Your 2026 Planning Window Starts Now
There’s a six-week window every year that most business owners underestimate.
From mid-December through to the end of January, everything finally quietens down.
The emails slow, the diary clears and the constant pressure of day-to-day operations lifts.
It’s the only time you get the headspace to think properly about what you want next year to look like.
This is your moment for deep work.
Not surface-level tinkering but the kind of strategic and creative thinking you never get to do when you’re in reactive mode.
What I’m seeing across hospitality, drinks and tourism
Before you get into planning it helps to know you’re not alone.
Across all the operators I’ve worked with this year, a few patterns have come up again and again:
Margins are razor thin and owners are trying to balance financial stability/sustainability with the need to invest in growth.
Most operators underestimate how much time is lost to reactive work that doesn’t move the business forward.
Mature businesses realising internal marketing capability isn’t optional.
Newer businesses and start ups still need external specialist support which is completely normal while they grow and learn.
The biggest wins have come from clarity, structure and capability building.
Why deep work matters for 2026
When you’re running at full speed, it’s almost impossible to step back and see the bigger picture.
Most owners aren’t short on ideas. They’re short on clarity and bandwidth.
Deep work helps you look at the foundations:
your brand positioning
your vision and mission
what actually happened this year, in terms of your revenue and profitability
whether your products or services are still fit for market
You can’t build a strong plan until you’re willing to look honestly at what’s really going on. Yes, I get it … it’s confronting!
Clarity: the thing most owners don’t realise they’re missing
One of the biggest surprises for many of my clients is how much clarity changes everything.
In workshops, they often realise they don’t trully know:
their unique selling proposition
their most important customers
which activites are worth pursuing and which aren’t
When that clarity lands, the overwhelm disappears.
A clear plan calms the brain. Suddenly the priorities are obvious.
Clarity isn’t a luxury… It’s the oxygen that keeps the business moving forward!
Simplify to grow
This year, I’ve seen a lot of businesses trying to do too much.
Too many brands, too many campaigns, too many platforms, too many priorities.
When everything’s a priority, nothing is.
January’s the perfect time to simplify. Strip things back. Focus on fewer, stronger activities that shift the needle.
Simplifying often feels like relief.
Realigning your resources
This part is always eye-opening. When businesses add up their true marketing spend, they’re always surprised.
It’s not just advertising. It’s:
digital tools and subscriptions
your website and booking platforms
email marketing software
photography and videography
complimentary meals, bottles or tables
media hosting
discounts that quietly eat away at your margin
And then there’s the resource of time. Your time. Your team’s time. Time is the most undervalued resource.
If you don’t know where your hours go, you’re not in control of your growth.
Now is the moment to reset how you want your time and your team’s time to be spent next year.
Economic outlook and customer behaviour
January’s also the best moment to check in on:
• your forecast with your accountant
• your first-half financial results
• your assumptions for the next six months
• sales and product trends
• customer behaviour shifts
And don’t skip external research. Tourism bodies, market research firms and major e-commerce platforms release incredibly helpful insights at the end of the year.
Use them. They help shape smarter decisions.
Simple thought starters for your January planning
If you want more structure, a simple three-page plan works beautifully:
Review of the year
Vision, mission and big-picture goals
Activities, campaigns and events for 2026
For more complex businesses, a full strategy or marketing audit might be a more attractive option.
A quick update from me
Twelve months into my consultancy, I’ve refined my offering. My work is now solely growth strategy, whether that’s through workshops, audits, plans or mentoring. I don’t provide marketing delivery services but I’m always happy to connect clients with great freelancers and agencies, or help them recruit internal talent if they’re ready for that step.
The work I’m most passionate about is helping business owners find clarity, build capability and set a strong direction they feel confident in.
Start 2026 with clarity, not chaos
Even a few hours of deep work can change the entire trajectory of your year.
If you want help shaping your 2026 plan, I’d love to talk.
Book a free 30-minute call and we’ll unpack what’s keeping you up at night, explore your biggest opportunities for next year and work out whether a planning process is right for your business.
I only take on a limited number of strategy projects each year, so please book before the holidays if you’re considering it.
Book your free call: hollyformosa.com/contact