I hope you all had a happy and safe New Year (and holiday season in general)!

Looking back, 2016 was a bit of a mixed bag. I was coming off my best year in terms of revenue, profit, and number of sessions going into 2016. Based on how good 2015 was, I had incredibly high expectations for 2016. For whatever reason though, 2016 started off much, much slower than I had hoped. Things eventually picked up around June, like they always do. Even then though, I wasn't getting as much business as I had anticipated. At one point, I had gotten so discouraged I had began looking for a real job, which I think was largely due to us buying a home and talking with bankers.

I eventually came to the realization, with the help of Devan, that this was the first time I had hit any low points in my career, and that I couldn't just give up at the first sight of trouble. I figured I was still booking sessions, and the only way I'd fail for certain was if I gave up. 

Sure enough, things ended up working out. Things started looking better in June, July, and August which are normally my busiest months. Things normally start to slow down around October, but this year I was absolutely swamped from September through the end of November. I beat my record for most sessions in a month in October, and I beat my most revenue in a month record in October and November. There were a few times in October and November where I wasn't sure how I was going to meet all of my deadlines. After the first half of the year, being overwhelmed with work felt amazing. 

Unfortunately, I didn't end up meeting my revenue goal in 2016. Every year since I started Dan Pomykalski Photography, I've increased my revenue by 50% or more. I figured I wouldn't be able to continue with that pace though, and considering how good 2015 was, I'm not too surprised I didn't make that 50% increase. I did have more sessions in 2016 than 2015 though, I worked for a bunch of new clients, and I broke a number of other personal records that I mentioned earlier in this post. 

Now that 2016 is over, I'm glad I didn't give up and almost can't believe I even considered it. Although I didn't meet my revenue goal, and 2016 didn't start off the way I had hoped, it still turned out to be a pretty decent year. I'd say that now 2016 is over, I can forget about it, but I think there are things I can't take away and learn from for 2017. Thank you to all of my new and returning clients for your business throughout 2016, and I hope to see you again this year!

Here are some of my favorite photos from 2016: Favorite Photos from 2016

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