Well, we’re less than 2 months from Virginia! How is that even possible? In less than 2 months I will be on a flight headed to Richmond, Virginia for the final class of the KJ Business Journey. I am going to meet one of my favorite photographers and learn from her and her husband in person. If your mind isn’t seeing me jumping for joy, here’s a visual.
Let’s Be Honest!
Alright, I’ll be honest here…I’m a little behind on the course. It’s been a little hard for me to muster up the energy to work on the course as I’ve been kind of burnt out. But this month has been better. I’m getting more excited and with the in person class just 2 months away, I can’t wait! I’m buckling down this month and getting July, August, September and October out of the way before November starts. When I said I was behind…I meant BEHIND. I don’t know what happened, I just got so overwhelmed with wedding season that it was so hard to keep up. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get caught up pretty quickly. I want to be totally up to speed when I get there for the in person class.
So what is KJ Business Journey?
If you haven’t been following along for very long then you might be a little confused. What the heck is KJ Business Journey and why am I going to Virginia for it?
KJ Business Journey is a year long business education class that was created and is taught by Katelyn James of Katelyn James Photography. I am a part of the inaugural class. That means I got the first look at this brand new course that KJ has put together. I also get to participate in live q and a’s, facebook live videos, she hangs out in our Facebook community page and we have an in person class to complete the entire course. No other class will get this kind of experience so I’m really excited that I decided to invest when I did.
This entire year has been crazy! Each month we get new content that focuses on a business topic. We’ll get more into what each month looks like a little further down. We have about a week to complete the content before we fill out that month’s survey. Then KJ does a podcast recording answering all of our questions. She also hangs out in the facebook community and answers our questions, does live facebook videos with us and brings in experts on each topic to help us out. It’s been so much fun and incredibly informative. When the course first started I was doing really great with keeping up. Then wedding season happened and I started to get more and more behind. I am determined to get caught up though!
Business Journey
Like I said above, each month introduces new content. I’ll give a brief overview of them below so you can see what we’ve been working on this whole time and then I’ll explain more about Virginia and the final course.
- January – Foundations of a Personal Brand
- February – Community Style Marketing
- March – The Unseen Power of Blogging
- April – Showcasing Yourself and Your Story on Social Media
- May – The Entire KJ Bride Experience
- June – Foundations of Business and Finance
- July – Technical Branding and Specialization
- August – Office Organization and Systems
- September – Healthy and Effective Networking
- October – Simplified Pricing
- November – Portfolio Selection and Styling
- December (in person) – The Bigger Picture
As you can see…I got a little stalled at professional branding. I don’t know why! I just had Amanda Scott Creative create my new brand so I just might need to make some tweaks. I’m already stocked about August because you guys know I love organization! That month is going to be my jam. I’m also excited about networking and pricing. I’ve been networking with a lot of vendors lately and am always looking for new and exciting ways to do so.
So what’s up with Virginia?
Ahhhh I’m so excited for Viriginia. The entire course will culminate with an in person class led by Katelyn James and her husband Michael. I cannot wait to meet both of them and learn from them as well. I’ve been a fan of KJ for years so I can’t wait to meet her and see what the final class will hold.
While I’m there I will be staying in an AirBnB with a few other class members who are attending. The historic home is gorgeous and I will definitely be writing a couple of post trip blogs on the class as well as the experience. Here’s a quick photo of the home we’re staying in.
How pretty is this place!! So aside from staying the the prettiest historic house ever and learning from one of my favorite photographers on Dec 3. I will also be participating in a styled wedding shoot on Dec 2. I am arriving early on Dec 1 so I can get settled and explore a little. On Dec 2, I am going to be a part of the #KLayneStyled Creatively Gathered Shootout. Dec 3 is the in person class with KJ and Dec 4, I am planning to do some final exploring before flying home. It’s a quick trip but I’m really excited for everything I’m going to be doing while I’m there. I’ve also never actually been to Virginia. I’ve driven through it but I’ve never actually stayed.
Any places I should try to go see while I’m there?
Let’s talk about the #KLayneStyled Creatively Gathered Shootout
This shootout is not put on or endorsed by Katelyn James. Kassie Layne, an amazing photographer in the KJ Business Journey, decided to put this shoot out together so anyone who wanted to participate could put their skills to the test. Many of us have taken a lot of KJ’s courses and of course, as business owners we always need new content to post on our social media. So she put together this shootout just for that reason.
There will be four styled weddings that day. Two, that everyone will participate in and then the other two you got to choose between. I knew as soon as I saw this pop up that I just had to purchase a ticket. I’ve been taking lots of KJ classes as well as other educational courses to improve my photography skills this year and I want to put them to the test. Plus, December is my dead season and I usually get antsy to go out creating again so this will be perfect for me.
Every time I look at these mood boards, I just get more and more excited. I am going to be swamped with editing and blog writing by the time I get back but I seriously can’t wait! It’s crazy to think about everything I need to get done before I leave in the next two months and all of the work I’ll have to do implementing the final lessons and editing images from this shootout once I get back but I can’t wait. Meeting Katelyn James in person is probably going to be the highlight of my entire year! You guys get prepared for a ton of blogs when I get back because I already know I’m going to have A LOT to share!
