I've always cherished the beginning of the year for its freshness and renewal. Twelve years ago this month, I launched Britta the Photographer, and nearly every year since, I've introduced something new into my business at the start of the year.

This year is no different and I’ve got a bunch of stuff brewing. Some ideas will stick, and some might fade away. However, a firm commitment for 2024 is to share more of BTP.

I started the Britta in Business blog to narrate my journey as a photography and biz owner, and truthfully, it's been somewhat inconsistent. Is that alright? Sure, I believe it is. But, one pledge I've made for this year is to craft a monthly recap as both a way to organize my thoughts and share with y’all the life of a biz owner.

And, so, without further ado, a recap of January 2024:

Afterglow

Y'all, 2023 was an insane year. I prepped to leave my Moorhead studio, moved out, had no studio for more months than planned, bought a building, moved in, did all the typical moving things, and started building a giant cyclorama all while documenting awesome faces and still being (semi-present) as a mom, partner, and friend.

By the end of the year, I was exhausted from decision-making and all the physical aspects of the move. Yet, it was super important for me to get everything done before I took a rest.

So I pushed super hard to complete the big ol’ wall before the end of the year. With encouragement (and many hours of manual labor) from my dad, we mudded, sanded, painted, and completed the wall by the week of Christmas. The sigh of relief I had after finishing the last coat of paint was likely heard in Wisconsin. It was such a relief to get it done, and the glorious week off between holidays was so much sweeter.

Now that all the big things were done in the studio, the month of January has been an invitation to play, prepare, and breathe. It was the first time since moving in that I could explore the aspects of the building I was most looking forward to when first designing the space. I observed how the natural light shifted through the day in the front part of the studio and admired how my brand-new Cyclorama was actually seamless (despite my legit nightmares that it wasn’t)

With all the baggage left in December, I was much more present in creative shoots this month, and I had fun with headshots and branding sessions exploring the light on sunny days and gloomy ones.

Big Prepper Energy

Back in December, while trying to get everything done, I was looking towards January as a time to center myself and refocus on the things that were important in my life and business.

Enter Mark Traynor Quamme from The Creative's Flow.

I met Mark a few years ago through my work with Tellwell, where he worked as a project manager. Last year, he left agency life and started his own biz called The Creative's Flow. You guys, Mark is a magical wizard who speaks the language of creatives, helping craft workflows and systems to make the biz life of a solopreneur (or small biz owner) so much better.

We spent eight hours over two days going through all my current systems and discussing what I want out of my business. While I had most of my workflows under control and a pretty good grasp of what I do, there were quite a few things I needed to get unstuck. It was a gift to be able to talk through them with Mark, and he was so good at asking all the questions while making sense of my creative babble. At the end of our session together, I had a clearer vision of what I wanted out of Britta the Photographer and some actionable tasks for moving forward.

I plan to work with Mark on an ongoing basis, as I think he'll make a great accountability partner, cheerleader, and thought organizer. Something I've been lacking in my biz from the start.

Inching towards Launch

January was pretty slow for shoots, and although I'm always a little nervous when things are slow, I did sorta welcome it with open arms. Now that the space was nearly where I needed it to be, it was time to do all the other things to prepare to open Studio Borealis to other photographers.

I had all the plans to get the space up and running to rent out way back this fall. But, as we know, there is always so much more involved when opening up a new space.

With fresh legal docs and an idea of how I wanted to structure everything, it was time to craft the vision. I worked on policies, workflows, schedules, and website design, and even created a handy studio guide. It's all set to launch on Feb 1st, and I'm so, so excited. And nervous. And feeling a little vulnerable. But mostly, I'm excited.

Thankful for Connection

About a year or so ago, photographers Abby Anderson, Morgan Allora, and I started meeting up for (mostly) monthly get-togethers to chat about life as photographers.

I've known both Abby and Morgan for quite a few years, and it was lovely to have a space where we could talk freely about how we run our businesses, how business interacts with life, and what inspires us to keep on truckin'. Since meeting regularly, I've really come to cherish these wonderful humans, and this month, we broke away from our usual chit-chat and played in the studio… which was ridiculously fun.

This year, one of the things I want to improve is my connection with the broader photography community. There are so many different points of view in our humble little city, and I do believe that as we get to know each other, we'll only elevate the work produced here. Perhaps this means some quarterly meet-ups at the studio or even a photo adventure or two. Who's up for the adventure?

Life at Home is Gloriously Calm

Not much to report in my personal life this month. January is always a month of rest for our family, and we spent the month as cozy introverts watching Studio Ghibli movies and enjoying our fireplace.

Aside from (mostly) adhering to Dry January and (mostly) doing the 30-day Yoga with Adriene challenge, I did accomplish another goal and managed to convince my kids to come to the studio for a quick photo update. Some were more excited than others.

And with that, my friends, I must look forward to the month ahead! I’ll be making some changes to my offerings, launching a rentable photography studio, and turning the BIG 4 -1 next month. It'll be fun to see how it all shapes up.

Until then, here are some ten snaps, work or otherwise, captured within January 2024.