In 1990, Jim Carrey was a broke, unknown 28-year-old comic struggling to make it in Los Angeles. His family had been so poor when he was younger that they'd lived in a van for a time. But one night, sitting in his beat-up Toyota on Mulholland Drive, looking down over the city and dreaming of his future, Carrey did something that would change everything. He wrote himself a check for $10 million, put “for acting services rendered” in the notation line, and dated it Thanksgiving 1995. He stuck that check in his wallet and kept it there for years, letting it deteriorate as a constant reminder of the goal he'd set.
Every night he'd drive up to that same spot and visualize his success—directors interested in his work, people he respected saying “I like your work.” He'd look at that check and think, “Well, I do have these things; they're out there, I just don't have a hold of them yet.”
Four years later, just before Thanksgiving 1995, Carrey found out he was going to make exactly $10 million for his role in Dumb and Dumber. The written goal—now worn and faded—had become reality. When his father died in 1994, Carrey placed that $10 million check into his father's coffin as a tribute to the man who had believed in his dream.
Carrey later told Oprah that writing down that goal made all the difference. “You can't just visualize and then go eat a sandwich,” he said. The check wasn't magic—it was accountability, clarity, and daily motivation rolled into one powerful commitment.
Most volume sports photographers will start 2026 the same way they started 2025—reacting instead of leading. But there are three compelling reasons why setting clear, written goals for 2026 isn't optional anymore.
Reason #1: Winging It Costs You More Than You Think
Here's what happens when you don't set goals. You spend January recovering from Q4. February sorting through what worked. March realizing spring sports are here and you're not ready. By the time summer hits, you're scrambling to book fall accounts while editing spring work you should have finished weeks ago.
Sound familiar?
The volume photography business moves fast. Schools make vendor decisions in cycles you can predict. Leagues pick photographers months before the first whistle blows. Dance studios lock in before recital season. And if you're winging it—hoping opportunities will just find you—you're leaving money on the table while your competition walks in with a plan.
Research from Dominican University psychologist Dr. Gail Matthews backs this up. In her landmark study, she found that people who simply thought about their goals achieved them only 43% of the time. But here's the kicker—those who wrote their goals down and committed to action steps? They hit a 76% success rate.
That's not a small difference. That's the gap between adding $50K to your business next year and wondering in December where the growth went.
Think about it this way. A single elementary school account averages $15-20K annually. One youth sports league brings in $10-12K. That's $25-32K from just two accounts. But you won't book them by accident. Your competitors are calling those athletic directors right now. They're building relationships with league presidents. They're showing up with proposals while you're still thinking about maybe getting around to it.
The cost of winging it isn't just lost revenue. It's the stress of never knowing where next month's income is coming from. It's the reputation hit when you're too swamped to deliver on time. It's the burnout that comes from working twice as hard for half the results.
Reason #2: Written Goals Create Unstoppable Clarity
When Jim Carrey wrote that $10 million check, something shifted. The goal wasn't vague anymore. It wasn't “I want to be successful” or “I hope to make it big someday.” It was specific. Measurable. Written down.
That clarity changed everything.
The same principle applies to your photography business. “Grow my business in 2026” isn't a goal—it's a wish. But “Add three new elementary school accounts averaging $18K each by September 2026” gives you something to aim at. Now you know exactly what you're working toward. You can reverse engineer the steps. You can track your progress.
Dr. Edwin Locke and Dr. Gary Latham spent decades researching goal-setting theory, examining over 1,000 studies involving more than 88 different tasks and 40,000 participants. Their findings are clear: challenging, specific goals lead to higher performance 90% of the time compared to easy goals, no goals, or vague “do your best” instructions.
Written goals force you to get specific. How many new accounts do you need? What types? What revenue targets? When do you need to close them?
This clarity doesn't just help you—it helps everyone around you. Your spouse knows what you're building toward. Your assistant knows which leads to prioritize. Your workflow partner knows what volume to prepare for.
I've seen photographers transform their businesses in 12 months with nothing more than clear, written goals. One photographer I know was stuck at $150K annually, grinding through each season with no real plan. We sat down and mapped out specific revenue targets by account type. Twelve months later, he'd added $75K to his top line—not because he worked more hours, but because he finally had clarity about where he was going. Focus!
The research shows why this works. A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that employees who set specific, challenging goals experienced up to 25% better performance compared to those with vague or easy goals. That's the power of clarity. You stop spinning your wheels and start making real progress.
Reason #3: Clear Goals Compound Your Growth
Here's where it gets really interesting. Goals don't just help you hit a single target. They build momentum that carries you forward year after year.
Let's say you set a goal to add $50K in new revenue in 2026. That's roughly three good-sized accounts. You hit it. Those accounts don't just contribute $50K once—they become your baseline. Now in 2027, you're starting from $50K higher. Your new goal might be adding another $50K on top of that. Suddenly you're at $100K more than where you started.
This is the compounding effect of consistent goal-setting.
But here's what most photographers miss: the real compounding isn't just financial. It's in your systems. Your skills. Your reputation. Your network.
When you set a goal to book three new leagues, you don't just get the revenue. You get the systems you built to service them. You get the workflow refinements you made to handle increased volume. You get the relationships with athletic directors who refer you to their colleagues. You get the confidence that comes from proving to yourself that you can do hard things.
Forbes reports that companies setting quarterly goals generate 31% greater returns than those reviewing goals annually. Why? Because frequent goal-setting keeps you agile. You're not waiting until December to realize you're off track. You're course-correcting every 90 days. You're building momentum quarter after quarter.
I've watched photographers triple their revenue in three years using this approach. Not because they worked three times harder—but because each year's goals built on the foundation of the previous year. The first year, they added $40K. The second year, they added $60K. The third year, they added $80K. The momentum compounds.
And here's the thing most people don't realize: research shows that entrepreneurs who set clear business goals are more persistent in pursuing their achievements, leading to greater long-term success. Goals don't just help you hit targets—they train you to keep going when things get tough.
Look, I get it. Goal-setting can feel like one more thing on your already overwhelming to-do list. You're busy shooting, editing, managing clients, trying to keep your head above water. The idea of sitting down to write out goals might seem like a luxury you can't afford.
But here's what I've learned after years in this industry: you can't afford not to.
The difference between photographers who scale their businesses and those who stay stuck isn't talent. It's not equipment. It's not even opportunity. It's intentionality. It's the willingness to write down where you want to go and build a plan to get there.
So here's my challenge to you. Imagine what your business could look like 12 months from now if you started 2026 with crystal-clear goals. Imagine knowing exactly which accounts you're targeting, exactly what revenue you're building toward, exactly what systems you need to put in place. Imagine the confidence that comes from having a plan instead of just hoping things work out.
What would be different in your business if you committed to setting clear, written goals for 2026?
What's the one goal that, if you achieved it in 2026, would make the biggest difference in your business and your life? Let em know in the comment below.
Ready to Turn Your 2026 Goals Into Reality?
Writing down your goals is the first step. But actually achieving them? That requires a system.
That's why we created the Sales Playbook Planner specifically for volume photographers. This isn't just another generic planner—it's a step-by-step system designed to help you set goals, create your sales strategy, and track your results every single day.
Inside, you'll get:
- Goal-setting worksheets that break your annual targets down into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily actions
- Your Success Formula—the exact roadmap showing what you need to do each day to hit your goals
- Monthly and quarterly scoreboards to track progress and make adjustments
