Alright… raise your hand if you’re a photographer who is confused by the concept of an “off season” because the work actually doesn’t ever stop. Ha… we get it! We definitely resonate with what Jasmine Star says about the off season: There’s no such thing as an off season; there are only “hustle” seasons and “non-hustle” seasons. You’re either working hard, or you aren’t! ???? While our schedules are quieter during these winter and early spring months, we’re still as “busy” as ever running our business and pushing it forward into 2017, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
However, it can be hard to figure out what to do with a little extra time as a photographer, so we wanted to give you some tips on ways you can take advantage of the off season this year! Here are 5 ways you can use your time well during this off season:
- Create NEW work.
You guys already know how important it is to be active on your social media profiles… even when you aren’t actively working as much. Though by the off season you’ve saved up galleries upon galleries of work to post throughout those quieter months, it’s still important to get out there and create new work to share with your followers! The benefits of doing this are twofold. First, you’re keeping your creativity flowing and avoiding losing any of your technical skills over these months. Second, you’re able to plan a shoot down to the smallest detail. Set a goal to do a certain amount of shoots per month or week of the off-season and keep your business looking busy! - Travel.
As photographers, we have the amazing opportunity to pack a bag and say “goodbye” to our house for a day or a weekend. Take advantage of this quieter season of life and use it to your advantage. You will not regret getting away to plan your 2017 and refresh for the upcoming busy season! If you haven’t set goals for your year yet, traveling is the perfect excuse to sit down and make that happen. - Play catch up.
Luke does an absolutely phenomenal job keeping track of taxes, expenses, income, mileage and other important records all year long, so we don’t have to catch up on any filing or record-keeping in the off season. This can be a super easy area to fall behind in, though. So, if you’re a few weeks or months behind, utilize the off-season as a time to catch up on your finances and records. Better yet, take an hour and create a solid system for 2017 so that it’s not as tempting to fall behind this year! - Read and invest in education.
This is a simple tip, but one of the best ways you can use your time in the off season is to grow! We have a stack of books we’re each reading through during these slower months. Right now, I’m loving Grace not Perfection, The Magnolia Story, and The Meaning of Marriage! The off season is also a wonderful time to invest in either in-person or online education as a photographer. For example, we just signed up for this online workshop! There are tons of workshops, mentoring opportunties and webinars you can learn from this off season. - Pre-write blog posts.
Heck yes to this one! Write out a few blog posts for your busy weeks and save them as drafts in your blogging platform. This comes in so handy during busy season! If you don’t have a consistent blogging schedule yet, this is also the perfect time to start one. (You can start with just once a week and work up from there!)
How do you utilize the off season to your advantage? We’d love to learn from you… share what you do in the comments below!! ????
