We asked our small business community: How are you investing in yourself in 2026? Here’s what they said.
Getting help so I don’t have to work at full capacity, and I can focus on what I’m best at.
Taking time out with my marketing – a little each day, and it makes a difference instead of taking a whole day off. Also, being more strategic at the events I’m going to attend on learning and communities.
I am investing more time in building relationships. Going to events within communities that align with my values and ethics. Which are not always directly business spaces, but are adjacent. Running weekly lives to call in more of my people and finishing off two qualifications to keep my skills sharp. And more intentional downtime so I can manage the juggle with grace!
After 23 years in business, it’s not being afraid to own my lane and shout it from the rooftops. To own and know my worth and invest in that by simply adopting three things that changed how I showed up and viewed schizzle. I love what I do. I hate the selling element of it. And last year I decided to stop and look at conversation, connection and collaboration. That approach has opened so many more doors and made everything easier and quieter in my head. My investment in myself, being also a “woman of a certain life stage” like the fabulous Lucy Patterson has been to figure out how to turn the noise down and invest my energy where it matters. For me. That took some working out.
This year got off to a hard start. For various ‘life reasons’, I’ve had very little time for work. But rather than worrying about how far behind I am, I’m trying to practise what I preach as a Triathlon and Mental Health and Exercise Coach – and to apply the learnings from years of getting it wrong. Instead of doubling down on work and filling every spare moment trying to catch up, I’m choosing to invest in my mental health and build a stronger, more resilient mindset.
Training has had to take a back seat, but I’m continuing to prioritise mindful yoga sessions and walks in nature, knowing that the time invested pays me back many times over. As stress reduces, I can think more clearly, sleep better, and remind myself that life is about living, not just sitting behind a computer.
Lucy Hurn | UK’s 1st Mental Health & Exercise Triathlon Coach
Recognising that people are my fuel for new ideas, creating connections, and improving my knowledge, I say “yes” to challenges such as leading a business women’s networking group and speaking opportunities, all of which allow me to grow as an individual.
Tina Hutchinson | Relationship Marketing Manager & Business Consultant
I’m already beginning 2026 by investing in myself. At the end of 2025, I felt burnt out, and this affected how I felt about my work. I now block out time for me stuff: yoga, singing and ‘tapping’, an incredible self-help tool. Professionally, I am investing in getting my business seen. I spend so much time on ‘the job’, that I don’t have much time to attend to PR and marketing, and I know it’s high time to work with professionals who have the skill sets.
Helen Reynolds has provided sage advice about web content and SEO and introduced me to fabulous contacts such as Linda Harrison, who I’ll be joining in March for her ‘Meet the Media’ workshop in York. And, because ‘tapping’ helped me so much, I invested in an instructors course and now offer it to my clients and mentees! 😊
In 2026, I am building new skills and confidence, supported by learning, coaching and growth programmes, many funded through the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub. This year is about building steady foundations and allowing my business to grow in a way that feels balanced and true to me.
I’m going to be investing more time in taking time out and also learning in 2026. I’ve blocked booked days and downtime in my calendar, and later in the year I want to do some more courses.
I’m investing in myself in three specific ways. The first is solo writing retreats. My wife told me in December that this should be the year I make writing the singular focus of my career. I agreed, but I also didn’t know what that would look like. So I reduced it to time and more time. I’ve been writing first drafts by hand for one and a half hours on weekdays. And I’ve scheduled three to four days each month of deep work—aka, a retreat.
The second way I’m investing in myself is by not neglecting my health. Instead of treating little complaints like door-to-door salesmen—ignore them and hope they go away—I’m being proactive. Schedule the appointment. Read about it. Do something right away.
The third way is an idea I borrowed from Jesse Itzler, who created the Big Ass Calendar. I’m scheduling 6 mini-adventures, which he calls “Kevin’s Rule,” and a misogi, a big, life-changing commitment. I haven’t signed up for any races this year. My commitment is to spend 10 hours writing every week, which is harder for me in some ways than a one-and-done event.
I am investing money, time and energy in a mastermind where I get coached, learn strategies, give to my peers and connect. I am investing time and energy into feeling my emotions instead of ignoring them, then sharing what I learn with my clients and audience. And, I am intentionally and selectively investing time and energy in relationships.
This year, I am investing more time and energy in aligned communities and events. I’ll be mainly doing this by joining some specialist associations and pledging to become part of the Good Business Charter. Actively looking for more spaces and opportunities where I can continue growing my events industry-specific network.
I want to invest more in my wellbeing by adopting healthier habits and taking more time for self-care. I also want to learn more and perhaps do some networking.
I’m prioritising longer-format, face-to-face events where real conversations happen, and the fluff is stripped out. After more than ten years agency-side, my first year freelancing has been a year of saying yes…and it’s opened up some brilliant conversations and real growth 📢
Hannah Cross-Phillipson | Freelance Live Events Creative Director
I’ve taken the question “how are you investing in yourself ” literally, i.e.,’ in myself’ and not in my business. I’ve decided to challenge myself to try 100 offline activities in 365 days to nourish my mind, my body and my life. I’m investing in engaging in the real world rather than watching it from behind a screen, knowing that this one life we get doesn’t go on forever. It’s an investment with a rate of return far higher than any business could ever deliver.
So much! Amazing coaching Beth Hocking Sales page by Georgina L Chapman 🌴, Funnel support from Megan Chapman, OBM Cara Catch, Facebook ads support Angela Pounder, Subconscious support Cat Paterson Coaching Founders. I buy in whatever I’m not good at/can’t do/need to learn.
I’m investing in my business and business development skills this year. It’s usually very tempting for me to go down the CPD route and add more modalities to grow my craft, but in 2026 I’m choosing the harder path: strengthening and growing the business itself. This includes expanding my work supporting working parents and growing my podcast conversations around career, identity, and belonging for working parents specifically. It made me smile when I looked up the numerology meaning of 2026, which felt very aligned with my choice.
Fiorenza Rossini | Career & Leadership Coach for Working Parents
I have decided to invest in getting professional video content shot, with the hope that it will make my marketing less of an effort, as it will give me not only video content, but also repurposed content. Shot a taster in January, and have my first full session next month! It is so scary spending money on your own business ain’t it!
Tracy Dixon | The Marketing Jacks
Having spent a lot of ‘bad’ money over the years, my investment in 2026 is in myself. Not thinking I need to know ‘more’ and buying into endless, generic courses. Instead, I want to work 1:1 with people who will help me to question the rules, trust myself to take small, messy actions and experiment to find my own way of doing things.
I’m investing in my downtime as I prepare for my freelance maternity leave. It is tempting to cram now-May with work, but I know I’ll do my best (and most profitable) work if I also prioritise rest. So I’ve joined a health club giving me access to classes, a pool and a spa!
I’m part of the Lucy Werner 📣 Hype crew! I’ve made a conscious effort and decision to put myself into spaces that are places of growth and community rather than business development-driven groups. Spaces where real conversations with depth can take place, like Lucy’s The Hype, The Portfolio Collective and also Lara Sheldrake‘s Found & Flourish. It’s about stepping back from the performative environments and choosing fewer and smaller spaces where I can learn and develop as an individual, alongside connecting and building relationships with people with aligned values.
I’ve also focused on time away from the screen, which, as a book coach and ghostwriter, can be a challenge, but is essential for physical and mental health. So I’m being much more intentional with my time and energy, selecting specific days and times for client-facing work; investing in conscious automations for workflows and onboarding; and no longer offering services that drain me. The foundation of it all, as I enter my 60th year, is intentionality and allowing time to live, protecting mental and physical wellbeing so I can continue doing what I love for as long as I want.
I am investing in my professional development by: in-person and online networking, attending business expos and events, watching webinars, being part of and engaging in various freelancer, creative, and marketing communities (local and UK-wide), reading Freelancer Magazine, interacting with fellow small business owners regularly and learning from them in groups, forums, and threads, volunteering for the causes I support, delivering LinkedIn and marketing webinars, learning from mentors or peers, mentoring small businesses on marketing strategy.
Last year, I made a conscious effort to invest in my mental and physical wellbeing, and I want to keep building on that in 2026. Towards the end of 2025, though, I realised something was missing: the social side of wellbeing. Working from home as a freelancer, while also being a carer and a mum, meant I had little time and few spaces to share experiences, learn from others or talk honestly about the highs and lows of the job. So I set up a small WhatsApp community for female freelance translators at a similar stage of life and career.
At A Helping Hand for Translators, we’re experienced professionals with similar commitments who deal with the same industry challenges. We’ve only been supporting each other for a month, but it’s already as useful and encouraging as I’d hoped. Investing in this community feels like investing in myself. And it’s something I plan to keep doing.
Isabel Hurtado de Mendoza | Spanish Communication Specialist for Mission-Driven Institutions
I’m two years into running my interior design business, having left teaching aged 38 to retrain. This year, I’ve created a list of experts that I want to work with on various aspects of my business after two years of doing everything myself. They include: website, brand photos, business mentoring, email marketing, and social media. Almost all of the people on my list are also small businesses/freelancers and women, because I know how important it is to support each other.
And now, every time I find myself with extra money in the pot, I look at my list and consider which help I most need right now. I understand the value and time-saving of having an expert do something for me that would otherwise take me away from designing for my clients.
This year for me, is all about PR. Learning about it and pitching for opportunities. Which if you’d told me this a year ago, I never would have believed you. I’ve joined Lucy Werner 📣 paid newsletter which is fantastic. Today I’ve been to Linda Harrison and Jo Leatham Meet the media event pitching to regional journalists. I’ve also attended Linda and Jo’s online workshop and face-to-face coffee mornings in York. I’ve got so much out of these already, I’m excited to see what’s in store for the rest of the year
In 2026, I’m investing in business coaching. I’m going through “The Pumpkin Plan” physical and audiobook by Mike Michalowicz, and it’s been great so far. It ties in with everything I do, from LinkedIn strategy to what offers I have, to who I hire, fire, and more. I’m considering working with one of their trained business coaches, too.
Next, when it comes to business, I’m investing in my ability to eventually take time off. And the way I’m doing this is writing down all of my processes into SOPs and training contractors and employees on how I do things, so they can do them just as well, and I can take a much-needed break.
Personally, I’m wanting to do another Vipassana meditation retreat if I can get away for 10 days. I’ve done two in the past, and both have been transformational for my daily practice.
I’m investing more in aligned communities – moving away from generic networking towards spaces where I can have real conversations about things I actually care about and learn from people genuinely interested in the same topics.
For me, that’s been shifting from “business development” type events to communities focused on good marketing and sustainable business practices. Less polite networking chat, more proper conversations with cool people who genuinely care about what they’re building and their impact on the world.
The ROI can’t always be measured on a spreadsheet, but those events and conversations always leave me buzzing with ideas and energy I can actually channel into my work (and good things flow from that).
In 2026, I want to invest more in myself by building healthier habits. We are surrounded by constant content and distractions, so taking care of my focus and energy feels essential. That means being more intentional with how I work, how I reply to emails, and how I use my time during the day. I also want to invest more in offline learning and in-person experiences. Being around people, having real conversations, and learning beyond screens helps me stay grounded.
Moving into my ‘zone of genius’ within the longevity sector. Niching down to where I really want to ‘play’ and knowing that I can shine there is an investment in my capability and confidence. There’ll also be the usual courses – usually one for business and one for fun – and as I’m a woman of ‘a Gregg Wallace age’ these days, my investment in my health and wellbeing continues.
In terms of both time and money, I’m investing in my development and education. For me, that means investing in coaching, joining accountability and feedback groups, attending free webinars, and buying tickets to industry conferences and talks. Learning from others, in my opinion, is the best way to grow, both as a person and in business.
Felix Williams | Owner/Head Copywriter @ Felix Williams Copy
How am I investing in myself in 2026? By setting aside time to prioritise going to more in-person events – networking, training or just nice, interesting meet-ups locally. And reading more. This includes reading Freelancer Magazine cover to cover (of course). And I’ve just ordered The Personal Branding Playbook so I can take part in the Being Freelance Book Club run by Steve Folland.
