My son's hockey coach has a catchphrase: 

Our number one goal this season is to have fun!

And, our 7 & 8 year old Blackhawks DO have a lot of fun.  They also show up for practice and games on time.  The coaches have well planned drills and positive pep talks before and after games.   They've had a lot of fun AND if I'm not mistaken, they've won all of their regular season games to date.

So here I find myself in 2009 wondering if I dare set any goals.   I had a very busy year with my photography business.  Sole proprietor.  Home based.  I came out of 2008 overwhelmed and exhausted.  My bookwork is backed up, my desk is heaped high and my first month of the year looks like catch-up. 

Needless to say, my microstock portfolio saw very little growth in 08.  I was fortunate that my 2007 photos continued to sell and combined with raises at many of the agencies I still saw my earnings increase by about 50%.   Considering what a poor contributor I was last year, I am happy with my earning (but the boss shoulda fired this slacker by about the second week of January).

I have some goals in mind, but they are not written in blood.  I'm incapable of writing any numbers beside my goals, but my first goal should be easy enough to reach if I have some kind of a plan.

1. Double 2008 earnings.  It's the only numeric goal I have.  After the first week of January, I'm already failing short here.
2. Shoot more.  I know, rather obvious, isn't it? 
3. Submit more.  (See #2.)   I actually mean to self-edit less and send more shots in from a series.
4. Think LongTail.  Submit technically good shots even if they have limited sales potential.
5. Mark it on the calendar.   Do I dare block a whole week aside each month for stock and *gulp* plan in advance?
6. Log ideas.  I'm not a big fan of structure, but I do often find myself scratching out shot lists on napkins.  It's remarkable the way ideas flow when you begin with a single concept and it morphs into two pages of shots.  This would be a good habit to get into on a daily basis.
7. Overflow.  Keep a folder of edited and keyworded photos so I can still submit when I'm tied up with the day job.
8. Learn Illustrator.  If I have time.  Yeah, right.
9. Shoot more.  Oh, I already said this.
10. Have fun.  

# 10 is really the core of my goals for 2009.    Just Have Fun  (and get rich make some income doing it.)  Perhaps I can learn a few things from my son's hockey coach.  Stick to a schedule, hone my skills, and keep it fun.  I don't want to enter the next decade burnt out and resenting my Nikon.  


Extra info that really doesn't belong here, but I'll add it anyway...
A first post of the year wouldn't be a first post of the year if it didn't have a pie-chart.  I've slapped down a chart that displays how my 08 microstock income was split last year.  The agency legend is on the bottom.  My top three (Shutterstock, Istock, Dreamstime) are still the same position as last year, but in the last months of 08 Dreamstime and  Fotolia really gained momentum.  I wonder what the pie will look like in a year?