the overwhelm, and stay focused on what we really need to be doing. It’s that quarterly rhythm that really allows for that.” — Erin Youngren [0:13:29]
“I knew that, if people were going to experience change in their business, they needed someone to hold them accountable. It is so hard to hold yourself accountable in your business.” — Erin Youngren [0:26:09]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
