I’m having another one of those days where I can’t seem to sit still. I feel like constantly shaking: probably due to the adrenaline of my to-do list running through my veins, some really exciting stuff coming up in my business (EEE!) AND the very caffeinated green tea I had on an empty stomach in a client meeting this morning. And I had 86% dark chocolate for lunch. With an apple. I’m such a balanced woman. ;)

I want to talk to y’all (I don’t know why I love typing y’all. I’m not Southern at all. I never say it. But typing y’all is just fun) a little bit today about social networking. I really don’t like the excuse some photographers give for not blogging, for not twittering, for not facebooking: “I’m too busy.” If you’re too busy, I’d venture to say you’re spending your time working on things in your business that you don’t need to be doing: like editing or designing albums. Don’t! (Oooh, I’m calling you all out now!) Take a break from the to-do list and spend some time working on your business, instead of in your business.

I think the world of blogging is brilliant. The world of social networking in general is brilliant. I’ve connected to a huge network of photographers through forums like OpenSourcePhoto, sites like Twitter and Facebook and my blog. These connections and networking sites have led to second-shooting opportunities, referrals to wedding clients in faraway places (like the wedding I’m shooting in Malibu next year) and great life-long friends I’ve made along the way.

Just a little reminder today to step back and look at the big picture in your business. Could you hire somebody to package those client DVDs and drop them off at the post office while you take a vendor you admire out for lunch and learn about their business? Could you let go of your control-freak nature and outsource your album design so you’d be free to spend one day a week refining you brand? Consider this a challenge. ;) GO!

[Edited to Add] Oh yes, before I go and receive a ton of questions about who I use for album design, that would be my brother Brandon Peterson. You can contact him at peterson.brandon@gmail.com – he will hook you up!

My green tea and I. Taken by my friend Christi Ann who visited me last weekend! I did a quick session of her that I’ll share in the next few days. ;) P.S. Christi and I met through the internet: there’s a crazy little web of networking out there.