Ep 325: Before setting 2026 business goals, answer this one big question.

A new year naturally makes us want to plan. New goals. New strategies. New promises to ourselves. But here’s what I’ve seen over and over again with small business owners: plans without alignment do not last. They look good on paper, but they fall apart in real life.

That’s why this conversation centers on one simple but powerful idea. Before you set your goals, you need clarity. Specifically, clarity around how you actually want your business to support your life this year.

Most people default to louder revenue goals and longer workweeks without stopping to ask if that version of success even fits them. Instead, I want you to start from your real life and work forward. When you do that, you can create a simple one sentence North Star that guides your decisions all year long. This is the shift from outside pressure to internal clarity. From chasing trends to choosing what fits. And when you name your season, decide what your business should provide, and get honest about what you are done chasing, you end up with goals that are sustainable, meaningful, and profitable enough to support your definition of success.

The first step is naming your season honestly. There are two lenses to look through here: your business stage and your life stage.

On the business side, are you in the idea phase, just getting started, stabilizing what you have, growing intentionally, or scaling something that already works? On the life side, what is actually shaping your time and energy right now? A new baby. An empty nest. Health priorities. A part time job. Caring for a parent. These things matter more than most business advice admits.

Burnout often happens when people build businesses that collide with their current season. Trying to launch something massive while juggling newborn twins and a demanding job. Forcing a scale plan when what you really need is stability. Alignment is not playing small. It is sequencing correctly. When your business model fits your season, consistency becomes possible. And consistency is what compounds.

Next, get specific about what you want your business to provide. Not in vague terms, but in practical ones.

Money may be part of the answer, but clarity lives in detail. Maybe you want a part time income that covers childcare. A flexible schedule that replaces a commute. Steadier revenue that removes the feast and famine cycle. For some people, the goal is replacing a salary. For others, it is five hundred dollars a month of guilt free spending. None of these are lesser goals. They are simply different goals.

When you add detail, you design better. If flexibility matters most, you choose offers with boundaries and predictable delivery. If confidence is what you need, you prioritize milestones and feedback. The word provide is important here. It is what turns values into operations. Your offers, pricing, hours, and platforms should directly support the life you want, not work against it.

Then comes the part most people skip. Decide what you are done chasing.

This is the pressure release valve. Maybe it is follower counts. Maybe it is performative content. Maybe it is advice that clashes with your values or the belief that more hours always equals more money. You might decide to stop spreading yourself across three platforms and go deep on one. You might drop an offer that drains you or stop attending networking events that rarely convert.

This is not quitting. It is pruning.

When you name what you will not chase, you protect your energy and your brand. Integrity becomes a growth strategy because it helps the right people recognize you and trust you. You trade forced visibility for aligned visibility. You stop being busy and start being effective.

Finally, combine your answers into one clear sentence that becomes your filter for 2026.

Something like: In this season, I am building my business to support my life in this specific way, without sacrificing these boundaries or chasing what does not fit.

That sentence makes goal setting practical. You can translate it into money goals, weekly hours, offer choices, platforms, and even hiring decisions. It helps you say no faster. If something fights your season, your definition of provide, or your stop chasing list, it does not belong. If it supports them, you schedule it and measure it.

This approach is not poetic. It is operational.

And the real payoff is this: you build a business that feels like yours, supports your actual life, and stays steady even when the noise gets loud.