Give your business the best chance of success in 2026 by setting strategic goals

Many small businesses are likely to still be operating without clear direction as we enter 2026, which is not the best start to a new year.

While these company owners are busy every day, most are not intentionally planning where the business is going, says award-winning entrepreneur and business speaker Bulelani Balabala.

The reason for this is largely because most operate in reaction mode, is Balabala's experience.

"You see it around managing things, doing compliance documents... so, you're constantly 'spraying and praying'. Entrepreneurs often start out with the hustler's mentality where there's no systemisation... Whatever goes that day goes, and you pray for the best."

However, for an entrepreneur to enter the next level of growth and to scale their business, they need to start planning, Balabala emphasizes.

This starts with taking a full asset inventory of everything you have, he says. Your assets include your time, your knowledge, your team and their capabilities, your resources, and then whatever resources you're given to you by your clients.

Talking about the term 'strategic goal setting', he says it comes down to the basics of strategic planning.

First comes the actual planning, where you are working on things you have control over, like assets and goods. "Take stock of your business before you go out there, and then you outsource whatever else you need."

Then you need to look at the broader picture - look at what is happening in the environment, in the economy, the political going on around us, what your competitors are doing, and the research you have done.

"We then come up with an ethos that says: A business like mine wants to play on this particular field because of reasons 1, 2,. 3 etcetera, and then the tools that we'll use are 1, 2, 3... and because of that then we anticipate or assume that the result is going to be a particular result."

What strategic goal setting really means for a small business

• Moving from day-to-day hustle to intentional direction
• Setting goals that are practical and achievable, not corporate theory
• Planning beyond just getting through the year

How planning helps entrepreneurs anticipate challenges before they become crises

•  Building structure as part of goal-setting
•  Planning for systems, processes and accountability