Today you will have the privilege of subjecting yourself to the voice behind my blog, photography and design in the flesh for thirty whole minutes on a little show called Showit Live.

Showit is the amazing amazing platform that I have built my website on, and as a designer, can I please just say "swwoooooon". It has been the building blocks of giving me the ability to take what is in my head, and make it into the part of my business I like to call "my virtual handshake". But beyond that, Showit has an amazing community that I am extremely blessed to be a part of - and if 30 minutes is what I can give back today to that community, then give me (two) espresso, a comfy couch, and let's do this thing!

I'll be talking about my first year in business today, how being a graphic designer has helped me, and also dubunking the myths of what the first year should look like.

But truly, I'd be honored if you tuned in, and participated in the chat so I can answer any of your questions - from how I juggle a full time job and my business to how many espressos I really drink in a day.

Can't wait! Tune in, today, 1:00pm Eastern Time. www.showitfast.com/live

http://showitfast.com/live/show.php

I wrote this post on January 27th and 10 days later I had sat with it long enough to publish. And feel good about it. I finally have sat down to make goals. GOALS! I'm a month late (if you consider January 1st to be the gold standard for goal setting), but it seems like it's taken me a month to really figure out what I want. How many times a week I want to work out, what our budgets will be, how much time I want to spend doing X & Z...even down to things I need to give myself permission to not think about in 2013 (ahem...kids).The funny thing about goals is that I imagine myself failing at all of them. Isn't that sad? Why make them in the first place if you're going to start out with that thought in mind.I began thinking about what I want out of my business this year. How many weddings I want to shoot, who's weddings I want to shoot, what I want to design, dream clients and so on. But most of all I want my goals to make sense for me. To not be superfluous - to count. To push me. To be a constant reminder of what I can become. Trusting I can become.So here are my goals. Scary to put them "out there" - on the internet. For all you folks who read my blog but don't comment (I see you, just tell me you're here!)Photography1. Shoot at least 6 weddings as the primary shooter - and gain as many second shooter opportunities as I can get. (need a second shooter? Email me!)2. Figure out what my ideal client profile is. (Thank you Justin & Mary in advance for "The Guide"...it's rocking my world)3. Make more photography friends in my area. (Live in Connecticut? Let's get together and talk apertures!)4. Photograph my everyday life more. (And get another external hard drive to house it all) Design1. Design 1-2 Showit Style Groups...possibly kickstarting a new portion of my business.2. Only take projects I'm excited about.3. Redesign/Update my current website & blog. (almost there if you're reading this on hellohelloaliciasturdy.com!)4. Collaborate with other designers. Personal1. Pray daily. (not while multitasking like while I'm brushing my teeth)2. Start journaling again...pen and paper style.3. One full day a week for just me and Andrew. (Let's keep each other accountable, dear reader. I want to be in the business of successful relationships & marriages!)4. Work out 3-5 days per week to loose ALL my Chicago weight. (weight gained from arriving and leaving Chicago. We'll just leave it at that.) Ready....set....GO! What goals are you making for your 2013? Share them - we can work together!