2026: Where Intentional Strategy Replaces Wishful Thinking
I am having a particularly hard time getting back in the groove in this new year. I think the way the holidays landed on the calendar set us up for potentially a longer period of time off around the actual holidays. Being self-employed also means that I write my employee handbook, so there’s that. I determine my PTO (less the P). And many of my clients took well-deserved breaks, so I followed suit.
After the holidays, you may feel a bit groggy, as if coming out of hibernation. Too much cheese and wine for me, but it’s time to shake that off. So don’t just put your head down and hope that things will get better. My advice: proceed with intent. Which brings me to my favorite quote, “Hope is not a strategy”.
Here we are in the shiny new year, and the possibilities are endless, so it’s time to get busy. While 2025 presented many unique challenges we haven’t faced before. 2026 seems likely to be a continuation of the chaos and may present an entirely new set of tests. It’s easy to sit back and just let the inertia of our business carry us along. But is it moving us forward to staying the same? Or possibly even retracting?
If you haven’t done it already, it’s time to take a look back at what worked last year and what didn’t. And then build your strategy for the new year. It’s not too late.
Budgets.
Did you get an appropriate ROI from memberships and travel and conference attendance? If not, why and what can you do differently this year to make it pay off?
What areas of your budget need to be trimmed or increased? Don’t wait to be told to cut expenses.
Did you hit your revenue and profit goals? If not, how many more referrals do you need to generate or facilitate to do that? We can’t keep letting the increase in sales price carry us.
Are your fee structures still serving you well? When was the last time you evaluated what others are charging for services internally and externally, and how you compare?
Performance.
Are your staff and agents performing at maximum capacity? What types of training might they benefit from to be more customer service-focused? It might be time to make some changes.
Are you utilizing technology and AI to their full potential? I know very few entities that use their tracking software and CRM to full capacity.
Do you have a true pulse on how your transferees, customers, and clients felt about the services you delivered? If not, ask and then make corrections.
Have you shown gratitude to those who supported you and your company in 2025? We often take our partners for granted. We can’t do our jobs without all those around us.
How can you address some of the challenges of the past year, such as budget cuts, lump sums, and immigration issues, and improve your service delivery?
What sources of business were off and why? Don’t assume their business was down; assume someone else is taking it.
Are you and your staff up on changing industry trends and lawsuits? You are an expert in your field, so it’s essential to be well-versed on how those issues might affect your clients, transferees, and customers.
How is your relationship with your leadership? Check in to see how you might support them with their goals for the year. It’s critical to deliver value and dollars, now more than ever. And helping them understand what you need to achieve that is the #1 priority.
Marketing.
What is your company’s unique value proposition? Are you capitalizing on it fully?
What niches can you capitalize on that are unique to your market? Every market has at least one.
Are you being seen but not remembered? It’s a crowded field out there; you must set yourself apart from a sea of sameness. Get involved and make yourself known for your expertise.
Do you have the tools to generate new business? This is no time to wing it. It also means carving out time, both daily and weekly, to focus on business development.
Besides the usual New Year’s resolutions, I have big plans for 2026. How about you?
The above leads me to my second favorite quote. “If you’re worried about the cost of getting started…you should see the price of staying exactly where you are.” ~ Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, author, and speaker. Let me know how I can help.
