We asked our small business community: What does business planning look like for you for 2026? How do you go about it? Here’s what they said…
I love this question! I’m starting with rest and reparation this year – checking over my foundations before I get into the “GO! GO! GO!” mindset. Building in regular support through coworking and coaching is also an important part of the plan to avoid burnout and to remember that I’m not doing it all alone. And calendars, diaries and bullet journals galore to track and reflect on my progress.
Felix Williams | Owner/Head Copywriter @ Felix Williams Copy
I’ve been looking back over what I’ve built up over the last couple of years, what I really want to carry on with from that and what I possibly want to ditch. I’m also enlisting some help with getting my website and other marketing material properly up and running, and streamlining my ideas into a more purposeful marketing strategy for the next year or soLindsay
Business planning is not just for January. Whatever your plans are you need to track actual outcome versus planned outcome, periodically review them throughout the year on a monthly and quarterly basis. Be prepared to deviate from / change what is not working. Be aware of changes in the market and how those changes impact your planning. Adjust your plan accordingly.
For me, finding time to stop and think is so important. I’ve definitely spent time thinking about what did and didn’t work last year. The work that lights me up that I’d love to do more of this year. How I’d like my working week to feel. Where I’d like to focus my efforts.
I am a big fan of having a word of the year. I’m delighted this year that it works for me as a business owner but also for my clients. This year I’ve chosen ‘play’ to encourage me and others to try new things, give them a go, be playful, without feeling constricted by perfectionism and ‘shoulds’.
In the past, I’ve felt quite confident working on strategy but looking back I can struggle with shorter-term action. A change I’m bringing in this year is to ask myself ‘What am I doing this week to grow my audience?’, ‘What am I doing this week to increase sales?’. Looking at this weekly, monthly and quarterly, I hope it will help grow the business this year.
Sophie Roberts | Founder at West Plum Studio. Helping you spend more time crafting
Business planning is always a little interesting when you’re ADHD, and with the State of the Market. I’ve made some pencil goals for the year, but those aren’t my priority; given my neurodivergence, they can become a stick, rather than a carrot.
Concentrating on quarterly and monthly goals is the game. Focusing on where I can affect change and growth, e.g., the number of outbound enquiries I can make, how well I deliver my marketing, in-person events, and improving my website.
My planning also involves realising the utter strength I have in my network of friends and collaborators. At the end of last year, I started writing down who they are, where they are brilliant, and where I can support them. This has been a game-changer. It’s simple ‘lift as we rise’ thinking, which is corny, but so am I, and I’m here for it.
I love goals and I love a plan. I have a full-year business plan (but only because I feel I should), but I work best and am results-driven by smaller monthly goals. For me, it makes it so much more fun and realistic. I also break them up. One of my January goals was to join a Freelancer Magazine co-working session. It’s also to set up a LinkedIn newsletter – goals like this are much more achievable, and all add up so that you can hit that final figure in your business plan!
For 2026, I’m planning to listen more and do less. After two decades in corporate as a Head of Brand & Social, I saw how many opportunities get missed by rigid annual and quarterly planning. By the time it’s vetted and approved, the market [and audience] have already pivoted.
Annual planning is dead. It assumes stable markets, predictable demand, and linear growth. None of that exists anymore. Right now, a boutique agency is an advantage. Agile sprints. Deep social listening. Real-time adjustment. The edge in 2026 isn’t a better plan. It’s the ability to move when the market whispers, not after it screams.
Business planning for the year ahead is really important (and I love a brain dump to help start this!), but it’s also important to zoom out and decide on what your longer-term strategy is. Strategy is often seen as something bigger businesses do, but if you can develop a loose idea of where you’re heading that you can use as your guiding light, it helps you to make strategic decisions every day that help nudge you towards that longer-term aim.
Sophie Greenwood | Strategy & Planning Specialist for small businesses and freelancers
For me, planning is always about taking a huge goal and breaking it down into manageable, smaller and smaller goals that I can celebrate achieving often. So if my goal is to grow the business by x amount, I then look at what needs to be done to achieve that. Ok, now we need a new product offering or a new lead gen strategy, strategic comms, whatever.
What can we accomplish this quarter? What are we doing this month? What can I do this week? Where does that fit on my calendar?
I try to keep these bite-sized tasks to a few hours max, and then treat myself when we smash them. It also means that if something comes up, I can move a few hours of work instead of feeling like the whole plan is off course.
Sally Bell | Owner Of A Small Creative Agency Making A Big Difference
First, I looked at what worked from last year to inspire what I should do more of, and possibly even more importantly, I assessed what didn’t work, what I want to leave behind. Based on those, I set a small number of big goals and break them down into manageable steps. It’s not high-tech or groundbreaking, but setting aside a couple of protected sessions with no distractions gives me the brainspace to think clearly about it.
Josephina Worrall | GRI-certified sustainability reporting, copywriting and translation
I have been inspired by a recent post encouraging people to think about the work they’d continue to do if they won the lottery. I’ll be taking that mindset into my planning!
Stephanie O’Donohue, Founder of TIGER UK | Communications & Engagement Expert
I’m taking a longer-term look at business planning now. Starting off by looking back over the last couple of years at what has gone well and what I’ve enjoyed. I’ve got a chat with Valentina Alia in a week or so, too and then intend to set some achievable monthly targets focused on marketing my business better.
There are many tools out there that can help. Planning is important, as is accountability – you find out eventually that is where the big shifts happen. I give credit to Andy Henderson for creating the Success GPS framework as a way to work out what’s important to you in the future and work backwards from that point and build the business to give you that life. So no matter the year, you plug yourself back into YOUR map and adjust and move ahead.
For me, planning is taking place in different stages: first, there’s a bit of reflection on what worked and what didn’t. I do look at the numbers to give me a starting point, but because I am the business, it’s also a time to think about whether my business is still one I am enthusiastic about. And whether the way I’m running my business fits in with my other goals in life and my values.
Next, I have some dates in the diary to meet with other freelance editors for a mini retreat to plan and set specific goals, which I can then break down into smaller goals each month/quarter.
Each step will take place over a couple of weeks in January, so that I don’t rush to set myself goals that get forgotten in February. I also prefer not to get too bogged down in any one part of business planning, so doing it in shorter batches of time works for me right now. Plus, there’s a vision board in there at some point along the way!
Philippa Hammond | Copy-editing, developmental editing and translations
I love business planning quarterly and annually. Annually, I like to do this in the final weeks of the year so I can hit the ground running at the start of the year.
I had a 2026 planning day on Friday 5th December. I had blocked the day out in advance so I knew I could have a day where I could be uninterrupted and solely be in CEO mode. (I also ensured I knew exactly what I would be having to eat for all three meals and planned a nice evening, as I knew it would be an intense day).
The annual planning process I use is exactly the same as the one I use when helping working with other solo and micro business owners.
- Review and reflect – I look back over the last 12 months. First, I review the data, and then I reflect on my own experience
- Goals – I set clear goals for the whole year. This year I have three goals: a financial goal, an impact goal and a project goal. I make sure my annual goals are moving the business closer to my ultimate dream business. Strategy – Here identified my business growth strategy (what I will be selling and to who), and ensured I made key strategic decisions around offer suite, pricing, marketing and sales.
- Timeline – Then I put everything together into a timeline so I can see how everything combines (both from a wearing multiple hats in the business perspective, and for how my life and business will combine).
- Monitoring – Last but not least, I decided what my key metrics will be, how often I’ll check them and get accountability where needed.
Charelle Griffith Chartered Marketer MCIM | Annual Planning Queen
This is my ninth year in business … and the first time I’ll ever be putting together anything remotely resembling a proper business plan! It’s happening now because I’m finally building something bigger than myself, something new and different.
Right now, I’m laying out dates I need things to happen and backing out planning from there, and doing the same with the income from these things (how much do I want to make, and how can I make that?).
I’m also seeking the wise counsel of those who are stronger experts in things I’ll be doing, and feeling out which of these experts might become my fractional team once things are further along.
Most importantly, I’m finally owning that I’m rubbish at things like organisation, tech stacks, finance, etc. and am actually going to hire people who can pull these things together while I stay in my zone of brilliance! I always try to do it all myself and then wonder why it hasn’t worked. Time to bring others in!
Christine Gritmon | Higher Voltage Event Founder | Personal Branding Coach
With everyone seemingly so keen to create, launch, and promote brand new products and services now that we’ve entered a new year, my own business planning takes a different approach. I look at the previous year, assess what already worked brilliantly (or at least had decent potential), and push forward with those ideas. More of the same good stuff for my clients and me. That’s my business, and that’s my plan.
Jo Watson | Copywriter hired by people who didn’t think they needed a copywriter
I have never really set myself goals in my business because I believed it was pressure, and when I didn’t hit that goal, it meant I had failed, and that starts a spiral I hate to fall down. Last year, I learnt people with ADHD feel that a lot (who knew), so for 2026 I have decided to join Charelle Griffith’s 2026 Visionary CEO Planning Day to give it a go, help me find direction, purpose and reignite my passion for my business.
My plans so far have only included call bookings, but these calls could determine the path I take in 2026. So I’m remaining present while gathering ideas for when I get to speak to these lovely people. Thankfully, my plan to remain a registered physio will always give me something to fall back on as needed.
Andy Goldman | LinkedIn® training for Allied Health Professionals
Great question! Lots of growth here. Have thrown quite a lot at the wall, and will pause to see how my new services take off, or don’t, before instituting my next phase, planning-wise. My two kids are in GCSE and A-level year, so I need to be present and hold back a bit, but this gives me an opportunity to do a lot of housekeeping, which I have started doing. Growth has to translate to profit; otherwise, it’s pointless: more headaches and more risk. I’d rather be smaller and more profitable than scale and have sleepless nights.
Susan Julians | Director and Practice Principal, Barbican Physiotherapy Clinic Ltd.
So many good ideas here. I always start the year by looking back at what worked, what distracted me and what made the biggest difference, then I build the year around a small number of clear priorities and specific, achievable goals. It definitely helps avoid overwhelm!
This is something I’ve generally been terrible at – I’m naturally more of a ‘see how it goes’ person than a planner. But I’m more conscious than ever that this approach has meant I end up trying to do too many things without committing properly, and I’m neglecting personal goals because I’m not working out how to balance stuff. So for me, 2026 planning means simplifying work stuff so I can make more money in less time, and actually do the other stuff I want to do too 🙂 At the moment that looks like:
- Offers: revising these so I have three core things that should cover most client needs without the need for complex custom proposals, etc. (on-demand consultancy, audits and a day rate). Also makes finances simpler!
- Making time for other things: I’m allowing myself time during work days for half-marathon training when I need to, and also finally properly working on the novel I’ve been desperate to write for years.
I always follow my ‘Review / Release / Renew’ process, it’s a process of getting radically honest with yourself over not only what worked and didn’t, but also your energy and capacity. It helps you make space for what matters and get in touch with your DDWs (Desire-Driven Wishes), the things you truly want at your core but are often detached from as you’re busy focusing on what others want from you. It mixes journaling, spiritual and energy practices, WOOP (Wish / Outcome / Obstacle / Plan) goal setting and habit creation to give you a simple, easy plan to follow. I’ve been using it myself for years and with others since 2018, and it’s changed so many lives. I added a new question I heard this year too, which I’d love to share here as I think it really gets to what you need fast … “if your life was a movie, what would the audience be screaming at the screen?” i.e., “Leave the relationship!” “Start the business!” “Take a holiday!”
This is such a great question, and this year I’m taking a slightly different approach. Rather than focusing on numbers or finances, I’m thinking more about capacity. As a medical copywriter, the quality of my work depends on having the time and headspace to think clearly and responsibly.
This year, I’ve looked back at which projects felt sustainable and high-impact, and which quietly drained time or energy. This has helped me decide what not to carry forward. I’m now planning around the types of clients I want to support and the depth of work I want to offer. Hopefully, this will help me keep business growth realistic and sustainable, while still aligning with my values.
Business planning! Can I be so bold as to share that this is my specialist subject!? I LOVE IT! Plans start in December with me mind-mapping what I want, then delving into my why, and plotting my first SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) steps quarter by quarter to move my plans into action.
I try to set aside some hours at the end of a year or early in a new one and follow a set of prompts on finances, online and offline marketing, business development, successes, and so on, broken down into quarters. It’s on my agenda for later this week.
Ralph Cunningham | Freelance B2B Journalist & Branded Content Writer@Sands Street Media Ltd
I’ve tried lots of different planning methods over the years, from lists and goals to vision boards, but the last time I tried to create a vision board, I just had one word in my mind, so I went with that instead. This year, my watchword is ‘simplicity’, which to me means not overthinking, cutting back on too much mindless input (scrolling for no purpose!), and enjoying growing food and getting outdoors to write and work where possible. Last summer, my colleague and I spent a day at a beach outlining the book we’re writing this year, and it was the most joyful and productive day! More of that this year!
Sally Duffin | 🍏 Writer for natural health brands + practitioners
I like to focus on one main priority each month. And think of it as a campaign. So, for example, in January, it’s all about my new Write The Book cohort as we begin a year-long journey together. In August, the focus will be hosting a retreat. Another month might be dedicated to client care and the smooth running of my business.
This makes planning really clear for me and helps me figure out when to say ‘no’ too. I’m a fan of vision boards, and creating one gives me a sense of the year as a whole. I’m running a vision board session locally this month and aim to make my own alongside the group.
I focus on setting an intention instead of a goal – goals are fixed, but intentions set the tone and are a bit more long-term. The benefit being that if things change (because life happens), your intention can still be there as a guide to your changing plans. Goals are very rigid, and we often feel very disheartened and demotivated if we don’t reach them.
In my experience, people often set goals that are too big each year – whereas an intention signals your long-term aim, and you can set smaller business projects to do that will lead you to your intention.
I’ve just had a workshop on vision boards with Caroline Woolley FRICS, which inspired me. I’m working on my goals and am going to put them into pretty pictures, which are much more inspiring than words. I’ve also booked a day each month to work solely on my business.
This year, I have twice as much time to put into work due to a new setup at home. I’m going to use that additional time to incorporate two things that I wasn’t previously.
- Get back to a dedicated fitness program with a goal event (mountain trail running race). My best ideas have always come while I’ve been out there in the fresh air and with a clear mind. I return to my computer charged up.
- Work on a new layer of my platform that is complementary, but not tethered to the existing product (a print magazine). It is focused on community building with our existing audience, with the goal of strengthening more real-life relationships moving forward and away from the social media hustle.
I’m investing in my business this year by working with an external business strategist to help me work out a clear plan. It’s what I help other businesses do with their growth plans, and so it’s super duper exciting being on the other side of things for a change!
For planning, I’d go a bit off piste and say, while I do plan ‘serious’ stuff, I also like to lean into making a mood board.
This year is the first time I am properly thinking long-term. I used to take it few months at a time because I just couldn’t imagine longer time frames, but now I have a goal for the end of the year, and there are things I need to have done at certain points through the year to get to that goal, so all roads are leading there. I have an annual plan drafted and am now working through specific actions I need to take to make it all happen.
This year, I’ve set up a mind map with five sections: Processes, scale and capacity, skills, new business and types of clients. For each, I’ve jotted down what’s worked well and what needs improvement. I’ve then branched out those ideas into actions I want to take, either to do more of something that’s working or to improve something that could be better.
Once that process was complete, I created a prioritised actions list starting with the processes I want to improve and the skills I want to learn. I’ve now either fixed things ready for 2026 or have a plan in place for continual improvement.
After having my own website in ‘maintenance mode’ for almost two years 🫣 I finally got it relaunched in December, ready for a more aligned year ahead. I find that kind of reflection helpful for realising the direction you’re naturally taking your business. After curating my work portfolio, I’m looking more intentionally to work with similar organisations. Which, this coming year, means getting out of my office more, being more social with my networks, and saying ‘yes’ to invites. Talking directly with my preferred audience will help me to create packages and offers that work for them.
I’m a big believer in planning that feels doable rather than overwhelming. I start by looking at what worked last year, then think about what I actually want my business to feel like – not just revenue targets, but the day-to-day reality.
For me, the key this year is optimising what I’ve already got rather than adding more stuff. I focus on making existing marketing work harder – better email sequences, clearer messaging, that sort of thing.
Accountability and community come from my marketing community, the Do Crew – even though I run it, having coworking in the diary every week means I’m actually implementing rather than just planning endlessly.
My process is simple: start by knowing your numbers and being clear on your business goal, then choose your strategies, tactics, and monthly/weekly/daily to-do lists accordingly.
January is less “crush your goals” and more about putting the structures, processes and habits in place to move through the year intentionally and sustainably.
I’ve never had a ‘word of the year’ before because I thought it was a bit, well, naff. But I read a blog on this recently (by Martha at the Business Secrets Club) and decided that 2026 is the year I’m going to try it. I’ve chosen ‘intentional’ as my word for the year, and I’ll use it in my business planning. Looking back on 2025, some of my business decisions were quite reactive, and things felt a bit scattered. I launched my first online course, ran PR events, and offered one-off PR advice calls and press releases.
This year, I’ve got an idea of who my ideal PR clients are – local/in Yorkshire. I want to help fewer clients but in a more intentional way, so working with them for a few months to really get to know their business to help them get featured in the media.
I also thought back to what kind of work made me happiest in 2025, and it was writing. So I’ve included more intentional pitching to editors in my planning for 2026, so I can write more as a journalist. In terms of planning, I’m booking a few hours away from my home office next week so I can sit in a coffee shop and write all this down on paper. I find the old skool ways work best for my brain!
This is such an important topic and something that I’m trying to get better at each year 🫠 I have started with auditing my own time (where I spend it and what is serving me well vs what isn’t). LinkedIn is great for networking and client opportunities, but Instagram doesn’t bring me anything, and I have cut this channel for business. I’m also looking over the most successful projects of 2025 and taking learnings from them – to plan for 2026.
For the first time, I published my plan for this year on LinkedIn, and honestly, some of them I still don’t know how I will achieve them. But, if you don’t stretch yourself, you can’t grow.
My business planning for 2026 is pretty simple, but I think it will be quite effective. I am blocking time out each week to focus on my business, whether that be marketing, networking, or finance. 2025 was a great year for me, but I really neglected my business, so learning from that this year – fingers crossed. I am hoping this will look like a specific day/afternoon each week that is non-negotiable, but also understand that I need a bit of flex.
Tracy Dixon | Bringing the personal touch back to marketing!
I wrote my latest LinkedIn post about this! I’ve taken a group of things I’d love to achieve this year and gamified them – bingo style. I felt so removed from goals last year that I wanted to just have some fun with it this time round, and treat myself to a reward if I shout bingo at any point 🙂
I’m really excited about enlisting help this year with planning in the shape of two x 6-month group coaching programmes with Jess Bruno for content, Kirsty Lewis for workshop facilitation, and Sophie Greenwood for weekly planning and accountability. You can ask for help – who knew?
Sophie Cross | Marketing Consultant specialising in Community & Content
Business planning means listening to my accountant Gill Brereton and my marketing strategist, Laura Rothwell and embracing what Andy Crestodina describes as the dynamic and fast-evolving landscape of marketing in 2026. Which starts with tuning in to Kate Toon‘s thinking around SEO and search, repositioning Haydn Grey—and launching a new website, which I am writing… because I am clearly *not* here and replying to this.
What I will probably include in my planning is:
– I do it based on my thoughts about the previous year and how that went.
– I tend to think about the types of things I want to do overall.
– I like to get a balance of activities – different types of client work (as I do freelance work and coaching), and also my own projects (like my podcast) and some time for having ideas/being creative.
– I try to have one larger ongoing client project, and then other things fit in around that.
– I plan by school term, so I’ll plan January to April, and write down ideas for the summer term and autumn term as well.
Nina Lenton | Project management, coaching, writing, marketing.
I had a great 2025 leading York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub ‘Get higher in Google’ programme to help local businesses get their heads around SEO. And make their websites truly earn their keep. So I’ll be keeping an eye on application timings – usually June/July.
Time and money are important for business planning. Using Profit First percentages continues to be an amazing financial system. My Growth pot now has enough to fund some significant CPD – hopefully your LinkedIn for Humans course?
I also solemnly swear to schedule in some proper breaks. Launching my Viscount Folly side hustle took over my downtime last year. Lots of fun though.
My word of the year: courage 💪
Helen Reynolds | Copywriter for Google and customer-friendly content
