Practical Business Planning Guide for Owners
- Collins Hume
- 22 hours ago
- 3 min read
Get your business 2026-ready with a complimentary RAVDA
Each new year is the ideal time to reset your business strategy, refocus your goals and make confident decisions for the months ahead.
Whether you’re running a small or medium business (SMB), not-for-profit organisation or commercial enterprise, a clear plan for 2026 improves profitability, reduces risk and builds long-term value.
Here’s a practical guide to setting your business up for success in 2026.
1. Strong personal finances create better business decisions.
Before diving into business goals, get clear on your personal finances. Review debt, savings, investments and retirement planning.
Start by assessing where you are today, then set realistic goals for 2026. Build a simple budget or cash flow plan and review it regularly so you can adapt as circumstances change.
2. Review your estate plan
Life changes quickly, so review your will, enduring power of attorney, and superannuation and death benefit nominations.
Your business planning should include your personal world. Nor is it just worst-case planning. Ensure your assets pass as intended and protect what you’ve worked hard to build.
3. Reset your business strategy
Now zoom out and look at the business. Ask yourself what worked in 2025, what didn’t, what’s changed in your market, team or priorities and what success looks like by the end of 2026.
A structured planning session with your leadership team or an external adviser can help cut through noise and clarify direction. Use this time to define clear goals, decide what to stop doing, set 90-day priorities and align your leaders around what matters most.
4. Complete a legal health check and risk review
With strategy clear, protect what you’re building.
Review your business structure, shareholder or partnership agreements, key contracts, intellectual property, and privacy, data and regulatory obligations. A legal health check highlights weaknesses, closes compliance gaps and helps avoid costly problems later.
Related: https://www.collinshume.com/nfp
5. Track performance and remove inhibitors
Clear reporting helps you make better decisions but only if you act on what the numbers are telling you.
Choose your top 3-5 priorities, block out time to work on them and make sure you have visibility across what’s really driving performance. At the same time, take a hard look at what’s holding the business back. Every business accumulates baggage over time: unprofitable products, inefficient processes, outdated systems or cultural issues.
Often the fastest way to improve profitability is to stop doing things that no longer serve the business. A regular business detox sharpens focus, lifts margins and creates space for growth.
6. Implement technology that sticks
If 2026 is the year for cloud upgrades or system improvements, take a structured approach.
Join demos, use trials, check integrations, gather team feedback and make sure everyone is aligned before committing. Technology only delivers value when your people adopt it.
7. Focus on building business value
Even if you’re not planning to sell, increasing business value gives you options: easier access to finance, stronger succession pathways and greater flexibility.
Key value drivers include up-to-date financials, systemised processes, reduced owner dependency, a clear growth strategy and early adviser involvement. Understanding how valuations help you build a smarter plan for the year ahead.
8. Thinking about selling your business? Start now
If succession or exit is on your radar over the next 3-5 years, the decisions you make today matter.
Ask yourself whether you still see yourself in this business long term, whether your energy for growth is still there, and whether you’re building something others would want to buy. Preparing early improves sale outcomes and often boosts performance even if you don’t sell in 2026.
Ready to get your business 2026-ready?
Book a complimentary Risk and Value Driver Assessment (RAVDA) with our Strategy360 team. We’ll help you identify key risks, uncover growth opportunities and clarify what’s really driving value in your business — so you can move into 2026 with confidence. Spots are limited, so get in touch today to secure your assessment.
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